-Tuesday (June 21/23): Housing; -Thursday (June 23): Employment; -Friday (June 24): GDP/Industrial.
U.S. data due this week will likely underscore the current bout of weakness. A report on Tuesday is expected to show sales of previously owned U.S. homes declined in May, in part the result of tornadoes and floods that slammed large parts of the country. Weekly data on jobless benefit claims on Thursday could shed clues on whether employment improved in June after the economy added a disappointing 54,000 jobs last month. The claims data covers the survey period for the June employment report, due early next month. Economists expect first-time applications for state unemployment benefits were little changed at 414,000 in the week ended June 18. Signs of economic slowdown have also been evident in other advanced economies. On Friday, the International Monetary Fund warned of threats to world growth, citing the euro zone debt crisis and signs of overheating in emerging market economies. It trimmed its forecast for 2011 U.S. growth but raised its euro zone projection. But even in Europe, sentiment is souring due to the troubling sovereign debt crisis. A survey on Friday is expected to show a dip in business confidence in Germany, with the Ifo business climate index forecast to slip to 113.5 in June from 114.2 the prior month. '+'
