On Tap Today: Greenspan Addresses Congress; January Retail Sales Released
Today the market looks to Fed chairman
Alan Greenspan for guidance as he delivers his Humphrey-Hawkins testimony, in which he'll speak about current economic conditions and deliver his predictions for 2001. In a separate story,
TheStreet.com's
David Gaffen provides some
insight into the possible implications of today's testimony.
As for economic data, several spending indicators hit the Street today, led by the January
Retail sales report. This timely indicator measures the total number of sales at retail businesses; it typically moves markets.
Following closely on the heels of the retail sales report are the
BTM-UBSW Weekly Chain Store Sales Index and the
Redbook Retail Average.
In earnings news, semiconductor big shot
Applied Materials
(AMAT)
announces earnings for its fiscal first quarter. Wall Street expects the company to post earnings of 63 cents a share, compared with 24 cents a share a year ago.
Shares of Applied Materials traded up 3.5% to finish at $44 yesterday.
All that and a few lockup expirations will make for a busy day on Wall Street.
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Expected Earnings Reports
This table includes S&P 500 companies only. Dates are as expected according to First Call/Thomson Financial, and may change. The full week's earnings calendar is published separately .
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.:
Retail sales for January. Source:
Census Bureau. Forecast: +0.6%. Previous: +0.1%.
Ex-autos: Forecast: +0.4%. Previous: unchgd.
9 a.m.:
BTM-UBSW Weekly Chain Store Sales Index for the week ended Feb 10. Source:
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg. Forecast: n.a.. Previous: -0.1%.
10 a.m.: Greenspan testimony. Source:
Federal Reserve. The Fed Chairman testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on the economy and monetary policy, an appearance formerly known as
Humphrey-Hawkins.
10:30 a.m.:
Redbook Retail Average for the week through Feb. 10 vs. January. Source: LJR Redbook Forecast: n.a.. Previous: +2.2%.
IPO Lockups Expiring
(TheStreet.com's
Michael Falbo, who writes for
TSC's
ipoPros.com subsidiary, keeps a close eye on lockup expirations every week. For more on lockup expirations and why they matter, check out Ben Holmes' primer on the subject. The full current lockup expiration list is published separately. For information on IPO pricings, filings and aftermarket activity, plus a calendar of upcoming IPOs, check out
TheStreet.com's
IPO data section.
)
Conferences and Meetings
-
Robertson Stephens Tech 2001 Conference (Day 2)
