A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
JUST CHARGE IT
The Federal Reserve issues its July snapshot of U.S. consumer borrowing Tuesday.
The tally, which excludes mortgages and other loans secured by real estate, is expected to show consumer borrowing increased by $16 billion, up from an increase of $9 billion the previous month. That gain in June pushed total consumer credit to $4.12 trillion. Consumer borrowing is closely watched for signals about potential consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity.
Consumer credit, monthly change, seasonally adjusted, billions of dollars:
Feb. 20.5
March -16.1
April -65.3
May -14.4
June 9.0
July (est.) 16.0
Source: FactSet
HIRING PICKUP?
The number of job openings is rising as more businesses that closed due to the pandemic reopen.
U.S. employers advertised about 5.9 million jobs in June, the second monthly increase in a row. Economists expect that the number of advertised openings increased in July to just under 6 million jobs. That would still be below the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million. The Labor Department issues its July snapshot of job openings Wednesday.
Job openings, by month:
Feb. 7,004,000
March 6,011,000
April 4,996,000
May 5,371,000
June 5,889,000
July (est.) 5,950,000
Source: FactSet
SPOTLIGHT ON KROGER
Wall Street expects another strong quarterly report card from Kroger.
Analysts predict the supermarket operator will report Friday that its earnings and revenue rose sharply in the May-July quarter from a year earlier. That would echo the company’s results in the February-April period. Kroger is benefiting from solid sales as Americans stock up during the pandemic. Consumers are also relying more on grocery shopping as many restaurants have been shuttered or open on a limited basis.
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