The economy grew at a 3.4% pace in the second quarter, a big improvement over the 0.6% showing in the first three months of 2007 and better than the 3.2% growth rate economists were expecting, the Commerce Department reported July 27. Also in the second quarter, core prices -- excluding food and energy -- rose at a rate of just 1.4%, sharply down from a 2.4% pace in the first quarter and the smallest increase in four years.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment registered 90.4 in July, a shade below the median forecast of 91.2, but well ahead of June's reading of 85.3, a 10-month low. The gain was tied to consumers' favorable outlook about the economy, particularly regarding future employment and income prospects, the Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers said July 27.

Orders for durable goods -- manufactured to last three years or more -- increased by 1.4% in June, the best performance in three months, the Commerce Department reported July 26. Soaring demand for commercial airplanes helped fuel the rise.

Sales of new single-family homes dropped by 6.6% last month, a decline more than triple what analysts had expected, the Commerce Department reported July 26. New home sales are 22.3% below the level of a year ago.

Sales of existing homes fell 3.8%, a decline about twice what had been anticipated. Yet the median price of an existing home edged up to $230,100, 0.3% more than a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said July 25.

This week look for updates on personal income on July 31 and the unemployment rate on August 3.