One day ahead of the all-important Nonfarm Payrolls report for May, the focus is on speeches from Federal Reserve officials, overseas policy, and Treasury auctions.
The weekly Jobless Claims report for the final week of May is expected to show 620,000 new filings for unemployment benefits. It’s safe to say an outlier figure will be considered a blip due to the four-day week from Memorial Day. Continuing Claims have have been setting record highs one week after the next and this report is unlikely to be an exception.
The only other data coming out are some revisions to the Q1 Productivity and Costs report. The consensus looks for nonfarm productivity to rise 1.2% and unit labor costs to rise 2.8%.
Three central bank officials give their assessment of the where the economy is heading today. At 7:50, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto speaks to INVESTKentucky, followed by a Q&A. Ten minutes later, New York Fed President William Dudley speaks to the SIFMA conference in New York.
At 8:45, Chairman Ben Bernanke gives opening remarks to a central bank conference on financial markets and monetary policy. It’s unlikely Bernanke will expand on yesterday’s dour speech, but markets will be watching for anything new. A Q&A session isn’t expected.
Markets will also be busy watching for earnings announcements from chain stores all day long.
At 9 am Treasury holds an auction for 30-year bonds; at 11 am 3-month, 6-month, and 3-year notes will be auctioned off.
In a good follow up to Bernanke’s speech yesterday, the New York Times offers an article on why it’s troublesome that longer-term interest rates are rising: Rising Interest on Nations' Debts May Sap World Growth
Outside the U.S., policy announcements are expected from the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank.