X

Week ahead: Taming volatile markets

This week's economic data may give further ammunition to uneasy markets this week.

6 min read
Following are some of the notable tech-related events scheduled for the week of Sept. 10 through Sept. 14.

This week's economic data, such as the consumer credit report for July from he U.S. Federal Reserve and August's retail sales figures, may give further ammunition to uneasy markets this week.

Those figures could provide further evidence as to whether the American consumer is still propping up the flagging economy after unemployment figures hammered Wall Street stocks last Friday.

In addition, technology stalwarts Oracle and Adobe Systems plan to release earnings for their just-completed quarters. The news from Oracle, which is expected to report earnings of 8 cents per share, could be particularly important for the battered tech sector, particularly how it sees its business going forward.

In Atlanta the beleaguered networking and telecommunications industry will gather for its twice-per-year Networld+Interop industry trade show, with several prominent executives speaking and numerous showcases of the latest products taking place from the likes of Cisco Systems and Avaya.

Investment banks Lehman Brothers, Banc of America Securities and Credit Suisse First Boston will all have tech-related conferences this week as well, with the accompanying potential for market-moving comments.

The information was gathered from First Call, Hoover's Online, CCBN's StreetEvents and CNET Investor.

Other events scheduled this week:

TECH EVENTS

Sunday, Sept. 9

  • The NetWorld+InterOp Conference will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Sept. 9-14. The event will showcase the latest wireless gadgets and high-end telecommunications equipment as well as address topics that relate to the networking industry. Executives from Avaya, Network Appliance, Novell, AT&T and Computer Associates will deliver keynote speeches.

Monday, Sept. 10
  • The Carmel Group will host the Convergence 2001: TV's Interactive Revolution conference at the Marina Beach Marriott Hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif., Sept. 10-11. The event will focus on issues relating to interactive TV. Executives from Gemstar-TV Guide International and Microsoft will deliver keynote speeches.

  • The Yankee Group is kicking off a conference called "Enabling the Next-Generation E-Business Service Providers" at the Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto, Calif., Sept. 10-11. The conference is for e-business service providers and will address issues and trends relating to the industry. The Yankee Group is expected to release its latest study on e-business services.

  • Lehman Brothers will host the Semiconductor & Computer Systems Conference at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Sept. 10-12. The event will focus on topics such as wireless handset semiconductor technologies and electrical and optical convergence. Executives from Dell Computer, Texas Instruments, Samsung Semiconductor, Infineon Technologies and JDS Uniphase will deliver keynote speeches.

  • Banc of America Securities will kick off its 31st Annual Investment Conference at The Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, Sept. 10-14. The conference will include presentations from companies such as Adobe Systems, Agilent Technologies, AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, General Electric Company, Motorola and a host of other publicly traded companies.

  • The Credit Suisse First Boston Enterprise Software Technology Conference will take place at the St. Regis - Monarch Beach in Laguna Niguel, Calif., Sept. 10-13. The event will bring together software vendors, including those involved in business to business, communications software, and Internet infrastructure.

Tuesday, Sept. 11
  • The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) will kick off the Wireless I.T. & Internet 2001 show at the San Diego Convention Center, Sept. 11-13. The event showcases technology geared toward the wireless Internet and mobile data industry. Executives from Oracle, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Openwave, IBM, AOL Mobile, Casio, Samsung America and Lotus Development will deliver keynote speeches.

Wednesday, Sept. 12
  • The Jupiter Web Enterprise Forum will take place at the Argent Hotel in San Francisco, Sept. 12-13. The event is for strategic planning and information technology executives who want to learn about issues related to the management of technology-enabled business. Keynote speakers are to be announced soon.

  • The Gilder/Forbes Telecosm conference will take place at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, Calif., Sept. 12-14. The event will bring together people from the fields of telecommunications, storewidth, global networking and optics to discuss the technological issues facing the telecommunications industry.

  • The Institute for International Research will host the Wireless Unified Messaging Applications seminar as part of the PCIA GlobalXChange exhibition at the L.A. Convention Center in Los Angeles, Sept. 12-13. The seminar will focus on the technological breakthroughs and issues revolving around the wireless communications industry, particularly the areas of unified and instant messaging.

  • The E-Learning: Investing in the Digital Workforce conference will kick off at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., Sept. 12-13. The event is for managers and practitioners who are interested in learning about the theories and tools of e-learning to improve employee recruitment, retention and work force improvements.

Thursday, Sept. 13
  • The Adept Fiber Optic Assembly Conference will kick off at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pleasanton, Calif., and the new Adept technical center in Livermore, Calif. The event is for manufacturing engineers who work with fiber-optic equipment and want to learn about the latest advances in semi-automatic and automated assembly of photonics components.

Friday, Sept. 14
  • The Storage World Conference kicks off at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, Calif. The event will focus on issues related to new technology and trends affecting the storage and storage-networking sector. More than 50 storage-networking companies are expected to attend the one-day event. Executives from Quantum, Veritas Software, Seagate Technology, StorageTek and Inrange Technologies will deliver keynote speeches.

  • The Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure will hold a meeting at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va., Sept. 14. The meeting will focus on a plan for the preparation of a report to the National Science Foundation regarding advanced cyberinfrastructure and the evaluation of the existing Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure.

EARNINGS

Wednesday, Sept. 12

  • Verity makes retrieval software products for corporate intranets and extranets, online publishers and e-commerce providers, original equipment manufacturers, and independent software vendors. Per-share consensus estimate for the first fiscal quarter: loss of 11 cents.

Thursday, Sept. 13
  • Adobe Systems makes Internet and desktop publishing software. Per-share consensus estimate for the third fiscal quarter: profit of 28 cents.

  • Oracle makes database software for companies. Per-share consensus estimate for the first fiscal quarter: profit of 8 cents.

  • Tektronix makes test and measurement software for chips, computers, and telecommunications equipment. Per-share consensus estimate for the first fiscal quarter: profit of 11 cents.

ECONOMIC REPORTS

Monday, Sept. 10

  • The Consumer Credit report by the Federal Reserve shows the monthly debt assumed by consumers for purposes other than home mortgages. Credit for July is expected to rise to $3 billion from a contraction of $1.5 billion in June.

Thursday, Sept. 13
  • The import and export price index from the Department of Labor indicates the percentage change in import and export prices for August. Estimates for the upcoming report were not available. In August, import prices, excluding oil, were at -1.0 percent, and export prices, excluding agriculture, were -0.5 percent.

Friday, Sept. 14
  • The Producer Price Index for August is expected to increase 0.2 percent compared with a drop of 0.9 percent in July. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to rise 0.1 percent from an increase of 0.2 percent. This Labor Department index tracks the cost of what manufacturers pay for raw goods to make products.

  • Retail Sales for the month of August are expected to climb 0.3 percent compared with no change in July as reported by the Commerce Department. Excluding automobile sales, Wall Street expects retail sales to rise 0.3 percent vs. the previous month's gain of 0.2 percent. Economists watch retail sales numbers to get a picture on consumer spending, which helps fuel the overall economy.

  • Industrial Production represents the monthly percentage change in industrial output as measured by the Federal Reserve. The number measures the physical quantity of items produced, unlike sales value which combines quantity and price. The number is expected to drop 0.2 percent for the month of August compared with last month's drop of 0.1 percent.

  • The monthly Capacity Utilization report from the Federal Reserve indicates the percentage of industrial capacity in use. Wall Street expects the number to dip to 76.8 percent in August from the previous month's 77 percent.