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The week ahead: Waiting on the Fed

Wall Street and the world will wait for what the U.S. Federal Reserve has to say about interest rates this week.

5 min read
Following are some of the notable tech-related events scheduled for the week of June 25 through June 29.

Wall Street and the world will wait for what the U.S. Federal Reserve has to say about interest rates this week.

The Federal Open Market Committee will meet to discuss interest rates on Tuesday and Wednesday, and most Fed watchers think it will respond to the signs of a weakening economy and cut interest rates again.

Investors on Tuesday will also hear earnings news from tech stalwarts 3Com and its former subsidiary, Palm. Analysts surveyed by First Call expect handheld device maker Palm to post a loss of 19 cents a share and predict that network equipment maker 3Com will lose 49 cents a share.

Finally, tech enthusiasts will flock to New York for TechX NY (otherwise known as PC Expo) to get the latest on new software, hardware and other tidbits for the PC at a time when the industry is taking a beating.

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

Other events scheduled this week:

TECH EVENTS
Monday, June 25

  • The TechX NY/PC Expo conference will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, June 25-28. The conference will focus on developments happening in the PC, wireless, data storage and software industries. Keynote speakers will include Palm CEO Carl Yankowski and Intel Executive Vice President Michael Splinter.

  • The Wireless Communications Association will host WCA 2001 at the World Trade Center in Boston, June 24-27. The event will address issues related to the fixed wireless broadband industry and feature exhibits by companies including Alcatel, ADC Telecommunications, Hughes Network Systems and Siemens. Speakers will include AT&T Fixed Wireless Services CEO Michael Keith, Winstar Communications CEO William Rouhana, and WorldCom Broadband Solutions CEO Robert Kaiser.

  • The National Educational Computing Conference will take place at McCormick Place in Chicago, June 25-27. The event is for teachers, administrators, technology coordinators and teacher trainers to learn about how technology can advance education. Keynote speakers will include Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs.

  • The USENIX Annual Technical Conference will take place at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel in Boston, June 25-30. The event will focus on uses for the popular network software Unix and will feature workshops and classes for programmers, consultants, professors, students and information technology professionals. Keynote speakers will include Daniel Frye, the director of the IBM Linux Technology Center, and Cynthia Breazeal of the MIT Media Lab.

  • Marcus Evans will host a conference called The Changing Face of Treasury in New York, June 25-27. The event is intended to teach finance executives how to use e-business strategies that can make corporations more efficient in running their finances.

Tuesday, June 26

  • Automation II is a one-day event that will take place at the Hilton Hotel near Logan airport in Boston. The event will address trends in the telecom equipment industry, specifically concentrating on issues in the optical components sector.

Wednesday, June 27
  • ITEC will sponsor technology conferences in Denver as well as Dayton, Ohio, June 27-28. The events will help attendees in both cities learn about advancements in various technology sectors, such as telecommunications, software, networking and e-commerce.

Thursday, June 28

  • Line56Live will take place at the Marriott in San Francisco, June 28-29. The conference will discuss how corporations can adopt and enhance an e-business strategy. Speakers will include General Electric Global eXchange CEO Harvey Steegers and Boeing Chief Information Officer Scott Griffin.

  • The ASP Summit will take place at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco, June 28-29. The conference is for executives who wish to learn more about providing software and other services to businesses over the Internet.

EARNINGS
Tuesday, June 26
  • 3Com makes networking equipment. Per-share consensus estimate for the fiscal fourth quarter: loss of 49 cents.

  • Palm makes handheld personal computers. Per-share consensus estimate for the fiscal fourth quarter: loss of 19 cents.

Wednesday, June 27
  • ATI Technologies manufactures computer graphics chips. Per-share consensus estimate for the third fiscal quarter: loss of 4 cents.

  • Cabletron Systems makes equipment for LANs (local area networks). Per-share consensus estimate for the first fiscal quarter: profit of 8 cents.

  • Corel develops and sells business software including WordPerfect. Per-share consensus estimate for the second fiscal quarter: loss of 11 cents.

  • Saba Software makes educational and training software for businesses. Per-share consensus estimate for the fiscal fourth quarter: loss of 24 cents.

Thursday, June 28
  • Liberate Technologies makes Internet access software for cable set-top boxes, mobile phones and handheld computers. Per-share consensus estimate for the fourth fiscal quarter: loss of 13 cents.

ECONOMIC REPORTS
Monday, June 25
  • The National Association of Realtors reports Existing Home Sales for the month of May, representing the number of previously built homes sold nationwide. The data indicate the strength of demand in housing and in the overall economy on the premise that the economy shows more strength as consumers buy homes, cars and other high-ticket items. Economists expect sales to stay flat at 5.2 million, the same as April.

Tuesday, June 26
  • Durable Goods Orders represents the percentage increase or decrease of big-ticket items purchased, such as washing machines and refrigerators as reported monthly by the Commerce Department. Economists use the number to measure demand in the economy and expect orders to fall 0.5 percent in May compared with April's drop of 5 percent.

  • The Commerce Department will release New Home Sales figures, which represents the number of new homes sold in the United States and serves as another measure of demand in the economy. Wall Street expects sales to rise to 900,000 in May from the previous month's 894,000.

  • Consumer Confidence will be reported by the Conference Board for the month of June. This figure, measured by an index, represents consumer sentiment towards the economy. Economists expect confidence to slip to 115.0 compared to May's 115.5.

Wednesday, June 27
  • The Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-setting arm of the Federal Reserve, meets to discuss interest rates. The general consensus on Wall Street is that interest rates will be lowered 25 basis points.

Thursday, June 28
  • Initial Claims refers to the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits each week as reported by the Department of Labor for the week of June 23.

  • The Help Wanted Index for May is a monthly survey by the Conference Board of the volume of help-wanted advertising in major national newspapers. Wall Street uses the index to measure trends in job growth. In April, the index fell two points from March to 65. The index was at 89 during April 2000.