The Week Ahead: Fed decision, jobs report, eBay and Etsy earnings

Economic Indicators

JOLTS: The US Labor Department will release data on job openings and job quits for September. In August, job openings fell to their lowest level since June 2021 in a sign of some tightening emerging in what had been a hot job market. (Nov. 1)

Federal Open Markets Committee meeting: The Federal Reserve will issue its latest decision on whether and by how much to raise its benchmark interest rate. The Fed has delivered three consecutive interest rate hikes of 0.75% as it seeks to slow the economy in an effort to bring down inflation to the target of 2%. In the month since the last hike, inflation has moved little, while consumer demand has remained intact despite a dour mood. The Wall Street Journal’s Nick Timiraos reported that another 0.75% hike is on the way, but there is likely to be debate among committee members about when to slow the hikes. (Nov. 2)

Jobs report: The monthly report on new jobs created and unemployment is released by the US Labor Department. In September, the economy added its lowest number of new jobs since April 2021. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, offering a sign that the jobs market remained robust, even as it showed that the Fed’s interest rate hike was not yet having the desired impact. (Nov. 4)

Earnings

• Tues., Nov. 1: Pitney Bowes, Clorox, Uber, Mondelez International.
• Wed., Nov. 2: Etsy, eBay, elf Beauty, Hostess Brands, Bausch + Lomb, Canada Goose, Estee Lauder, iRobot.
• Thurs., Nov. 3: BigCommerce, Under Armour, Carvana, Kellogg Co., DoorDash, Poshmark, Wayfair, Peloton, Revlon.
• Fri., Nov. 4: Hershey, Qurate Retail.