Market commentary

There is little economic data this week with new home sales, durable goods orders and the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey headlining the reports. The main focus will be the annual central banker’s conference held in Jackson Hole, WY, and Fed Chairman Bernanke’s speech on Friday morning. There is some speculation Bernanke may announce up to $500 billion of QE3, although with the heavy dissention among the open market committee members this may be tough to push through. Still, some analysts feel QE3 is priced into the bond market, so if there is no Fed buying bond yields could push higher.