US Credit Mkt Week Ahead: Christmas Market Slumber

     CHICAGO (MNI) - Slim pickings for data in the week ahead given Christmas

holiday, early close Monday and all day Tuesday (note, FI and FX markets resume

trade on Globex at 1700ET Tuesday).

Of course, there's always the potential for increased volatility tied to pop-up

political headlines after the U.S. government shutdown. 

Data highlights for the week ahead include Nov new home sales and Conference

Board confidence for December, both on Thursday. 

Upcoming U.S. Treasury auctions include 13W and 26W bills as well as $38B 2Y

notes Monday, earlier than usual due to shortened holiday session (see calendar

below). Note auctions resume Wednesday ($41B 5Y, $18B 2Y FRN) and Thursday ($32B

7Y).

Salient data highlights (estimates):

- Monday: Markets close early for Christmas eve. No scheduled data. However,

U.S. Treasury will auction 13W and 26W bills as well as $40B 2Y notes.

- Tuesday: Markets closed for Christmas holiday.

- Wednesday: Markets resume trade. Data includes Redbook retail sales;

Case-Shiller Home Price Index and Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index.

- Thursday: Nov new home sales (544k est); Conference Board confidence for

December (134.6 est).

Morgan Stanley economists "expect new home sales to rebound by 10.5%, bringing

the annualized pace of sales up to a 602,000 unit pace."

MS notes that "mortgage loan applications have been accelerating notably, with

the Mortgage Bankers Association's loan application volume index at the end of

November up 14% from its level in the last week of October."

- Friday: Advance economic indicators; MNI Chicago PMI; Pending home sales.

Calendar of next week's market events (prior, estimate):

24-Dec 1000 US Tsy 13W bill auction

24-Dec 1000 US Tsy 26W bill auction

24-Dec 1130 US Tsy $38B 2Y note auction (9128285R7)

24-Dec 1200 FI/FX CME trading floor close (1215ET Globex close)

25-Dec ---- U.S. markets closed

26-Dec 0855 **  22-Dec Redbook retail sales m/m (0.3%, --)

26-Dec 0900 **  Oct Case-Shiller Home Price Index (0.3, --)

26-Dec 1000 **  Dec Richmond Fed Mfg Index (14, --)

26-Dec 1130 US Tsy $18B 2Y FRN note auction (9128285H9)

26-Dec 1300 US Tsy $41B 5Y note auction (9128285U0)

     27-Dec 0830 **  22-Dec jobless claims (214k, --)

27-Dec 0900 **  Oct  FHFA Home Price Index (0.2%, --)

27-Dec 0945 *   23-Dec Bloomberg comfort index

27-Dec 1000 *** Nov new home sales (544k, 544k) 

27-Dec 1000 *   Nov bldg permits revision

27-Dec 1000 *** Dec Conference Board confidence (135.7, 134.6)

27-Dec 1500 *   Nov farm prices

27-Dec 1630 **  26-Dec Fed weekly securities holdings

27-Dec 1300 US Tsy $32B 7Y note auction (9128285T3)

     28-Dec 0830 **  Nov advance goods trade gap

28-Dec 0830 **  Nov advance wholesale inventories

28-Dec 0830 **  Nov advance retail inventories

28-Dec 0900 *   Dec ISM-Milwaukee Mfg Index (56.63, --)

28-Dec 0945 **  Dec MNI Chicago PMI (66.4, --)

28-Dec 1000 **  Nov NAR pending home sales index (102.1, --)

28-Dec 1030 **  21-Dec natural gas stocks w/w

28-Dec 1100 **  21-Dec crude oil stocks ex. SPR w/w (-0.49m bbl, --)

28-Dec 1100 **  Q4 St. Louis Fed Real GDP Nowcast (+2.90%, --)

28-Dec 1115 **  Q4 NY Fed GDP Nowcast (+2.48%, --)

--MNI Chicago Bureau; tel: +1 312-431-0089; email: bill.sokolis@marketnews.com

--MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: kevin.kastner@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MTABLE,M$U$$$,M$$FI$,MN$FI$,MN$FX$]