Week of November 27 to December 1
Market News International compiles a market consensus that surveys 15 - 20 economists each week. The survey size is smaller in this holiday-shortened week.

Monday
Market players are looking for existing home sales to edge up 0.8 percent in October to a 5.18 million-unit rate in October after dropping 2.7 percent in September. While existing home sales are trending down after surging 9.5 percent in August, the overall level of housing activity remains pretty healthy. (Forecast range: 5.00 million to 5.25 million)

Tuesday
The consensus calls for a 1.8 percent drop in durable goods orders in October after gaining an average of 3 percent per month in the previous two months. This incorporates a drop in aircraft orders, but also declines in other core components as well. (Forecast range: -0.2 percent to -3.0 percent).

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index is expected to remain roughly unchanged in November at 135.0 after declining in October. As long as the job market remains robust and inflationary pressures are not accelerating, consumers tend to remain optimistic about economic conditions. (Forecast range: 134.0 to 139.0).

Wednesday
Economists are predicting real GDP will be revised lower for the third quarter to a 2.0 percent rate, down from the advance estimate that showed a 2.7 percent rate of growth. The downward revision is expected to come from less inventory accumulation and also a much wider trade deficit. (Forecast range: 1.7 percent to 2.5 percent) Economists expect real final sales will be revised down by a smaller amount to a 2.4 percent rate from a 2.7 percent rate. (Forecast range: 2.2 percent to 2.6 percent) The GDP price deflator should remain unchanged at a 2 percent rate.

Thursday
Market participants are expecting new jobless claims to edge down 6,000 in the week ended November 25 from last week's 336,000 level. (Forecast range: -6,000 to +4,000)

Personal income is expected to edge up 0.1 percent in October after gaining 1.1 percent in September. Last month's income figures were boosted by farm subsidy payments and this is unlikely to be repeated in October. (Forecast range: -0.1 percent to 0.4 percent) Personal consumption expenditures should increase 0.2 percent in October, a mere fraction of the 0.8 percent gain posted in the previous month. (Forecast range: 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent)

Economists are predicting that the Chicago purchasing managers' index will edge down to 48 percent in November from 48.7 in October. This keeps the index below 50 percent and suggests that manufacturing activity is still declining.

Friday
The market consensus calls for the NAPM survey to remain virtually unchanged at 48.1 percent in November. This suggests that manufacturing activity is still contracting. (Forecast range: 47.3 to 49.5) At the same time, the prices paid component coming from the NAPM survey is expected to head down to 55 percent in November from a level of 56.5 percent in October.

Construction expenditures are predicted to remain unchanged in October after posting healthy gains in the previous two months. Spending on residential construction is slowing down, but nonresidential investment spending is going strong. (Forecast range: -0.5 percent to 0.5 percent)