GM IPO, Leading Indicators and China's No. 2: Advisor Briefing for the Week of August 16, 2010

Moving the markets this week will be General Motors, which has a new CEO and is said to be planning its post-bailout IPO early in the week. Tuesday brings release of, the Producer Price Index for July and a future of housing finance conference hosted by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. The business week ends with the Conference Board’s release on Friday of leading economic indicators for July. Meanwhile, a Japanese government estimate on August 16 that its GDP was $1.288 trillion in the second quarter made it likely that China, which was now the world’s second-largest economy, would stay ahead of Japan through 2010 and beyond; China’s GDP for the second quarter ended June 2010 was $1.339 trillion. China still has a way to go to catch up with the U.S.: total U.S. GDP for 2009 was more than $14 trillion.

On Monday, August 16, the Fed conducts its weekly release of selected interest rates, along with it weekly foreign exchange rates, while the Bureau of the Public Debt reports on 13- and 26-week Treasury auction results. The National Assn. of Home Builders reports its August housing index.

On Tuesday, August 17, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the July Producer Price Index; the Census Bureau releases new housing starts; and the Fed releases industrial capacity and utilization numbers. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is the host of a Washington conference on the future of the housing finance market (troubled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be topics of conversation).