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The Federal Reserve could signal an exit strategy from the U.S. policy of monetary easing when it meets next week, according to analysts.

Government reports are likely to show sales of new and existing homes rose in August, continuing the steady increase since March.

World leaders will gather next week first for the U.N. General Assembly in New York, then for the Group of 20 Summit in Pittsburgh.

 
   Fed May Signal Plans For Unwinding Stimulus 
 

While a Federal Reserve policy committee is unlikely to raise interest rates at its meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, it could offer clues about the timing for unwinding the central bank's aggressive monetary stimulus put in place during the past year to rescue banks and revitalize the economy. The Fed also is expected to stick with its plan to buy $1.45 trillion in mortgage-linked securities despite potential resistance from a few regional Fed presidents. The Federal Open Market Committee has held the federal-funds target rate at zero to 0.25% this year to revitalize lending and lift the economy out of the deepest recession in decades.

 
   RIM, Food Companies, Rite Aid To Report 
 

Smart-phone maker Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM), food companies General Mills Inc. (GIS) and ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG), and drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) are among the few companies posting results next week. RIM, which issued a fiscal second-quarter forecast in line with estimates in June, is expected to report higher earnings and revenue on continued strong sales of its Blackberry model on Thursday. General Mills, which reports Wednesday, last week said its fiscal first-quarter earnings are likely to top internal projections, helped by rebounding margins, which were hurt last year by higher grain and other costs. Earlier this month, Citigroup Inc. (C) upgraded its stock rating on ConAgra, which reports Tuesday, saying its fiscal-year earnings would be better than Wall Street expected. And analysts expect Rite Aid, which reports Thursday, to post a smaller loss and nearly flat earnings as it pursues a turnaround plan.

 
   Home Builders KB, Lennar See Smaller Losses 
 

Home builders Lennar Corp. (LEN) and KB Home (KBH) will report quarterly results Monday and Friday, respectively. Both are expected to post smaller losses than a year earlier. Last week, Lennar improved its estimated loss to 49 cents a share, from a loss of $1.19. It also shaved the predicted land-related charges on the better order trends. KB Home, the fifth-largest U.S. builder, has been making smaller, more-affordable homes, looking to tap first-time buyers who can take advantage of a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 and don't have to worry about selling existing homes.

 
   Homes Sales Likely To Show August Increase 
 

Government reports are expected to show sales of new and existing homes grew in August. After a multiyear slump, the home-building industry has enjoyed a sales boost in recent months from the tax credit for first-time home buyers. A report on existing home sales is due Thursday and one on new homes Friday.

The Conference Board will issue its August index of leading indicators Monday. August durable goods orders will be detailed Friday, the same day that the revised Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for September comes out. The preliminary reading for the index rose to 70.2 in September from 65.7 in August, the first increase since June. Reports on regional manufacturing activity are due Tuesday from the Richmond Fed and Thursday from the Kansas City Fed.

 
   FCC Chairman To Detail Net Neutrality Rules 
 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday will propose rules that would prevent wireless phone companies from blocking some Internet traffic, a move that could set off a battle between open-Internet proponents and phone and cable companies that don't want the government telling them how to run their networks. The new rules would extend so-called net neutrality principles over wireless companies and would require all Internet providers to use "reasonable" network-management practices in dealing with Internet traffic, according to people familiar with the proposal.

 
   Geithner To Testify On Regulatory Reform 
 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill as lawmakers step up work on legislation to revamp regulation of the financial markets. He will appear before the House Financial Services Committee, which plans 11 hearings through Oct. 9. The brisk pace comes as congressional staffers work on separate House and Senate measures to revamp and overhaul the U.S. financial regulatory system. President Obama said in a speech Monday that it was a top priority for his administration to complete legislation this year.

 
   IRS Amnesty Program Will End Wednesday 
 

Wednesday is the deadline for U.S. citizens who have evaded taxes by hiding their foreign holdings to decide whether to turn themselves in to an Internal Revenue Service amnesty program. The disclosure program has run in parallel with a joint Justice Department-IRS civil court case designed to force Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS) to disclose identities of thousands of U.S. clients who may have pursued tax-evasion schemes. UBS agreed last month to hand over details on 4,450 accounts as part of a settlement of the case.

 
   House May Vote On Extending Jobless Benefits 
 

The U.S. House of Representatives could vote Wednesday or Thursday on an extension of unemployment insurance benefits, according to two House Democratic aides. The extension will offer an additional 13 weeks of benefits to jobless people living in states with an average unemployment rate of 8.5% during the past three months. Senate leaders have said they too favor an extension. This would be the fourth time lawmakers have acted to offer greater federal assistance to the unemployed since the recession began.

 
   Obama To Push Health-Care Reform On TV 
 

President Barack Obama will embark on a media blitz this weekend, when he is scheduled to appear on five Sunday shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and the Spanish-language network Univision. He will use his appearances to continue his push to build public support for a health care overhaul.

On Monday night, Obama will appear on David Letterman's "Late Show," his fifth time on the show. Obama, the first sitting president to appear on Letterman's show, will be the sole guest that evening.

 
   World Leaders To Meet At UN, G20 Summit 
 

World leaders will gather next week in New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting. On Tuesday, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon will host a climate summit, where Chinese President Hu Jintao will present his country's plan for tackling global warming. The next day, Obama will moderate a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the General Assembly. Obama also will speak to the 192-nation body Wednesday as will Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Obama will chair a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament Thursday. While in New York, Obama will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Leaders of 20 major and developing countries move to Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday for the G20 summit. The White House wants leaders to agree on a new "framework" to address the global imbalances it believes contributed to the economic crisis. Other issues for discussion include climate change, finding consensus on how to measure the amount of capital that banks are required to hold, and China's push for a greater developing-world voice at the International Monetary Fund and other global institutions.

 
   Clinton Global Initiative Summit Comes To NY 
 

Former President Clinton will host the annual Clinton Global Initiative summit Tuesday through Friday in New York. The summit gathers heads of state, celebrities, business leaders and humanitarians to tackle the issues of poverty, energy and climate change, health and education. More than 1,400 pledges of action valued at $46 billion have been made since the event began in 2005.

 
   Fashion Designers Take Shows To London, Milan 
 

Fashion designers move to London and Milan after a series of shows in New York. London Fashion Week, showing collections for spring and summer, runs through Tuesday, and Milan's fashion week begins Wednesday. After a mass exodus of high-profile design talent starting in the late 1990s, London is reaffirming its profile with a fresh crop of designers. Overall, the past year has been among the most turbulent for the fashion industry, which has been hurt by plunging consumer demand and tight credit.

 
   Conferences 
 

Among the significant conferences next week are the Bank of America Securities Smid Cap Conference on Monday and Tuesday in Boston; UBS Global Life Sciences Conference from Monday through Wednesday in New York; Bank of America Securities Power & Gas Leaders Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in New York; CanaccordAdams Healthy Living Conference on Wednesday in Boston; and Finra Boot Camp on Thursday and Friday in Chicago.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; kathy.shwiff@dowjones.com

(Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this report.)