It’s a quiet week for Canadian economic data. In the United States, a report on producer prices gets released on Friday

On Tuesday, Statistics Canada releases new vehicle sales data for December, 2006. A 5% increase is expected, compared with a 3% rise in November.

StatsCan also reports on the merchandise trade figures for December, 2006. A trade surplus of $4.7-million is expected, unchanged from the previous month.

On Thursday, StatsCan releases its monthly manufacturing survey for December, 2006. Economists forecast a 0.6% increase from November, compared with a 2.3% rise the previous month.

South of the border

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department issues goods and services trade balance figures for December, 2006. Economists forecast a US$59.6 billion deficit, compared with US$58.2 billion the previous month.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Dept. releases retail sales numbers for January. Economists forecast a 0.3% increase from December, 2006, compared with a 0.9% rise the previous month.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reports on initial jobless claims for the week ended February 10. Economists forecast 312,000 new claims.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board releases capacity utilization and industrial production data for January. Economists forecast a capacity utilization rate of 81.7%, down from 81.1% the previous month, and for industrial production to remain unchanged from December, 2006.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor reports on the producer price index for January. Economists forecast a 0.6% decline from December, 2006, and a 0.3% rise from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department releases housing starts and building permit figures for January. Economists forecast 1.6 million starts and 1.59 million permits, both annualized.

Corporate earnings

Earnings season remains in full swing this week. Among the companies scheduled to report include:

  • Teck Cominco Ltd.;
  • Fording Canadian Coal Trust;
  • Yum Brands Inc. ;
  • Loews Corp. ;
  • Manulife Financial Corp. ;
  • Inmet Mining Corp. ;
  • Yellow Pages Income Fund;
  • Finning International Inc. ;
  • CI Financial Income Fund;
  • Corby Distilleries Ltd. ;
  • Teknion Corp. ;
  • BPO Properties Ltd. ;
  • MetLife Inc. ;
  • WestJet Airlines Ltd.;
  • George Weston Ltd.;
  • DaimlerChrysler AG;
  • Coca-Cola Co. ;
  • EnCana Corp.;
  • Molson Coors Brewing Co.;
  • Nexen Inc.;
  • West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.;
  • CryptoLogic Inc.;
  • Precision Drilling Trust;
  • Home Capital Group Inc.;
  • Labopharm Inc.;
  • Canfor Pulp Income Fund;
  • Emera Inc.;
  • Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust;
  • Campbell Soup Co.