Business events scheduled for the coming month

WASHINGTON — Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims, 8:30 a.m.; Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates, 10 a.m.; Commerce Department releases housing starts for December, 8:30 a.m.

MONDAY, Jan. 21

U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

TUESDAY, Jan. 22

WASHINGTON — National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for December, 10 a.m.

BERLIN — Germany's ZEW institute releases its monthly investor confidence index for Europe's biggest economy.

THURSDAY, Jan. 24

WASHINGTON — Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims, 8:30 a.m.; Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates, 10 a.m.; Conference Board releases leading indicators for December, 10 a.m.

FRIDAY, Jan. 25

WASHINGTON — Commerce Department releases new home sales for December, 10 a.m.

BERLIN — Germany's Ifo institute releases its monthly index of business confidence, a closely watched indicator for Europe's biggest economy.

MONDAY, Jan. 28

WASHINGTON — Commerce Department releases durable goods for December, 8:30 a.m.; National Association of Realtors releases pending home sales index for December, 10 a.m.

TUESDAY, Jan. 29

WASHINGTON — Standard & Poor's releases S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices for November, 9 a.m.; The Conference Board releases the Consumer Confidence Index for January, 10 a.m.; Federal Reserve policymakers begin a two-day meeting to set interest rates.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 30

WASHINGTON — Commerce Department releases fourth-quarter gross domestic product, 8:30 a.m.; Federal Reserve policymakers meet to set interest rates.

THURSDAY, Jan. 31

WASHINGTON — Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims, 8:30 a.m.; Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates, 10 a.m.; Commerce Department releases personal income and spending for December, 8:30 a.m.; Labor Department releases the fourth-quarter employment cost index, 8:30 a.m.