Wall Street & The White House

@ The White House

In the morning, the President and the Vice President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office.

Later in the morning, the President will participate in interviews with local TV anchors from the following outlets across the country in the Cabinet Room: Hearst Television; WAVY, Portsmouth, Virginia; WTVT, Tampa, Florida; KTRK, Houston, Texas; KETV, Omaha, Nebraska; WCCO, Minneapolis, Minnesota; WPVI, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; KUSA, Denver, Colorado; KSAZ, Phoenix, Arizona; and KGW, Portland, Oregon.

Later, the President will greet the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis in the Oval Office. In the afternoon, the President will sign a proclamation in the Oval Office.

Later, the President and the Vice President will meet with House Democratic Leadership in the Oval Office.

@ Wall Street

Construction Excl. Residential Improvements: Overall, we expect a small 0.1% increase in construction spending in September. Spending on multi-family homes (the one area clearly turning higher) should post enough of a gain to bump total spending into positive territory. Construction spending in the public sector jumped 3.1% in August, but that increase was hard to understand, since state and local spending is contracting. For September, we are projecting no change in this sector.  We are also projecting no change in private nonresidential construction, a segment that is slowing and, given a slowdown in architects' billings, is in for bumpy times ahead.  Spending on single-family homes should also come in flat, given the recent history for single-family housing starts. 

ISM Manufacturing Index (Oct.): The October ISM manufacturing index should track a shade higher than in September, moving further above the breakeven 50-mark. On balance, the evidence coming in from regional surveys has been a bit stronger than last month, suggesting that the pace of manufacturing growth is picking up slightly.

Motor Vehicle Sales (Oct.): We expect October light vehicle sales to edge a little above September's 13.0-million pace, maintaining moderate momentum in the face of weak consumer confidence levels.  Increased vehicle availability at Japanese automakers and sustained strength from the light truck sector will help support October sales.