Looking Ahead: Week of November 5 to November 9
Market News International compiles a market consensus that surveys 15 to 20 economists each week.

Tuesday
Economists are predicting that Fed officials will reduce the federal funds rate target 50 basis points to 2 percent and the discount rate down to 1.50 percent at the FOMC meeting.

Wednesday
The market consensus shows that nonfarm productivity is predicted to rise at a 2.1 percent rate in the third quarter. This would match the second quarter gain. (Forecast range: 0.3 to 3.1 percent) Economists are predicting that unit labor costs will rise at a 2.5 percent rate in the third quarter, slightly less than the 2.71 percent rate posted in the second quarter. (Forecast range: 1.0 to 3.5 percent).

Consumer installment credit is expected to remain unchanged in September after gaining a modest $2.3 billion in August. This reflects sluggish auto sales and a sharp drop in retail sales. (Forecast range: $-5.0 to 2.0 billion).

Thursday
The market consensus is looking for new jobless claims to inch up 1,000 to 500,000 in the week ended November 7 from last week's level of 499,000. (Forecast range: -84,000 to +26,000)

Friday
The producer price index is expected to drop 0.5 percent in October due largely to declines in energy prices, but also food prices. (Forecast range: -1.0 to +0.3 percent) At the same time, the PPI excluding food and energy prices are predicted to decrease 0.1 percent for the month helped by auto incentives. (Forecast range: -0.3 to +0.2 percent)