Financial Options

The first week of June will be a busy one for investors watching economic news with reports on manufacturing, housing and retail sales early in the week and employment related reports dominating Wednesday through Friday. There's no single indicator that will really set the tone for the whole week with big news almost every day.

Monday, the Institute for Supply Management will release its Manufacturing Report on Business with the headline Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) number and the auto makers will release their May sales. Of real interest for those following the Big Three woes will be whether the prediction that «no one will buy cars from a bankrupt car company» hold true for Chrysler. Also Monday, the Commerce Department will release Constrution Spending and Personal Income and Spending reports. The first employment indicator of the week, the Help Wanted Online Data Series, is also due out Monday from the Conference Board.

Tuesday's big number will be the Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors, which after last week's predictable mixed week in housing will set the tone of housing related discussion for the next three weeks.

Wednesday, there's more from manufacturing with the Factory Orders report from the Commerce Department plus the ISM will hit us with their Nonmanufacturing Report on Business to round out the view of the total private sector economy. The employment reports start in earnest Wednesday with the Challenger Report on layoffs and the ADP Employment report. With oil prices starting to get out of control heading into summer driving season and threatening a consumer confidence led recovery before it really gets started, the Wednesday oil report is important for more than just oil prices.

Thursday means more employment news with the Monster Employment Index which combines with Monday's Conference Board report to give a clear and complete picture of online hiring activity. In a week of labor market reports, it might be easy to ignore the weekly jobless claims, but if they can follow last week's drop to start a mini-trend, that's more good news for consumer confidence and the overall economic picture. Major retail chain stores will report on their May sales on Thursday, rounding out the retail big picture.

Friday is the big day with the Labor Department releasing the Employment Situation Report, widely expected to show another half million jobs lost and unemployment ticking above 9%. Also Friday, the Fed will report on Consumer Credit – any stabilization there bodes well for retail sales.

The Treasury Department has some extra activity this week, in addition to the normal weekly T-Bill auctions. Tuesday, there's an auction of 52-week T-bills and Thursday there are announcements of 3-year and 10-year Treasury Note auctions. With federal borrowing way up, there's potential here for numbers that could spook markets, especially Forex, though the federal borrowing should be priced in.