The Business Week Ahead

Market movers are out on Monday with the Empire State and industrial production reports, both offering the latest on the still struggling factory sector. Following on Tuesday are consumer prices, which have been flat and keeping the Fed on the sidelines, followed by the home builders' housing market index which spiked in the prior month. Housing starts & permits are out on Wednesday along with the Federal Reserve's beige book where recent economic assessments have been flat. Initial jobless claims on Thursday may offer the most sensitive of all data, tracking the sample week of the monthly employment. Existing home sales are also out Thursday, a surprisingly soft report in recent months with only modest strength expected in September's data.