Monday: None

Tuesday: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales, Redbook, S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Consumer Confidence, State Street Investor Confidence Index

Wednesday: MBA Purchase Applications, Durable Goods Orders, New Home Sales, EIA Petroleum Status Report

Thursday: GDP, Jobless Claims

Friday: Personal Income and Outlays, Employment Cost Index, Chicago PMI, Consumer Sentiment

Third quarter GDP is expected to show an annualized gain of 3.0 percent compared with the second quarter. The last quarter to show growth was the second quarter of 2008 when government tax rebate checks spurred spending. The worst of the recession occurred in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter 2009 when GDP fell 5.4 percent and 6.4 percent respectively. If GDP does show this type of improvement, it definitely would support the view that the recession is over, though the official call might not come for several months.

Economists are concerned about how the economy will fare going forward given the end of the "cash for clunkers" program and the impending end to the first time home buyer tax credit at the end of November. The hope is that despite these programs, improvement in consumer spending will provide GDP growth the next few quarters, despite the fact that the employment situation might not show dramatic improvement for up to 12 months. Most economists do not feel we will see a double-dip recession, but they also do not expect a "V" shaped recovery.

Durable goods orders in September are expected to show a rise of 1.5 percent following a 2.4 percent decline in August. This report tends to show a lot of month to month volatility, so the actual data doesn't often have much of an impact on stock prices. The Chicago PMI is set for release Friday with estimates for a figure of 48.5 in October. In September, this index unexpectedly declined to 46.1 from 50.0 in the prior month.

Personal incomes in September are expected to be flat with consumer spending showing a 0.5 percent decline. If this holds true, it would be the first decline in spending since last April. Jobless claims have been showing improvement since March, but remain high on a historic basis. For the week ending Oct. 24, jobless claims are expected to fall by 6,000 claims to 525,000. The four-week moving average came in last week at 532,250.

Several reports on sentiment will be released this week, starting with the Conference Board report on confidence on Tuesday. This index is expected to rise to 54.0 in October from 53.1 in September. The University of Michigan report on sentiment is due out Friday and estimates are for a reading of 70.0, a mild gain from the mid-month reading of 69.4. September saw a reading of 73.5, which is the highest reading for this index since late 2008.

The housing sector will get attention this week as well with new home sales for September expected to rise to 440,000 from 429,000 in August. Last week saw the release of a strong existing home sales report when sales rose 9.4 percent to an annualized level of 5.57 million units, up from 5.09 million units in August.

Besides the economic reports due out this week, speeches by key Fed leaders could also impact trading. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is set to speak on several occasions this week and National Economic Council head Lawrence Summers is on tap to speak Thursday.

Traders will be keeping an eye on oil prices as well this week with crude trading near a 52-week high. On Monday, the commodity reached an intraday high of $81.58 before settling with a loss of more than two percent at $78.59. Strength in the dollar reversed oil prices in the afternoon.

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