Economists expect it to reduce bond buying by another $10bn per month on Wednesday, to $25bn. This will be consistent with QE finishing in the autumn. The move will come on the same day that official figures show that real GDP grew at an annualised rate of around 3 per cent in the second quarter, reversing the first-quarter's 2.9 per cent drop. And growth is likely to continue into the third quarter. On Friday, the ISM is likely to report that manufacturing is still growing strongly while the BLS is expected to report a rise in net jobs of around 250,000. This could lead to further talk about inflation rising, because it would take the unemployment rate to below 6 per cent which has in the past been considered the rate compatible with stable inflation.
House prices could also pick up. Tuesday's S&P/Case-Shiller index could show that these are rising by around 1 per cent per month, having stagnated earlier this year.
Reflecting these developments, the Conference Board is likely to report on Tuesday that consumer confidence has risen to its highest level since 2007.
We'll also see signs of strong growth in the UK. Purchasing managers on Friday should report another big rise in manufacturing output. We'll see one reason for this in Monday's figures from the Bank of England, which could show that companies have been net borrowers from banks for the last three months. This would suggest that, after years of paying down debt, companies are finally upping their spending.
It's not just corporate confidence that's rising, though. So too is consumer confidence. A Gfk survey on Thursday could show that this is at its highest level since 2005.
Meanwhile, house prices are still soaring; the Nationwide is expected to report annual increases in them of around 12 per cent. However, this is not because borrowing is surging. The Bank of England is likely to report that mortgage debt has risen only 1.3 per cent in the last 12 months, and that mortgage applications have fallen recently to just over 60,000 - that's half their pre-crisis level. This is consistent with prices being driven up by a lack of supply and by foreign cash buyers.
In the eurozone, Thursday's figures could show that inflation is still far below its 2 per cent target, at around 0.6 per cent. Figures the same day will show a reason for this; around 11.6 per cent of the workforce is unemployed, with the youth unemployment rate at almost one-in-four.
