Concerns on weakness of US economy likely to set tone for the week

This week:The tone for this week is likely to be set by the comments that emerged from the G7 meeting over the weekend, with concerns over the weakness of the US economy expected to be dominant. Data on Thursday on new home sales in the US will be scrutinised for any hint that the sharp downturn in the housing market is abating.

Tomorrow night at the Leopardstown Pavilion, the Shell LiveWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards will take place.

Monday

RESULTS:American Express, Apple, Brown & Brown, Edwards Lifesciences, Electrolux AB, ExpressJet Holdings, Halliburton Company, Merck, PrivateBancorp, Regis Corporation, Schering- Plough, Washington Trust Bancorp.

OTHERS:National conference, Balancing Regional Development, Éamon Ó Cuív to attend ( Bunratty Shannon Shamrock Hotel, Co Clare, to tomorrow); Final day of 2007 annual meetings of World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (Washington); Federal Reserve governor Randall Kroszner addresses Institute of International Bankers (Washington); EU begins trade talks with Central America (San José); Japanese ESRI forum on economic policy (Toyko).

Tuesday

RESULTS:Actel, Amazon.com, Ameritrade, AT&T, Autonomy, BP, Chubb, Debenhams, ICON, JetBlue Airways, Lockheed Martin, Novellus Systems, Prudential, Rohm and Haas, Susquehanna Bancshares, the New York Times, Unisys, Western Union, Whirlpool, XL Capital.

INDICATORS:EU industrial orders (August); Irish external trade balance (August); UK CBI monthly trend (Oct); French household consumption (Sept); Italian consumer confidence (Oct); Japanese all-industry index (August).

OTHERS:Shell LiveWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards (Leopardstown Pavilion); ESRI conference, Budget Perspectives 2008 (ESRI, Dublin); ICAI to host regulators conference, Sharing Perspectives, (Druids Glen, Wicklow); Launch of OECD publication Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: Monitoring and Evaluation, in Geneva and Washington DC; trading update from Prudential; former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan speaks at the Midwest Capital Connection conference (Chicago).

Wednesday

RESULTS:AT Cross, Amgen, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, ConocoPhillips, Fiat, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Home Retail Group, Iberiabank, LAN Airlines, Merrill Lynch, Moody's, PepsiAmericas, Reckitt Benckiser, Nasdaq, Volvo.

AGM:CPL Resources (Merrion Hotel).

INDICATORS:EU current account (August); Irish retail sales index (August); US existing homes sales (September); Italian business confidence (October); Japanese trade balance (Sept); New Zealand RBNZ rate announcement.

OTHERS:Marketing Society autumn seminar, (6 Kildare Street); Enterprise Ireland conference on Open Innovation (Stillorgan Park Hotel); William Slattery, managing director State Street Bank breakfast lecture on the evolution of financial services regulation in Ireland (7am-9am, Waterford Institute of Technology Business School); information breakfast on A New Beginning, with Nick Leeson and Paul Moloney of Dublin Docklands Authority (Clarion Hotel, IFSC); Trading update from Friends Provident; ECB president Jean- Claude Trichet and ECB Governing Council member Nicholas Garganas in panel discussion on future of Europe (Frankfurt).

Thursday

RESULTS:Black & Decker, Bristol- Myers Squibb, Daimler, Genesis Lease, Genworth Financial, Motorola, Royal Dutch Shell, Estée Lauder, Trinity Biotech.

AGM:Great Western Mining Corporation, 12pm (Merrion Hotel)

INDICATORS:Irish vehicles licensed for the first time (Sept) and wholesale price index (Sept); US durable goods orders (Sept), initial jobless claims (w/e October 20th) and new home sales (September); German Ifo business climate index (October).

OTHERS:Martin Cullen hosts pre- budget forum (10am St Andrew's Resource Centre, Pearse Street); Richard Rushing, wireless security expert, speaks at conference Wireless Hacks and Defences (9am, Clarence Hotel); Trading updates Aviva and PartyGaming; ECB Governing Council meeting (Frankfurt); Secon international payments summit (Milan).

Friday

RESULTS:Ingersoll-Rand, MJ Gleeson, Nissan.

INDICATORS:EU M3 (Sept); Irish industrial stocks (Q2), capital assets in industry (Q2); US Michigan Sentiment (Oct); German GFK consumer confidence (Nov); Japanese industrial production (Sept) and Core CPI (Sept)

OTHERS:Trading update from Legal & General.