This Week: Home sales, GameStop earns, consumer spending

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:

EYE ON HOUSING

The National Association of Realtors issues its February tally of U.S. home sales today.

The pace of U.S. home sales accelerated on a monthly basis in January for the second straight month as the housing market’s strong momentum from 2020 carried over into this year. Low mortgage rates and strong demand have helped push prices and sales higher, but left the number of homes on the market at record lows, which could slow future sales.

Existing home sales, in millions, seasonally adjusted annual rate:

Sept. 6.44

Oct. 6.73

Nov. 6.59

Dec. 6.65

Jan. 6.69

Feb. (est.) 6.50

Source: FactSet

GAME HYPE

Wall Street expects that GameStop closed out its last fiscal year on a strong note.

Analysts predict the video-game retailer will report Tuesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings increased from a year earlier. That would follow three quarters of losses for the retailer, which grabbed headlines this year after a stock buying frenzy in which online investors challenged hedge funds with massive GameStop short positions betting against the stock.

IN A SPENDING MOOD?

The Commerce Department on Friday serves up its snapshot of U.S. consumer spending last month.

Consumers account for 70% of economic activity, so the more they spend, the more the economy grows. Spending climbed a solid 2.4% in January, the sharpest increase in seven months. That followed two straight monthly spending drops. Economists project consumer spending declined by 0.4% in February.

Consumer spending, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

Sept. 1.3

Oct. 0.2

Nov. -0.6

Dec. -0.4

Jan. 2.4

Feb. (est.) -0.4

Source: FactSet