The Business Week Ahead

The first reading on third-quarter GDP will be the week's highlight on Friday. Leading into the report on Thursday will be durable goods orders, which have been weak, and new home sales on Wednesday which have been strong. Home prices have been soft but mostly respectable and both FHFA and Case-Shiller will be released on Tuesday. Resale levels will also be posted in the week with an advance indication in the pending home sales report on Thursday. Friday's GDP report is expected to rise at a solid rate, at an Econoday consensus of 2.5 percent with consumer spending expected to prove respectable and offset weakness in business investment. Friday will also include the third-quarter employment cost index where continued pressure is expected and would be consistent with tight conditions in the labor market.