Last week the Congress was in recess, and the big economic news was the final read on GDP for 2010’s Q4 and entire year. Advisors’ interests will likely return to Washington this week as President Obama addresses the nation on Libya on Monday and as negotiations heat up regarding the federal budget for 2011 and 2012.
Some high-profile hearings will also take place on healthcare reform, the budget, nuclear power in the wake of Japan and tax policies. Over the weekend, Securities America reported that negotiations between it and the parties to a class-action lawsuit over the sale of certain Reg D securities were showing signs of success; stay tuned for more news on that settlement and on how Securities America reps are reacting to the entire issue.
At the business week’s end we hear about the jobs situation for March and auto sales, while during the week we hear about personal income and spending early, the Case-Shiller home price index, and additional employment reports. All times listed are Eastern time.
Monday, March 28
8:30 AM: Personal income and consumer spending for February from the Commerce Department.
10:00 AM: Pending home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors.
7:30 PM: President Obama speech on U.S. actions in Libya from the National Defense University in Washington, DC .
Tuesday, March 29
9:00 AM: Housing prices from Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index.
10:00 AM: Consumer confidence for March, released by The Conference Board.
10:00 AM: Hearing on proposals for the future of the housing finance system, at the Senate Banking Committee.
2:30 PM: Hearing on the economic ramifications of a cyber attack, at the Senate Commerce Committee.
7:50 PM: Report on Japan industrial production from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Wednesday, March 30
8:15 AM: Monthly national employment report from ADP.
10:00 AM: Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on President Obama’s budget proposal before Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education.
10:00 AM: Hearing on “How Do Complexity, Uncertainty and Other Factors Impact Responses to Tax Incentives?” before the full Senate Finance Committee.
10:00 AM: Hearing on policies for job creation before House Ways and Means Committee.
10:00 AM: NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko testifies on nuclear safety in aftermath of Japanese earthquake, before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.
2:00 PM: Doug Elmendorf and others testify on “The Costs of Implementing the Dodd-Frank Act: Budgetary and Economic” before the House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
Thursday, March 31
8:30 AM: Initial unemployment insurance jobless claims from the Department of Labor.
8:30 AM: ISM report on manufacturing activity in the New York area in March, from Institute of Supply Management.
9:45 AM: Chicago PMI on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area in March, from the Purchasing Managers Institute.
10:00 AM: Factory orders for February, released by the Census Bureau.
10:00 AM: Hearing on steps to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, at the House Financial Services subcommittee on Capital Markets & Government-Sponsored Enterprises.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on official visit to Nanjing, China
Friday, April 1
8:30 AM: The employment situation for March, from the Labor Department.
10:00 AM: Construction spending for February from the Census Bureau.
