The flow of economic data will slow a little this week, but there’s no assurance that markets will be calmed by the lighter schedule.

There’s very little in the way of economic data or earnings announcements due in Canada this week. Housing starts are due on Tuesday, but economists expect little change from last month, thanks to lower mortgage rates. “In a light week for Canadian data and news, housing starts for August will garner some attention,” says BMO Nesbitt Burns. “We do not expect a full bounce-back for August, although starts are expected to rebound 4% to an annualized 158,000, in line with the average over the past 12 months.”

On Wednesday, Canada’s capacity utilization numbers will be released. Economists are expecting this reading to slip a little from the prior month. And that’s it for data. “In Canada, a dearth of economic data will keep markets taking their cue from U.S. developments,” predicts CIBC World Markets.

In the United States, there’s a quiet schedule until Wednesday’s current account numbers. On Thursday, Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan is scheduled to speak, but he is not expected to say much about the economy.

Friday brings a late week deluge in data, with retail sales, industrial production, capacity utilization, Producer Price Index and consumer sentiment numbers all due to be released. TD Bank says that retail sales will likely show the benefit of U.S. tax rebates, while dropping production will signal continued weak business investment.

BMO says, “Retail sales are likely to rise after two flat months, but the underlying tone will remain soft. The volume of sales may have risen with back-to-school spending, but this will be largely offset by price discounts and inventory liquidation sales. Industrial production has dropped for ten straight months and will likely fall again in August. Capacity utilization will likely slip again in August, remaining well below that of the last recession as the high-tech sector continues to come to grips with past over-investment.”

“The only real surprise next week might lie in consumer sentiment, where we expect to see a further drop after all the bad news on layoffs and stock market declines,” says CIBC World Markets. “As we press further into September, equities are likely to struggle as yet another round of earnings warnings hits the street.”

As for earnings news, only three Canadian companies are on the docket for next week: Intrawest on Monday, followed by Sobeys on Tuesday and Empire Company on Wednesday.