Business week ahead, Oct. 19-23

KEY EVENT: The state Labor Department Tuesday releases the September Long Island unemployment rate. Unemployment fell from 13.8 percent in July to 10.5 percent in August, still a historically high number as Long Island employers slowed the pace of hiring.

MONDAY: The October economic optimism survey from the National Association of Home Builders, an indicator of how the economy may look a few months from now. Earnings: Halliburton.

TUESDAY: The Commerce Department releases September housing starts. Earnings: Lockheed Martin, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, Snapchat parent Snap, Travelers.

WEDNESDAY: The October beige book from the Federal Reserve, a collection of early and still unofficial economic data. Earnings: Jericho gas stations properties owner Getty Realty, Abbott Laboratories, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Tesla, Verizon Communications, Whirlpool.

THURSDAY: The National Association of Realtors releases September existing home sales. In August, the median price of a home nationally hit an all-time high with prices in the Northeast up 10.4 percent from August 2019. Also, jobless benefits claims for the week ended Oct. 17 from the Labor Department. And leading economic indicators for September from the Conference Board. Earnings: AT&T, Capital One, Coca-Cola, Intel, Mattel, Northrop Grumman, People's United Financial.

FRIDAY: Earnings from American Express and Outback owner Bloomin' Brands.