Monday morning coming down

This coming week’s news will likely center upon the ongoing shakiness of global markets amid continuing uncertainty in American credit markets. The source of interest this week will be whether or not the Fed’s cutting of the discount rate on Friday will be enough to free up the credit markets and thereby relieve pressure on equities, which have been hammered over the past few weeks.

This Friday, new economic data will be released covering new home sales for July and durable goods orders for July. Expectations are that both measures will show slight ticks downward.

The governor-appointed panel investigating the tragic mass murder at Virginia Polytechnic Institute is due to report this week.

Jamaica will be recovering from Hurricane Dean, a powerful category-4 storm that passed just south of the island and pounded it with 100-plus mph winds. Most projected paths have the storm slamming the Yucatan peninsula early Tuesday morning, forcing vacation-goers in Cancun and Cozumel to depart earlier than expected or to cancel plans altogether.

Sixteen years ago this week, the Soviet Union disintegrated, as its constituent republics declared independence and the August Putsch against Mikhail Gorbachev failed in its goal to restore the status quo ante. It’s hard to imagine the Russians being in the news more than they already are, but this week might see a spike in coverage.

And on the lighter side, Tuesday marks the official release date of Challengers, the New Pornographers’ fourth disc, a treat for the Divagator’s power-pop sweet tooth.