Spotlight on economy: Retailers, home sellers may

Spotlight on economy : Retailers, home sellers may see softness
Sales at U.S. retailers were probably on the softer side in October, and purchases of previously homes may have fallen slightly in the same month, according to economists polled by MarketWatch.

Those two reports, along with the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last big meeting, highlight a busy day of data. Yet the general theme likely to emerge is no big surprise – the economy is growing at a mild pace as it enters the holiday season.

Retail sales, issued at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, are forecast to be unchanged in October. Sales may have been hurt by the government shutdown, but slow wage growth and a high unemployment rate have been the biggest handcuffs on retail shopping. Much of the increase in retail sales over the past few years have been driven by auto sales – Americans are replacing aging cars at a time when interest rates are still quite low.

Existing home sales, meanwhile, are projected to dip to an annual rate of 5.10 million last month from 5.29 million in September. Higher mortgage rates compared to late summer could be one reason why fewer prospective buyers are ready to sign the dotted line. That report will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Other reports on tap include the consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. and business inventories at 10 a.m., but neither is expected to influence markets. The more important of the pair, on consumer inflation, has generally been muted since the 2007-2009 recession.

The Fed, for its part, will issue a mid-afternoon summary of its last meeting to discuss the health of the economy and decide on interest rates. Investors will look for any signs that the Fed is whistling a different tune on an economy that constantly fallen short of the bank’s rosier growth forecasts. http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/20...-softness/