In the week ahead, there are a handful of major earnings, like Target (NYSE:TGT), Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), Saks (NYSE:SKS), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) and Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD), and some important data on inflation, housing and manufacturing. The week begins and ends with housing data which kicks off Monday with the National Association of Home Builders survey. Housing starts for July are released Tuesday and existing home sales are issued Friday. On the economic front investors will be watching the Empire Manufacturing survey for August due for release Monday morning. The report is expected to show a bottoming of the hard-hit manufacturing sector. The Labor Dept. releases the Producer Price Index [PPI], a reading on wholesale inflation, on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday the Energy Information Administration will release its weekly oil inventories. Weekly jobless claims are reported Thursday. The Labor Department releases the state-by-state employment reports for July on Friday. Also Friday, the markets will be getting some guidance on the economy from the Fed’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which starts at 10 a.m. ET. The Fed Chairman Bernanke will be the keynote speaker at the Kansas City Fed’s economic symposium where he will address the topic of “Reflections on a Year of Crisis.”
