@ The White House
On Saturday, the President has no public events scheduled.
On Sunday, the President will deliver remarks at the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial dedication on the National Mall. The memorial commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to world peace through non-violent social change. The First Family, the Vice President, and Dr. Biden will also attend.
Later in the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will host a reception at the White House in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the King Family with members of the civil rights community.
@ Wall Street
Consumers and businesses pulled the sickly U.S. economy back from the brink of recession in the third quarter but don't pop the champagne just yet. After wobbling early in the quarter, the economy regained some footing, with retail sales rising solidly in September and labor market conditions improving. Business spending has held up despite volatility in financial markets and factory activity has kept expanding.
Economists now estimate U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of between 2.3 and 2.7 percent in the July-September period, a sharp step up from the 1.3 percent logged in the first quarter and a far cry from what some feared just a few weeks ago.
The economy held up surprisingly well in the third quarter but it's too early to celebrate," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Much of the re-acceleration in growth reflects the fading of disruption to motor vehicle production and sales after the big March earthquake in Japan. A surge in auto sales contributed to a solid 1.1 percent rise in retail sales in September.
Declining gasoline prices, which stretched household budgets in the second quarter and crimped consumer spending, are also seen supporting third-quarter economic growth. But those factors should prove temporary, and with Europe's economy likely to slow as it battles its debt crisis and the U.S. labor market still weak, economists believe the fourth quarter will prove weaker, with some fearing a contraction in the first half of 2012.
The euro zone debt crisis is still playing out. That remains a dark cloud on the horizon that can present a direct hit to the U.S. economic recovery said Anthony Karydakis chief economist at Commerzbank in New York.
Although European leaders sound determined to come to grips with the debt crisis and could announce a bold plan in the next couple of weeks, analysts worry they might once again move too slowly for jittery financial markets.
