Figures of the Week

The Week Ahead

PERSONAL INCOME

Monday, Jan. 31, 8:30 a.m. EST -- December personal income likely rose 0.4%, the same gain posted in November, says the median forecast of economists polled by Standard & Poor's MMS, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Consumer spending likely jumped 0.8% for the month, after a 0.5% advance in November.FOMC MEETING

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 9 a.m. EST -- The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee will meet for two days to set monetary policy. Nearly all the economists expect the Fed to hike both the federal funds rate and the discount rate by a quarter-point, to 5.75% and 5.25%, respectively.NAPM SURVEY

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m. EST -- The National Association of Purchasing Management's index probably dipped to 56% in January, from 56.8% in December.CONSTRUCTION SPENDING

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m. EST -- Building outlays were probably unchanged in December.NEW HOME SALES

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 10 a.m. EST -- New homes probably sold at an annual rate of 880,000 in December. In November, sales fell 7.1% to 865,000.FACTORY INVENTORIES

Thursday, Feb. 3, 10 a.m. EST -- Factories' inventories probably increased by 0.4% in December, after rising 0.5% in November.EMPLOYMENT

Friday, Feb. 4, 8:30 a.m. EST -- The S&P MMS median forecast projects a solid 235,000 gain in nonfarm jobs in January, on top of 315,000 new slots created in December. The median forecast also calls for the jobless rate to slip to 4%, from 4.1% in December.