On Tap Today: Consumer Price Index, Industrial Production Report

Bloodied and battered, the market limps into today's triple-witching in search of an antidote for its most recent ailments. Today's cauldron combines a healthy dose of economic data, a pinch of earnings, a dash of IPO news and plenty of uncertainty.

Headlining the spate of scheduled events are the releases of the Consumer Price Index and the Industrial Production report for May. The CPI measures prices of a fixed basket of goods such as food, shelter, transportation, utilities, medical care and the like. Economists view the data as a cost-of-living benchmark in that they are used to adjust Social Security payments, union contracts and tax brackets.

The industrial production data measure the change in production of the country's factories, mines and utilities. Both indicators should factor in today's trading session.

On the earnings front, consumer electronics retailer Circuit City(CC) issues its quarterly results. According to Thomson Financial/First Call, the Richmond, Va.-based firm is expected to post first-quarter profits of 4 cents a share, which would be down from 28 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Shares traded down 38 cents, or 2.4%, to $15.40 yesterday.

Economic Data

(Forecasts are from Reuters. Times are Eastern. For a longer-term economic calendar and more, see TSC's Economic Databank.)

• 8:30 a.m.: Consumer Price Index for May. Source: Labor Department. Forecast: +0.3%. Previous: +0.3%. Ex-Food and Energy: Forecast: +0.2%. Previous: +0.2%

• 8:30 a.m.: Real earnings for May. Source: Labor Department. Forecast: n.a. Previous: -0.1%.

• 9:15 a.m.: Industrial Production for May. Source: Federal Reserve. Forecast: -0.4%. Previous: -0.3%. Capacity utilization: Forecast: 78.0%. Previous: 78.5%.

• 10 a.m.: Consumer Sentiment Index for May-preliminary. Source: University of Michigan. Forecast: 91.9. Previous: 92.9.

IPO Quiet Periods Expiring

(TheStreet.com's Ben Holmes, who heads TSC's ipoPros.com subsidiary, keeps a close eye on quiet period expirations every week. For more on quiet periods and why they matter, check out Holmes' primer on the subject. For information on IPO pricings, filings and aftermarket activity, plus a calendar of upcoming IPOs, check out TheStreet.com's IPO data section.)

Quiet Period End	Deal Name	Symbol	Lead Underwriter
6/15/01	Peabody	(BTU:NYSE)	Lehman Brothers

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