Falling House Prices, Fed's Preferred Inflation Gauge, Eroding Consumer Confidence And More: Benzinga's Weekly Main Street Monitor

The past week’s economic events panned largely in line with expectations, as reflected by the positive market performance.

What Happened: The week started with the Swiss central bank brokering a deal to bail out troubled investment bank Credit Suisse AG CS. Expectedly, the Fed raised the fed funds rate by 25 basis points and also signaled in the post-meeting policy statement a potential pause.

See Also: How To Invest In Startups

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s assertion that the inflation fight would continue and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s backtracking on systemwide insurance of bank deposits created some concerns among market participants.

Housing readings confirmed the bounce around the bottom. Weekly mortgage application volume rose for the third straight week, thanks to a fall in mortgage rates. New home sales also climbed 1.1% month-over-month in February, although down 19% from a year ago and existing home sales jumped 14.5% month-over-month, snapping a 12-month falling streak. The year-over-year comparison showed a 22.6% plunge.

Durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in February compared to the previous month, with the volatile transportation orders serving as a drag.

Here are the key economic reports that matter for traders in the unfolding week:

Fed Speeches Galore: After the Fed blackout period expiring last week, the market would get to hear from more Fed speakers this week. Their comments on the rationale behind the 0.25 percentage-point hike and their view on the future interest-rate trajectory would also be of interest to the market.

Among those lined up to speak this week are:

• Philip Jefferson, Fed Governor (Monday, at 5 p.m. EDT).
• Michael Barr, Fed Governor (Tuesday, at 10 a.m. EDT) testifying before the Senate on banks.
• Barr (Wednesday, at 10 a.m. EDT) testifying before the House.
• Susan Collins, Boston Fed President (Thursday, at 12:45 p.m. EDT).
• Christopher Waller, Fed Governor (Friday, at 10 a.m. EDT).
• Lisa Cook, Fed Governor (Friday, at 5:45 p.m. EDT).
• More Housing Data: Apart from the regularly scheduled Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications volume data, the week will also witness the release of house prices and pending home sales data.

Tuesday, the Federal House Finance Agency house price index report is due at 9 a.m. EDT. Economists, on average, expect house prices to have fallen 0.2% month-over-month in January, steeper than the 0.1% drop in December.

Wednesday, MBA’s mortgage application volume data is due at 7 a.m. EDT. Applications volume rose for the third straight week in the week ended March 17.

The S&P/Case-Shiller house price data is also due on Wednesday at 9 a.m. EDT. The seasonally adjusted 20-city composite house price index may have fallen 0.5% month-over-month in January, the same pace of decline as in the previous month.

GDP, Consumer Spending: The week also will witness the release of the second revision to fourth-quarter GDP data and the personal spending and income report.

The advanced fourth-quarter GDP growth estimate scheduled to be released on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EDT is expected to come in at 2.7%, unchanged from the preliminary estimate.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis will also release the personal income and spending report for February on Friday at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The two metrics are expected to show monthly growth rates of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. In January, personal income and spending climbed 0.6% and 1.8%, respectively. The annual rate of the core price consumption expenditure index is expected at 4.7%, the same pace as in the previous month. This reading is Fed’s preferred inflation gauge that guides its decisions.

Consumer Confidence Readings: The Conference Board’s consumer confidence data, due to be released on Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT, is expected to show a decline from 102.9 in February to 101.3 in March.

The University of Michigan’s revised consumer sentiment data for March will be released on Friday at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists, on average, expect the headline index to be revised down from the preliminary reading of 63.4 to 63. In February, the index was at 67.

Other Major Data: The Chicago Fed is scheduled to release its regional business barometer index on Friday at 9:45 a.m. EDT. The index for March is expected to come in at 43.6, flat with the previous month and underlining continued contraction in business activity.

Treasury auctions for various maturities are also scheduled for the week.

Read Next: Elon Musk Flags The 'Most Serious Looming Issue' By Far And Another — Should You Be Worried?