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To: Dealer who wrote (28746)	8/13/2000 10:08:38 PM
From: Dealer	Respond to of 35685

Sunday August 13 1:16 PM ET Summertime, And Stocks Are Queasy By Eric Wahlgren NEW YORK (Reuters) - As far as the stock market is concerned this week, there ain't no cure for the late summertime blues, amid Wall Street's ongoing concern over how much future corporate profits will suffer if the U.S. economy is truly slowing. Things are not expected to get better until Aug. 22, when the Federal Reserve will tell the world whether it plans to raise interest rates again. ``I think the market is going to do more of the same,'' Peter Cardillo, director of research at Westfalia Investments, said. ``It will make attempts to go higher and go back down again. I suspect we aren't going to do much until we get the (Fed meeting) out of the way.'' Investors To Rifle Through Data For Rate Clues With the central bank's powwow on interest rates less than two weeks away, investors will rifle through upcoming economic reports for clues on the Fed's next move. The inflation-fighting central bank has raised rates six times since June 1999 to keep the U.S. economy from revving too high. The main attraction this week will be Wednesday's release of July's Consumer Price Index, a gauge of inflation at the consumer level. The CPI is seen as having bumped up 0.2 percent in July, even when volatile food and energy prices are excluded. Analysts said they were not expecting any big surprises on the inflation front after July's Producer Price Index, a gauge of price pressures at the wholesale level, showed no signs of inflation. Last Friday, the PPI came in unchanged, while analysts had forecast an uptick of 0.1 percent. ``The PPI is the start of the food chain on inflation,'' Michelle Clayman of New Amsterdam Partners, an asset management firm, said. ``I really think it was a remarkable number. It says to me that inflation is under wraps.'' Clayman said she would pay particular attention to June figures on business inventories due out on Monday, for any signs that the economy is easing up. Inventories are expected to show a June rise of 0.5 percent compared with a 0.8 percent boost in May, according to analysts polled by Reuters. ``There have been some signs of a light buildup in inventories,'' Clayman said. ``That could mean a slowdown down the road.'' New home construction figures for July, set for Wednesday, are generally seen as conforming to a slowing trend as higher interest rates tend to crimp the credit-sensitive housing industry. Economists forecast that housing starts last month rose to an annualized rate of 1.555 million from 1.554 million in June. Retailers Under The Microscope This Week A slew of retailers are expected to report earnings this week, but a let up in consumer spending and a series of profit warnings have Wall Streeters looking for only ho-hum results. Earnings, typically a tonic for the stock market when they are strong, have largely failed to wow Wall Street during this earnings reporting season, which is winding down. Among some of the brand name retailers to release their scorecards this week are Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD - news), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE:JCP - news), Toys R Us Inc. (NYSE:TOY - news), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN - news) and Target Corp (NYSE:TGT - news). Computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news), a Dow component, is also expected to post its results this week. Last week, investors responded to expectation-topping profits from Dell Computer Corp. (NasdaqNM:DELL - news), the word's No. 2 maker of personal computers, by selling the stock. Dell's revenues fell slightly short of what analysts had projected, although chief executive Michael Dell said the company still expected to reach its revenue growth targets for the year. ``I think we can expect more of the same for the market this week,'' said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis. ``There is a recognition that the bar has been set too high for technology companies. I think investors are going to seek companies that offer dependable results in a slowing economy.'' Last week, the tech-stacked Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC - news) gained only about 2 points for the week, while the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - news) advanced 260 points, or 2.4 percent.