EQUITIES WEEK AHEAD: Scattered Earnings, FOMC Meeting

A summer-light earnings schedule nevertheless contains some major companies, and the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee will meet about interest rates, though no changes are expected.

 
   Software Giant Oracle, Drug Store Chains Report Earnings

Business-software behemoth Oracle Corp. (ORCL) is expected to report a more modest jump in its fiscal fourth-quarter bottom line than in the third, when profit surged 78% on expanding sales of its traditional software despite weak results selling computer servers, a newer business. It reports quarterly results Thursday.

The country's biggest drug-store chains, Walgreen Co. (WAG), as well as competitor Rite Aid Corp. (RAD), report next week, and both are expected to report profit gains that outpace their top lines. Walgreen prereported that its total sales rose 6.8% to $18.38 billion in the period, just topping the consensus analysts' estimate.

Other notable companies reporting next week are Carnival Corp. (CCL) and Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) Tuesday, FedEx Corp. (FDX) and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) Wednesday and Discover Financial Services (DFS) and ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) Thursday.

 
   Fed Heads Meet To Vote On Interest Rate

The Federal Reserve's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss and vote on any changes to the Federal Funds interest rate, though the futures market indicates traders expect the panel to hold pat on rates for a long time. Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press briefing after the rate announcement Wednesday, only his second post-meeting appearance.

 
   Housing Data

Tuesday and Wednesday, markets will examine two reports on the housing market. The National Association of Realtors will report May sales figures for existing homes on Tuesday. A month earlier, the group's data suggested the housing sector has a ways to go before it revives, as April sells unexpectedly declined slightly and March's sales figures were revised down. The following day the Federal Housing Finance Agency's reports its monthly home price index for April, which could either break a streak of five-consecutive drops or mark a half year of declining prices.

 
   Paris Air Show

The biggest names in U.S. aerospace--Boeing Co. (BA), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), United Technologies Corp. (UTX), et al.--will join the rest of the aviation world at the Paris Air Show all next week. The year's biggest trade show for the industry gives competitors an excuse to stack their order numbers against one another's, and European commercial aircraft manufacturer Airbus lately has been touting its order stats for its a high-efficiency version of the A320 single-aisle jet. Though Boeing prefers to announce orders when they are signed throughout the year rather than storing them up for shows, Airbus's campaign puts pressure on Boeing to offer a more efficient version of its own single-aisle plane or develop a totally new design with lower operating costs.

 
   Hotel Owner Innkeepers To Submit Bankruptcy Exit Plan

Innkeepers USA Trust (KPA) will ask the Manhattan bankruptcy court Thursday to confirm its bankruptcy-exit plan, which is based on a deal to sell most of the company's hotels to Cerberus Capital Management and Chatham Lodging Trust for $1.12 million. Last month, the duo won a bankruptcy auction for the properties, which operate under the Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt brand names.

 
   IMF Interviews Candidates For Strauss-Kahn Successor

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund is planning to interview the two candidates for the vacant managing director spot next week, according to people close to the matter. Having secured the backing of the European bloc and several emerging-market nations, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is widely expected to win the post to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned last month after being indicted on sexual assault charges. Agustin Carstens, the central-bank governor from Mexico, all but conceded the race earlier this week, saying his chances were slim and Lagarde was the likely winner.

 
   Senate Hearing On Candidate To Lead Commerce Department

President Barack Obama's administration is sending one potential official and another veteran to Capitol Hill next week to answer lawmakers' questions. Commerce Secretary candidate John Bryson to go before the Senate Commerce Committee for a hearing on his nomination Tuesday. The former chairman of a California power company and a prominent environmental advocate, Bryson is expected to face resistance from Republicans skeptical of human effects on climate change. In addition, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will testify before the U.S. House Small Business Committee at a hearing on small businesses' access to capital and credit.

 
   Obama, Boehner to Golf Together For First Time Saturday

Teeing off with the ticked off? House Speaker John A. Boehner and Obama are golfing for the first time Saturday. They are expected to discuss "some of the very important issues that have to be dealt with by this administration and this Congress," the White House press secretary has said, although he added the date is foremost a chance for the two to socialize. As candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination start ramping up rhetoric and the two parties remain at odds on U.S. deficit and debt, the golf outing comes as bipartisan tensions continue to simmer.

-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; joan.solsman@dowjones.com

--Ian Talley and Marie Beaudette contributed to this report.

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