Business Outlook: THE WEEK AHEAD

DURABLE GOODS ORDERS

Wednesday, Aug. 24, 8:30 a.m.

New orders for durable goods probably rose by 0.5% in July, after a 1.2% gain in June. That's the median forecast of economists surveyed by MMS International, a division of McGraw-Hill Inc. The July advance would be the fourth rise in new orders. The expected increase is so small, though, that the backlog of unfilled orders likely fell after rising for three straight months.