ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: May 19–23

The week ahead is light on economic indicators. Fed officials undoubtedly will make some headlines. They are likely to reiterate Fed Chair Jerome Powell's basic message during his May 7 presser: "We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension. If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close. For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance."

Congressional Republicans along with President Donald Trump need to make some headlines that suggest progress in formulating a budget plan that will convincingly reduce the federal budget deficit relative to nominal GDP over the next 10 years. Instead, Friday's headline was "House Republicans stall spending package for steeper cuts to Medicaid and green energy."