CPI: Tomorrow's Headliners

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The consumer price index will be the highlight of Wednesday's session, as investors will look for any sign that inflation has crept in at the consumer level.

The headline CPI number, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT, should rise 0.3% in August after coming in flat the month prior. The core number, which excludes food and energy, should increase by a tame 0.1% in August as it did in July.

Economists will also be monitoring the year-over-year movements. In July, the headline CPI number was down 2.1% year over year, the fastest decline since January 1950. On the other hand, the core number increased 1.5% year over year in July.

Several other economic reports are also scheduled for release Wednesday. At 9 a.m. EDT, the July report on net long-term TIC flows will be published, with economists expecting a decline to $65 billion from $90.7 billion the previous month, indicating that foreign investors lessened their demand for U.S. financial assets.

Minutes later, the Federal Reserve will release the August report on industrial production and capacity utilization. Production likely rose 0.6% after a 0.5% advance in July, and capacity utilization should increase to 69%, up slightly from 68.5% in July.

Turning to stocks, Oracle (ORCL Quote) will be in focus after Wednesday's close when it reports earnings alongside Dress Barn (DBRN Quote) and CKE Restaurants (CKR Quote).

Analysts expect Oracle to notch a fiscal first-quarter profit of 30 cents a share on revenue of $5.24 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Investors will also listen to the company's conference call for news on Oracle's bid to acquire Sun Microsystems (JAVA Quote).