Previewing Today's Economic Reports -July 14, 2011

There is a slew of economic reports due out today, in addition to Federal Reserve Chairmen's Ben Bernanke continued testimony in front of Congress today. At 8:30 a.m., initial and continuing claims are due out. For the week ending July 9, economists expect 410,000 initial claims, down from 418,000 the prior week. Continuing claims are expected to rise slightly, coming in at 3.7 million, up from 3.681 million in the week prior. We also get June retail sales at 8:30. For June, retail sales are expected to show a reading of -0.2%. Excluding autos, retail sales are expected to remain flat. We also get PPI at 8:30, a key inflationary measure. June PPI is expected to show a reading of -0.2%, while Core PPI is expected to rise 0.2%. At 10:00 a.m., May business inventories will be released. It is expected to show a reading of 0.9%.