Hello friends and Fortune readers.
This week promises to be busy with news across the spectrum of the business world. In tech, Facebook will hold its annual developers conference and likely unveil some new or tweaked products. Likely candidates are its Messenger app and Instagram. We’ll also see a handful of economic data and corporate earnings from companies as the earnings season winds down. You can also expect a bit of tension as the heads of state from Greece and Germany sit down for a chat – no doubt about Greece’s debt. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.
1. Facebook’s annual developers conference.
Facebook’s (FB) developer will convene in San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday for ample talk about social networking and how outside companies can tap into its growing array of services. In addition to the usual sessions and keynotes, the company will likely introduce new products or updates. At minimum, Facebook is expected to update its Messenger app to third-parties in the hope that it will be able to better compete with other messaging services like growing rival Snapchat. Last week, Facebook announced a new mobile payments service that will operate as part of the Messenger app. The social media company could also reveal updates from its Instagram service and its Oculus virtual reality headset.
2. Greece and Germany meet face-to-face.
Tensions continue to mount between the two countries because of Greece’s reluctance to accept strict austerity measures that have been demanded by Germany and the rest of the Eurozone countries funding Greece’s debt bailout. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is set to travel to Berlin Monday to meet with Germany’s Angela Merkel and discuss financial overhauls and the potential for further economic aid.
3. Tracking the economic indicators.
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said this week that she’ll be monitoring “a wide array of data” to determine when the U.S. economy has reached a point strong enough to merit an interest rate hike. Against that backdrop, there will be a handful of economic reports next week. The monthly U.S. consumer price index will arrive Tuesday morning. A recent increase in gas prices is expected to push the index a bit higher for February. Meanwhile, Tuesday also brings a report on new home sales, which are widely believed to have dipped last month followed by a report durable good orders on Wednesday that is expected to show a gain in February after a 2.8% bump in January.
4. Trickle of earnings continues.
Earnings season trudges on, though the number of companies lining up to report is dwindling. ConAgra Foods (CAG), which makes packaged food brands such as Slim Jim and Swiss Miss, recently hired a new CEO and lowered its earnings guidance for its fiscal year ending in May. The company will report its third-quarter results on Thursday, as will apparel retailer Lululemon (LULU), which recently saw the departure of its founder from the company’s board. PVH Corp. (PVH), the maker of Tommy Hilfiger jeans as well as Calvin Klein apparel, reports on Wednesday, and analysts are expecting disappointing profits.
5. Closing arguments in Silicon Valley sex discrimination case.
Lawyers for Ellen Pao and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are expected to make their final statements early next week as the high-profile gender discrimination case in San Francisco heads to jury deliberations. Pao, who currently serves as interim CEO of Reddit, is suing her former employer, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, for $16 million after claiming she was routinely passed over for promotions during her time with the firm and retaliated against after ending an affair with a co-worker.
