Rising inflation has always been a concern for Federal Reserve officials and investors, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released this week will show whether price pressures continue to affect the economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will make comments at an international conference this week, while several other Federal Reserve officials will also give speeches within a week. Federal Reserve officials have repeatedly stated that they need to see clear evidence of inflation being controlled before the central bank lowers its benchmark interest rate.

This week, earnings reports from several large retailers will attract investors' attention, including Wal-Mart and Home Depot, as well as Chinese e-commerce companies Jingdong and Alibaba Group.In addition, Cisco and Sony will also report earnings this week.

CPI will be released on Wednesday.

Since 2024, inflation in the United States has shown stickiness after a year of decline, and has risen again in the past few months. This includes the annual CPI inflation rate of 3.5% in March, which has been rising for three consecutive months. Prior to this, the producer price index released on Tuesday will show changes in wholesale prices, which may be an indicator of upcoming price changes at the consumer level.

Some Federal Reserve officials see the soaring prices as a signal to maintain current decades high interest rates.

Investors will also hear speeches from several Federal Reserve officials this week, including Chairman Jerome Powell, who will give a speech to the Dutch Foreign Bankers Association on Tuesday. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostek, and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Huck will also attend this week's event.

Retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot lead corporate earnings

This week's corporate earnings will focus on reports from large retailers, while several prominent multinational companies will also report financial results.

Walmart will report its first-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Thursday, leading the corporate earnings schedule this week. Retail giant expects stronger sales this year, targets revenue growth through new business lines.

Also reporting earnings this week was Home Depot, which warned that its sales could fall this year as customers postpone large projects and large purchases in a still-high interest rate environment.

Another company to report earnings was Cisco, which in February issued lower-than-expected guidance for the quarter and announced it would cut 5% of its global workforce.

Specifically look at the news that needs attention every day this week:

Monday, May 13

• Remarks by Fed Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Meister
• Tencent Music Entertainment Group Announces Earnings

Tuesday, May 14

• NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (April)
• Producer Price Index (April)
• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at an event in the Netherlands
• Home Depot, Alibaba Group and Sony Group Announce Earnings

Wednesday, May 15

• Consumer Price Index (April)
• US Retail Sales (April)
• Empire State Manufacturing Survey (May)
• Home Builders Confidence Index (May)
• Enterprise Inventory (March)
• Cisco Systems to Announce Earnings
• 13F filing deadline, which will reveal the stock holdings of major investors such as Buffett and Dan Loeb at the end of the first quarter。

Thursday, May 16

• Initial jobless claims (week ending May 11)
• Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey (May)
• Housing starts (April)
• Building Permits (April)
• Import Price Index (April)
• Industrial Production (April)
• Capacity Utilization (April)
• Speeches by Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Meister
• Wal-Mart, Applied Materials, Jingdong, Baidu, Take-Two and John Deere to Announce Earnings

Friday, May 17

• Leading U.S. Economic Indicators (April)