This Week: Carnival earns, new home sales, Darden earns
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
ROUGH SEAS
Carnival delivers its fiscal first-quarter results Tuesday.
Wall Street expects the cruise line operator will report a smaller loss and sharply higher revenue for the December-February period compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The smaller loss would echo Carnival’s performance in the 12 months ended November. Investors will be listening for an update on how bookings are faring for summer travel.
HOUSING MARKET BELLWETHER
The Commerce Department issues its February tally of new U.S. home sales Wednesday.
Economists forecast that sales accelerated last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 813,000 homes. That would follow January’s pace of 801,000 homes. Demand for newly built homes has been robust, aided by an ultra-low supply of previously occupied homes on the market. But builders have faced higher costs and delays due to persistent supply chain snarls and rising inflation.
New home sales, seasonally adjusted annual rate, by month:
Sept. 725,000
Oct. 667,000
Nov. 749,000
Dec. 839,000
Jan. 801,000
Feb. (est.) 813,000
Source: FactSet
SPOTLIGHT ON DARDEN
Wall Street expects another solid quarterly snapshot from Darden Restaurants.
Analysts predict the owner of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other chains will report Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter earning and revenue increased from a year earlier. That would be in line with the chain’s results in the previous two quarters. Darden has benefited from improved sales and the addition of more restaurant locations.
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