The Week Ahead, July 14-18

KEY EVENT: Higher productivity. Local job growth rebounded in May as Long Island employers added 12,200 new positions, the most in three months. Did the expansion continue as summer arrived? The answer comes Thursday when the state Labor Department posts jobs created in June.

MONDAY: Earnings from Citigroup.

TUESDAY: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases the July Empire State survey, an update on state manufacturing activity. Also, the Commerce Department posts retail sales for June and business inventories for May. Earnings: Goldman Sachs, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Yahoo.

WEDNESDAY: Producer prices for June from the U.S. Labor Department. Also, the U.S. Federal Reserve releases the July beige book, a compendium of anecdotal economic information that hasn't made its way into hard data yet. Earnings: Bank of America, eBay, Taco Bell owner Yum Brands.

THURSDAY: Housing starts for June from the Commerce Department and claims for jobless benefits for the week ended July 12 from the U.S. Labor Department. Earnings: Capital One, Google, IBM, Morgan Stanley.

FRIDAY: Consumer sentiment for early July from the University of Michigan. Earnings: Bank of New York Mellon, General Electric, Honeywell.