The Federal Reserve is expected to announce on Wednesday that it plans to reduce - though not end - the scale of its quantitative easing (QE). This will come amid signs that the economy is growing modestly. Official figures on Monday are likely to show that industrial production rose slightly in August, leaving it only 0.2 per cent up in July and August compared with the second quarter. Surveys by the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserves should corroborate this picture of slow growth. However, they might also show that companies' expectations for future activity have risen recently, With Thursday's figures likely to show that sales of pre-owned houses are on a rising trend - another sign of increased optimism - this could be sufficient for the Fed to scale back its QE.
Evidence of growth won't be confined to the US. Tuesday's ZEW survey could show that German finance professionals are becoming more optimistic about their economy.
We should see some good news in the UK, too. If manufacturers' expectations last month are correct, the CBI will report a good rise in output recently, and probably a further rise in orders. And although Thursday's official figures could show a drop in retail sales in August, this will only partially reverse a big increase in the last two months. This would be consistent with consumer spending making a big contribution to GDP growth in the third quarter.
There could also be good news about inflation. Tuesday's figures could show that CPI inflation fell slightly in August, to 2.7 per cent, thanks to a rise in petrol prices last August falling out of the annual comparison. We should also see small falls in producer input and output price inflation the same day.
The news for equity investors might get better, with Tuesday's numbers on US capital flows. These have recently shown big foreign selling of US equities. If this continues, it would point to good returns on global shares in the next 12 months, as such selling is an indicator of depressed sentiment, which history suggests is reversed over subsequent months.
One other thing to watch for will be Wednesday's minutes of the latest MPC meeting. So far, forward guidance seems to have failed, as the market's interest rate expectations have risen, despite Dr Carney's efforts to reduce them. The minutes could show how concerned MPC members are by this, or whether they think the rise is justified by the recent good economic news.
