Business week ahead, Dec. 16-20

KEY EVENT: The state Labor Department on Thursday releases Long Island jobs created in November. In October, Long Island employers added the most monthly jobs since June 2017.

MONDAY: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases the December Empire State index, an update on New York manufacturing. The previous report, for November, showed New York manufacturing activity was sluggish, hurt by trade wars and a strong U.S. dollar.

TUESDAY: Housing starts and industrial production, both for November and both from the Commerce Department. Also, the Labor Department releases the number of unfilled jobs as of the end of October. Earnings: FedEx, office furniture maker Steelcase.

WEDNESDAY: Earnings from General Mills and computer data storage maker Micron Technology.

THURSDAY: The National Association of Realtors releases existing-home sales for November. Also, jobless benefits claims for the week ended Dec. 14 from the Labor Department and leading indicators for November from the Conference Board. Earnings: business services provider Accenture, Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants, Nike.

FRIDAY: December consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan and personal income and spending for November from the Labor Department. And “quadruple witching,” the quarterly stock market event that can sometimes cause wild swings in stock prices. Earnings: BlackBerry.