Earnings, economic reports for the upcoming week

It’s not just an election week.

Several important earnings reports from publicly held companies and government economic reports are set to release this week.

On Monday morning, the Commmerce Department is expected to release figures on October construction spending. Industry watchers expect a mild decline of 0.8 percent.

Auto sales reports are scheduled for Tuesday. Most industry watchers expect significant declines in auto shipments compared to the same month in 2007.

The report on September factory orders is also set for Tuesday, with consensus estimates suggesting a 1.5 percent decline from September 2007.

The most closely watched report on October nonfarm payrolls will come out Friday. The September report showed a loss of 159,000 jobs.

Companies with ties to the Fort Smith region are scheduled to release quarterly earnings reports this week. Those include:

HealthSouth (Tuesday; analysts estimate a 7 cents per share gain, compared to a 3 cent per share loss in the same quarter of 2007)

General Motors (Wednesday; analysts estimate a 3.47 cents per share loss, compared to a 2.88 cent per share loss in the same quarter of 2007)

Gerdau AmeriSteel (They bought MacSteel, remember? Wednesday; analysts estimate a 64 cents per share gain, compared to a 40 cents per share gain in the same quarter of 2007)

Cumulus Media (Thursday; analysts estimate a 11 cents per share gain, compared to a 3 cent per share gain in the same quarter of 2007)

Anheuser-Busch (Thursday; analysts estimate a $1.04 per share gain, compared to a 95 cents per share gain in the same quarter of 2007)

Ford Motor Co. (Friday; analysts estimate a 93 cents per share loss, compared to a 1 cent per share loss in the same quarter of 2007)