Drone Registration Begins
Drone pilots, start your web browsers. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to open a website Monday for its mandatory registration program, aimed at improving safety by making people more accountable for their use of remote-control flying machines.
Owners will be required to submit their names, home addresses and email addresses to a national database, and to put a registration number on drones weighing from half a pound to 55 pounds. An owner of a drone before Monday will have until Feb. 19 to register. Anyone who gets a drone after the website opens will have to register before its first flight. —Cecilia Kang
Third-Quarter Growth
The Department of Commerce will release its third and final estimate of economic growth in the third quarter at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Wall Street is expecting a slight downward revision in the pace of expansion for the period of July, August and September.
Reported growth is expected to fall to 1.9 percent from an earlier estimate of 2.1 percent. The downshift is most likely because of inventory adjustments on the part of businesses as well as fewer services purchases by consumers. —Nelson D. Schwartz
Nike’s Earnings
Nike, one of a shrinking number of star performers in the world of retailing, is expected to report earnings on Tuesday, and analysts expect another solid quarter of growth. Nike is not entirely immune from the slumping mall traffic and sluggish holiday sales afflicting its peers.
But high demand for its athletic shoes and clothes, and a strong e-commerce business, have helped set Nike apart. Analysts expect Nike’s earnings to be about 85 cents per share, compared with 74 cents for the same quarter last year. —Hiroko Tabuchi
New-Home Sales Report
The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are scheduled to report the latest data on November new-home sales at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Economists are expecting a slight increase in sales, which are running at an annual rate of about 500,000.
New-home purchases tend to be volatile, and economists are watching for any sign that the recent rate increase by the Federal Reserve will eventually affect the real estate market. But with unemployment still falling and wages beginning to rise in some sectors, the real estate business is expected to remain fairly robust. —Nelson D. Schwartz
Closing Early for Christmas
Traders around the world will wrap up business early on Thursday, ahead of the Christmas holiday. In the United States, major stock markets will close at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and bond trading is expected to shut down at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Many markets in Europe also close early for Christmas Eve. —Jesse Pesta
Battling for Theater Screens
With most schools on holiday break and families looking for activities to entertain themselves, Hollywood kicks into overdrive. Seven major movies will arrive in theaters in the coming days or expand into wide release: “Concussion,” with Will Smith, above, “Daddy’s Home,” “Joy,” “Point Break,” “The Hateful Eight,” “The Revenant” and “The Big Short.”
Last year at this time, “American Sniper” became a juggernaut. But a year ago, there was no “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” taking up theater space. As a result, a brawl has broken out among studios and directors over screens because there will not be room for everything. Movies like “Concussion,” a drama about football-related brain injuries, and “Point Break,” a remake of the 1991 crime thriller, may have to prove their appeal quickly or lose screens. —Brooks Barnes
Data on Japanese Economy
Japan’s economy has been known to throw feints at statisticians. Last month, the country appeared to be in recession, until new data caused government analysts to change their minds a few weeks later. Fresh numbers are due on Friday, but it is unlikely that they will make the economy’s direction much clearer. The unemployment rate, now at a two-decade low of 3.1 percent, is expected to remain at or near that level.
An unwelcome three-month decline in core consumer prices most likely came to an end in November, with prices flat or up slightly, according to predictions by private sector economists. But consumers still seem defensive: Household spending is expected to have dropped by more than 2 percent in November, the third consecutive month of decline. —Jonathan Soble
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