Week ahead: Two Fed bank presidents and Bernanke to speak

Two Federal Reserve Bank presidents and Fed chairman Ben S. Bernanke are scheduled to speak this week.

Tuesday

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index will report on the value of real estate in 20 major cities in June. Home prices have been rising, but at a slowing pace, as the effect of government subsidy to boost home purchases has waned.

The Conference Board will also report consumer confidence numbers, which have shown little improvement on concerns that the jobs market won't recover.

Wednesday

Charles I. Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, is scheduled to speak in New Jersey about his concerns that the Fed may expand its balance sheet in a way that could spur inflation.

Thursday
The government is slated to give a final report on economic growth in the second quarter, reporting the gross domestic product. The last measure found that second-quarter growth was 1.6 percent, less than the initial estimate of 2.4 percent.

Also, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke plans to discuss before the Senate banking committee how the Fed intends to implement the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul bill.

Friday
William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is scheduled to give a speech to business journalists in New York City.

Meanwhile, federal regulators in Washington will hold the first meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to begin discussing measures to rein in risks that could pose dangers to the overall financial system. In addition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will begin its initial rulemakings regarding derivatives under the Dodd-Frank legislation.