US EQUITIES WEEK AHEAD: OPEC Meeting, Last-Minute Shopping

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to keep production steady when it meets Tuesday.

Retailers could see a larger-than-usual surge in last-minute holiday shopping before Christmas next Friday.

And economic reports next week are expected to show sales of new and existing homes rose in November from a month earlier while third-quarter gross domestic product may have grown less than estimated.

 
   OPEC Unlikely To Change Production Rate

OPEC is not expected to change production at its meeting Tuesday in Luanda, Angola, but members are bracing for a potentially challenging year that could see oil prices weaken at a time that some OPEC nations are in need of price increases. Oil prices have risen nearly 60% this year, thanks in part to OPEC production cuts. But some cartel members, such as Iraq and Venezuela, are increasing output even as OPEC tries to purge a huge buildup of oil. And waning stimulus efforts could pinch consumer demand for oil in industrialized nations.

 
   Last-Minute Crowds May Be Bigger Than Usual

The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts a larger-than-usual increase in last-minute holiday shopping because consumers are behind their 2008 holiday gift-buying completion rate. Last week, sales at chain stores grew from a week earlier for the first time since Halloween.

However, a potentially big snowstorm forecast this weekend in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions could throw a wrench in the plans of some retailers and customers on what's typically the biggest shopping day of the year. Planalytics says predictions of a "Super Saturday Snowstorm" will be a net negative for most businesses in the eastern U.S.

 
   Economists See Higher November Homes Sales

November existing- and new-home sales are seen rising 3.3% and 2.3%, respectively, from a month earlier. The National Association of Realtors details existing-home sales Tuesday; they have been increasing since September. A day later, the government reports on new-home sales, which fell in August and September but jumped 6.7% in October.

A final reading on third-quarter gross domestic product, out Tuesday, could show the economy grew 2.7%, slightly less than the previous estimate of 2.8%. The government reports on November personal income and spending Wednesday, the same day that the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index issues its final number for December. Reports on regional manufacturing activity are due Monday from the Chicago Fed and Tuesday from the Richmond Fed.

 
   Walgreen, ConAgra To Report Quarterly Reults

Drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (WAG) and packaged-food giant ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) are among the few companies posting quarterly results next week. Both report Monday. Walgreen, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, is expected to report improved results from a year earlier as it benefits from recent cost-cutting and store renovations. ConAgra, which sells Hunt's sauces and Healthy Choice meals among other brands, also is likely to report growth amid lower commodity costs and consumers eating more meals at home.

Tech companies reporting next week include electronics-component maker Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) on Monday and memory-chip maker Micron Technology Inc. (MU) and open-software developer Red Hat Inc. (RHT), both Tuesday.

 
   Obama To Meet With Community Bank Leaders

President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of several small and community banks Tuesday, after his session early this week with chief executives of the country's biggest banks. He plans to discuss the need to increase lending to small businesses, the housing foreclosure crisis and the importance of passing financial reform to local communities.

 
   EU Could Extend Duties On Shoes From Asia

European Union environment ministers are likely to vote to extend controversial duties on shoes from China and Vietnam during a meeting Tuesday in Brussels. Earlier this month, Germany, Austria and Malta said they wouldn't oppose a plan to extend the duties for 15 months starting January. The duties--16.5% on Chinese shoes and 10% on those from Vietnam--were put in place in 2006 after EU shoemakers complained Asian manufacturers were selling their products in the EU at artificially low prices. The commission says Chinese firms continue to dump their products onto the EU market, though the duties have helped prevent further market-share losses by EU shoemakers.

 
   Afghanistan President To Name New Cabinet

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is set to announce on Saturday a new cabinet lineup that maintains key ministers backed by the international community and introduces a handful of new faces in important positions, according to Western diplomats who saw the new list. The new cabinet, as it stands now, won't include reform-minded politicians backed by the U.S. and its allies, and supporters of Abdullah Abdullah, the runner-up in the August presidential election, won't be included either.

 
   Parents Of 'Balloon Boy' To Be Sentenced

The parents of a Fort Collins, Colo., boy believed to have flown over the state alone in a helium balloon are due to be sentenced Wednesday. Richard and Mayumi Heene have pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges. They were accused of concocting a stunt and pretending, for publicity purposes, that they believed their son had been taken away by balloon. The alleged hoax captivated television watchers around the world in October.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; kathy.shwiff@dowjones.com

(Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this report.)

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