The Business Week Ahead...

The highlight of the week starts out on Monday and that will be Janet Yellen's speech on the economy and monetary policy to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. This will offer her a platform to reassess the outlook following last week's very soft employment report. A reminder of the economy's central weakness will be offered on Tuesday with the second estimate of first quarter productivity which is expected to contract though slightly less than the first estimate. Jobless claims did rise briefly in early May but never signaled the weakness of the month's labor market. Initial claims data for the June 4 week will be posted on Thursday. The week winds down on Friday with another report that also never signaled May's weakness, the consumer sentiment index which is expected to hold steady at a healthy 94.5.