by Calculated Risk on 7/16/2012 10:09:00 PM

This will be a busy day for economic data, but first from Tim Duy: A Slap in The Face

The retail sales number should be a slap in the face for any FOMC members sitting on the fence. ... Note ... that the 2010 slowdown in sales did not foreshadow a recession. But it did foreshadow the Jackson Hole speech and QE2. With that in mind, I would expect Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to acknowledge the deceleration of activity when he marches up to Capitol Hill this week. And such acknowledgement would be a signal that more easing is on its way.

• At 8:30 AM ET, the Consumer Price Index for June will be released. The consensus is for headline CPI to be unchanged in June and for core CPI to increase 0.2%.

• At 9:15 AM, the Fed will release Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for June. The consensus is for Industrial Production to increase 0.3% in June, and for Capacity Utilization to increase to 79.2%.

• At 10:00 AM, the July NAHB homebuilder confidence survey will be released. The consensus is for a reading of 30, up slightly from 29 in June.


• Also at 10:00 AM, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will provide the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Bernanke's comments will be analyzed closely for any comments about QE3, although he hasn't used this forum in the past to hint at further action.

For the July contest: