Video-game retailer GameStop reports quarterly results Tuesday
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
ROUGH GAME
It’s been a rough year for GameStop.
The video-game retailer slid to a loss in the second quarter versus a year earlier. That followed profit and revenue drops in the previous quarter. Did the trend continue in the third quarter? Find out Tuesday, when GameStop serves up its latest quarterly report card.
THE FED SPEAKS
The Federal Reserve delivers an economic and interest rate policy update Wednesday.
The remarks will follow a two-day meeting of the central bank’s policymakers. The consensus among economists is that the Fed will pause after having cut rates three times in 2019, with its benchmark rate now in a range of 1.5% to 1.75%. The central bank’s key rate influences many consumer and business loans.
HOLIDAY SEASON BOOST?
New data on U.S. retail sales will provide another view of how the holiday shopping season is going.
Economists predict the Commerce Department will report Friday that retail sales rose 0.4% in November. That would be up from a gain of 0.3% in October. Recent sales data suggest higher tariffs on many consumer products imported from China have not completely held Americans back from spending.
Retail sales, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:
June 0.4
July 0.7
Aug. 0.6
Sept. -0.3
Oct. 0.3
Nov. (est.) 0.4
Source: FactSet