This Week in Business: Consumer confidence, Apple earnings, October jobs report
Gauging consumers
The Conference Board on Tuesday issues its consumer confidence report for October.
Analysts expect that American consumers' confidence fell for the third straight month under the weight of high interest rates, lingering inflation and geopolitical crises. Last month's most troubling sign was the decline in the index measuring future expectations, which tumbled to 73.7. Readings below 80 for future expectations historically signal a recession within a year.
Consumer confidence, by month:
May: 102.5
June: 110.1
July: 114.0
Aug.: 108.7
Sept.: 103.0
Oct. (est.): 100
Source: FactSet
Apple results
Apple reports its fourth-quarter sales and profit figures on Thursday after markets close.
Analysts expect Apple made $1.39 per share on sales of $89.3 billion. In the third quarter, Apple eked out a slightly higher profit, though sales dipped during the period. It was the third consecutive quarter of falling revenue for the Cupertino, California company, its longest stretch of falling sales in nearly seven years.
Eye on jobs
The Labor Department offers up its monthly jobs report Friday morning.
Despite the Federal Reserve's effort to tame inflation and cool the economy by raising interest rates, the labor market has held strong. In September, U.S. employers added 336,000 jobs, exceeding the 227,000 for August. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%, near a 50-year low. Analysts are forecasting slower job gains in October.
Nonfarm payrolls, monthly change, seasonally adjusted:
May: 281,000
June: 105,000
July: 236,000
Aug.: 227,000
Sept.: 336,000
Oct. (est.): 175,000
Source: FactSet
