Due This Week: Fed Interest Rate Update, US Home Sales

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:

THE FED SPEAKS

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to deliver an update on its interest rate policy Wednesday.

The remarks will follow a two-day meeting of the central bank's policymakers. At their July meeting, Fed officials cut interest rates for the first time in a decade. The Fed is widely expected to announce another quarter-point rate cut as officials move to sustain the nation's economic expansion. The Fed's benchmark rate is now at 2% to 2.25%.

HOUSING MARKET BELLWETHER

Economists project that sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed slightly in August.

Sales increased in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.42 million as low mortgage rates enticed homebuyers. Even with lower rates, sales have been hampered this year by a shortage of homes on the market and high prices. The National Association of Realtors serves up its August tally of home sales Thursday.

Existing home sales, in millions, seasonally adjusted annual rate:

March 5.21

April 5.21

May 5.36

June 5.29

July 5.42

Aug. (est.) 5.41

Source: FactSet

MIXED RESULTS?

Wall Street expects that FedEx's latest quarterly report card will show mixed results.

Analysts predict the package delivery giant will report Tuesday that its fiscal first quarter earnings declined from a year earlier, even as revenue was essentially flat. Last month, FedEx disclosed it will no longer make ground deliveries for Amazon. The move comes as FedEx tries to win more e-commerce deliveries from other retailers.