This Week: Nike earns, home sales, consumer spending

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:

Spotlight on Nike

Wall Street expects that Nike’s latest quarterly snapshot will show mixed results.

Analysts predict the athletic shoe and apparel maker’s fiscal second-quarter earnings declined from a year earlier, even as revenue increased. That would be in line with Nike’s first-quarter results, when the company’s bottom line took a hit as it had to offer discounts to clear out suddenly overstuffed warehouses. Nike reports its quarterly results Tuesday.

Housing barometer

The National Association of Realtors delivers its November tally of U.S. home sales Wednesday.

Economists predict sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.2 million properties last month. That would follow an annual pace of 4.43 million homes in October, when sales fell for the ninth consecutive month to the slowest pre-pandemic pace in more than 10 years amid sharply higher mortgage rates and rising home prices.

Existing home sales, in millions, seasonally adjusted annual rate:

June 5.11

July 4.82

Aug. 4.78

Sept. 4.71

Oct. 4.43

Nov. (est.) 4.20

Source: FactSet

Inflation bellwether

The Commerce Department releases its latest monthly snapshot of consumer spending Friday.

Economists project the personal consumption expenditure price index rose 0.4% in November from a month earlier. That would be down from a 0.8% increase the previous month. The report is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve as a barometer of inflation, which the central bank has been trying to bring down with a series of aggressive interest rate increases.

Consumer spending, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

June 1.2

July -0.2

Aug. 0.7

Sept. 0.6

Oct. 0.8

Nov. (est.) 0.4

Source: FactSet