Federal reserve might cut rates

A large amount of economic data will be released this week to the markets. And if this data is weak, investors will be expecting action from the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve will meet March 20 to discuss interest rates. \n"We have to see weakness to keep the Fed on track for easing in March," Christopher Low, chief economist at First Tennessee Capital Markets, told CNBC.com.\nConsumer confidence for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Economists are calling for the figure to fall to 110.0 from January's 114.4. A drop in consumer confidence indicates that consumers are growing more uncertain about the future of the economy.\nWednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will deliver the second segment of his monetary policy address to the House Budget Committee. Traders attempting to determine the possibility of an imminent rate cut will watch Greenspan's testimony very closely. \nLast Week\nThe Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 17.55 points at 2,262.51 Friday. But for the week, the Nasdaq lost over 6 percent. The Nasdaq is trading at its lowest levels in two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down Friday, losing 84.91 points to close at 10,441.90. \nStock News\n• Agilent Technologies released earnings slightly higher than Wall Street's expectations Tuesday. The company then warned that second quarter earnings would be lower than current expectations. Agilent's Chief Financial Officer Robert Walker told reporters he expects Agilent to post a net income between 30 cents and 40 cents a share in the second quarter. Analysts were expecting the company to earn 58 cents a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.\n• Motorola Inc. announced Friday it would not meet anticipated sales and earnings figures for the first quarter of 2001. The company also warned it could post a loss from operations unless orders begin to increase. Motorola has recently made a number of cost-cutting moves, including the elimination of 9,100 jobs, or 6.5 percent of its work force.\n• Sun Microsystems warned Thursday its fiscal third-quarter earnings will miss Wall Street expectations due to a slowdown in information-technology spending. Analysts were looking for the computer maker to report earnings of 15 cents a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. But Sun officials told reporters last week that earnings will be between seven cents and nine cents a share.\nFinal Note\nWayne Angell, a former governor of the Federal Reserve, said there was a 60 percent chance that the Fed would lower interest rates by half a percentage point early this week.