Retail sales, Fed policy update, existing home sales WSOC TV [Video]

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

Tracking retail sales

The Commerce Department releases its monthly snapshot of U.S. retail sales Tuesday.

Retail sales rose 0.4% in October from the previous month, more evidence that healthy consumer spending is driving the economy’s steady growth. The increase was driven by stepped up spending at auto dealers, restaurants, and electronics and appliance stores. Economists project that retail sales rose 0.5% in November.

Retail sales, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

June -0.3

July 1.2

Aug. -0.1

Sept. 0.8

Oct. 0.4

Nov. (est.): 0.5

Source: FactSet

The Fed speaks

Federal Reserve officials will wrap up a two-day meeting and issue an interest rate policy update Wednesday.

At their meeting last month, Fed officials reduced the central bank’s main interest rate by a quarter-point. That followed a larger half-point reduction in September. The central bank is widely expected to announce another rate cut, although some Fed officials suggested recently …