A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
THE FED SPEAKS
The Federal Reserve is set to deliver an update on its efforts to bring down inflation by raising interest rates.
The central bank is expected to announce another large three-quarter-point rate hike Wednesday, following a two-day meeting of its policymakers. Beginning in March, the Fed has raised rates five times in an aggressive pace that has boosted its key short-term rate to a range of 3% to 3.25%, the highest level since 2008. The Fed’s benchmark rate influences many consumer and business loan rates.
MIXED BREW?
Wall Street expects that Starbucks’ latest quarterly report card will show mixed results.
Analysts predict the coffee giant will report Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings declined from a year earlier, even as revenue increased. That would mark the company’s third consecutive quarter with an annual drop in profit. Strong sales growth in the U.S. has helped drive revenue gains for Starbucks, but labor, worker training and supply chain costs have cut into its bottom line.
HIRING SNAPSHOT
The Labor Department releases its monthly snapshot of hiring by nonfarm U.S. employers Friday.
Economists predict employers added 180,000 jobs in October. That would be the lowest monthly increase since December 2020, when the economy lost 115,000 jobs. In September, employers added 263,000 jobs, a solid gain, but less than the 315,000 jobs added in August. Still, it helped bring down the nation’s unemployment rate to 3.5%, matching a half-century low.
Nonfarm payrolls, monthly change, seasonally adjusted:
May 386,000
June 293,000
July 537,000
Aug. 315,000
Sept. 263,000
Oct. (est.) 180,000
Source: FactSet
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
