After the release this past week of notes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting provided little new information on the group’s timing intentions on any interest rate hike, a series of new data points will be the focus of market narratives in the days ahead. Measures of spending and the health of the housing market will take a backseat to revised GDP. The annual Jackson Hole symposium will provide global policymakers the opportunity to weigh in on the risks presented by the recent meltdown in emerging markets. In Canada, a series of bank earnings announcements will be watched for signals that a weakened loonie and a slump in energy prices is impacting the private sector. Toward the end of the week thousands of people including several celebrities and Silicon Valley glitterati will descend on the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada for Burning Man, a week-long fete of art and community.
Monday, August 24: Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart, recently one of the FOMC’s more hawkish voices, speaks at the Public Pension Funding Forum, an event in Berkeley, California, co-sponsored by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems and the Institute on Public Pension Solutions.
Tuesday, August 25: June Case-Shiller national home price levels will be announced on Tuesday, with consensus forecasts for the benchmark 20-city index to climb by an annualized 5.1 percent, versus 4.9 in May. Some analysts have argued that rising home prices provides another argument in favor of Federal Reserve tightening in September, in order to prevent low mortgages prices from feeding a bubble.
Wednesday, August 26: National Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Canada report earnings, one day after Bank of Montreal makes its quarterly announcement. Despite major international operations, the largest Canadian banks still derive the majority of revenues at home, a possible cause for concern as the Canadian dollar has recently come under pressure on slowing global demand for commodities.
Thursday, August 27: The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium kicks off. Originally conceived in the ‘70s as an agricultural-focused economic summit, the 2015 symposium is entitled “Inflation Dynamics and Monetary Policy.” One notable policymaker who will be absent from the annual confab in the Rockies will be Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who will be unable to attend due to the timing of the next Fed meeting.
Friday, August 28: The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis releases second-quarter GDP and personal consumption expenditure data. Economists’ consensus forecasts call for an annualized reading of more than 3 percent versus the disappointing 2.3 percent initial estimate released in late July.
Sunday, August 30: The Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada will come alive with light shows, music and colorful costumes as the 29th annual Burning Man festival kicks off. This year’s theme is “Carnival of Mirrors.” During the weeklong event, participants join in the effort to co-create Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis, with the event culminating Saturday night with the burning of an effigy. More than 65,000 people attended the festival last year.
