Testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be the main focus of the day in the aftermath of unprecedented actions taken by both the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government over the last week.
At 10 a.m. EDT, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will testify to the House Financial Services Committee on AIG, but it is unlikely that lawmakers will pass up the opportunity to ask questions regarding news risks to the taxpayer given recent initiatives launched by both the government and the central bank.
Also at 10 a.m. EDT, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will release its house price index for January, which economists expect to fall 0.9% month-over-month following a 0.1% gain in December.
Simultaneously, the Richmond Federal Reserve will release its manufacturing index for March, which is expected to remain at -51.
At 11:30 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Treasury will sell $35 billion in four week bills.
At 1 p.m. EDT, the U.S. Treasury will sell $40 billion in two-year notes.
At 2 p.m. EDT, European Central Banker Vitor Manuel Ribeiro Constancio will speak at Catholic University in Lisbon.
At 2:30 p.m. EDT, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member David Blanchflower will speak at Cardiff University in Wales.
At 2:35 p.m. EDT, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard (non-voter) will speak at the Cass Business School in London. An audience Q&A will follow.
At 5 p.m. EDT, ABC will release its consumer comfort index for the week ending March 22. In the previous week the index was at -47.
Schedule
10:00 US House Price Index (M/M) January Exp: -0.9% Prior: +0.1%
10:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index March Exp: -51 Prior: -51
10:00 US Bernanke, Geithner Testify About AIG
11:30 US Treasury to Sell $35B 4-Week Bills
13:00 US Treasury to Sell $40B 2-Year Notes
14:00 EU ECB's Constancio Speaks at University in Lisbon
14:30 GB Bank of England's Blanchflower to Make Speech
14:35 US Bullard Speaks at Cass Business School in London
17:00 US ABC Consumer Confidence W/E March 22 Prior: -47
By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2009