Last week there were several headlines for investors to digest; banks repossesed 100,000 homes in September, according to Realty Trac. This comes as all 50 states launched and investigation into whether the mortgage industry used robo-signing to process thousands of home foreclosures, and new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly by 13,000, but continuing claims declined by 112,000 as people either found work or exhausted their benefits. In the week ahead, earning season continues with reports from McDonald’s, UPS and AT&T. Investors also await reports on economy, housing, and production.
We’ll gain insight on the economy with theFed’s beige book —which looks at economic trends from the Fed’s twelve districts such as Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco. The last report said the economy will continue to grow at a modest pace.
We’ll get a read on housing with the September Housing Starts report. In August, new home construction surged 10.5 percent, which was the largest increase since November 2009, and building permits—a gauge of future construction—also rose 1.8 percent.
We’ll get another read on the economy with the industrial production report for September. The report looks at manufacturing, mining and utilities. In August, production growth slowed in August, up .2 percent weighed down by a drop in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing.