Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Around the Bend: Retail Sales, FOMC Minutes and Consumer Sentiment

The jobs numbers came in mixedtoday, but they may not be as accurate as some other gauges at determining where the economy is going. Employment data tends to be a lagging indicator, as corporations only start hiring once the economy has picked up a bit.

Retail sales, on the other hand, can give investors a more reliable sense of the future, Marketwatch notes. The government will release retail numbers on Friday. Consumer sentiment data and business inventory data is also due to come out Friday. FOMC minutes from the body’s last meeting will come out on Wednesday.

With investors increasingly focused on Europe, however, the day-to-day changes in the U.S. economy may continue to fade into the background.

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