Jobless Claims, RIM: Tomorrow's Headliners

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The weekly read on initial jobless claims and earnings from Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIMM Quote) will headline a busy session for investors Thursday.

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the Labor Department will release its weekly report on initial jobless claims. Last week, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 545,000, the lowest level in two months, from a revised 557,000 in the previous week. This time around, economists polled by Reuters expect claims to rise slightly to 550,000.

Also on the economic front, the National Association of Realtors will release the August reading on existing-home sales, which economists expect will rise to 5.33 million units from 5.24 million in July.

Turning to corporate news, RIM will get the most attention when the company reports quarterly results after the closing bell. The Blackberry maker is expected to report quarterly earnings of $1 a share on revenue of $3.62 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

In addition to RIM, Finish Line (FINL Quote) will be on Thursday's late slate of earnings. Before the market opens Thursday, Rite Aid (RAD Quote) and McCormick (MKC Quote) will report earnings.

Elsewhere, the Group of 20 economic summit will convene in Pittsburgh Thursday and will run until the weekend. President Obama will host the meeting, which comes one year after the start of the global financial crisis was triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in New York.