On Monday, the Bank of Canada releases its quarterly business outlook survey.

On Thursday, Statistics Canada releases its survey of manufacturing shipments for February. Economists forecast an increase of 3% from the previous month.

On Friday, StatsCan reports on the consumer price index in March. Economists expect the gauge of inflation to rise by 1.4% from a year earlier.

South of the border

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labour reports on the producer price index in March. Economists expect no change from the previous month and a year-over-year drop of 2%.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reports retail sales for March. Economists expect an increase of 0.3%.

Separately, Commerce reports on business inventories for February. A decline of 1.1% is forecast.

On Wednesday, U.S. Labour reports on the consumer price index in March. Economists expect the CPI to rise 0.2% from the previous month, and to remain unchanged year-over-year.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board reports on industrial production and capacity utilization in March. Economists expect industrial production to shrink by 0.9%, and the capacity utilization rate to fall to 69.7%.

Separately, the Fed releases its Beige Book survey of U.S. economic conditions.

On Thursday, U.S. Commerce reports on housing starts and building permits in March. Economists forecast 550,000 starts and 550,000 permits, annualized.

U.S. Labour reports on initial jobless claims for the week ended April 11. Economists forecast 665,000 claims, up from 654,000 a week earlier.

On Friday, the University of Michigan issues its index of consumer sentiment in April. A reading of 58.5 out of 100 is forecast.

Corporate earnings

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reports its first-quarter results, as does Intel Corp., Johnson & Johnson, and Philips Electronics NV Electronics.

On Friday, General Electric Co. reports first-quarter earnings, as does Citigroup Inc., and Mattel Inc.

On Wednesday, Piper Jaffray reports first-quarter results.

On Thursday, Google Inc. reports first-quarter earnings, as does J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Harley-Davidson Inc., Nokia Corp., and Southwest Airlines Co.

IE