by Calculated Risk on 8/30/2012 09:10:00 PM

The focus on Friday will be Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

Earlier this week, ECB President Mario Draghi cancelled his speech on Saturday. Here is an update on Europe, from the Financial Times: Brussels pushes for wide ECB powers

The European Central Bank would be given sweeping authority over all 6,000 eurozone banks under a plan being drawn up by the European Commission ... The plan, agreed at a meeting this week between top aides to José Manuel Barroso, commission president, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s senior financial regulator, would strip existing national supervisors of almost all authority to shut down or restructure their countries’ failing banks, giving those powers to Frankfurt.
Excerpt with permission.

Europe will be back on the front pages next week.

On Friday:
• At 9:45 AM ET, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for August will be released. The consensus is for a decrease to 53.0, down from 53.7 in July.

• At 9:55 AM ET, the final Reuter's/University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index for August will be released. The consensus is for a reading of 73.5, down from the preliminary August reading of 73.6, and up from the July reading of 72.3.

• At 10:00 AM, the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders (Factory Orders) for July will be released. The consensus is for a 0.9% increase in orders.

• Also at 10:00 AM, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, "Monetary Policy Since the Crisis"