The main event of the week will be the two-day meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers that ends on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, to 4.5 percent.

Yet unlike the Fed's last meeting, when a rate cut was all but signaled in advance (although the size of the cut, a half point, was unanticipated), this meeting is not certain to produce a reduction in rates. Still, many analysts expect an eventual easing to at least 4.25 percent by the end of the year.

The Fed will take into account recent economic reports that gave mixed signals about the direction of the economy. Greater clarity may come with this week's data.

On Tuesday, the Conference Board will release its consumer confidence index, which is expected to inch up slightly to 100 in October, from 99.8 in September.

The advance reading for gross domestic product in the third quarter will be announced Wednesday. Economic growth is expected to have slowed to an annual pace of 3.1 percent, from a rate of 3.8 percent in the second quarter.

On Thursday, automakers report U.S. sales figures for October. Economists expect to see a slight drop from September in both car and truck sales.

Also on Thursday, the National Association of Realtors will issue its monthly report on pending home sales in September, which fell a gloomy 6.5 percent in August.

On the same day, the Department of Commerce will release its monthly personal income and consumption report. Both spending and income are seen as increasing 0.4 percent in October. The core inflation number in the report is forecast to be up 0.2 percent for October, after 0.1 percent growth in September.

And the Institute for Supply Management releases its indicator of economic growth in the manufacturing sector on Thursday. The index is expected to remain unchanged from September's reading of 52.

The most important report of the week comes on Friday, when the Labor Department releases the October figures for employment. After a surprisingly weak report in August, the September numbers showed a gain of 110,000 new jobs and gave hope that the economy was not as battered as was feared. The October report is expected to show the same modest growth, with payrolls up 90,000 and the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.7 percent.

On the corporate front, Applebee's shareholders will vote on Tuesday on whether to accept a $25.50-per-share cash offer from IHOP. With the board voting 9-5 to accept, senior management against the deal, and four proxy advisory firms split, the outcome is anything but clear.

Earnings reports will continue to flood in throughout the week.

On Monday, Verizon Communications will report third quarter results, and the telecom giant expects its wireless business to propel the company to earnings of 62 cents per share.

Analysts don't expect Sprint Nextel to have fared as well when it reports quarterly results Thursday; 22 cents per share in profit is the consensus forecast.

ExxonMobil announces results on Thursday, and the largest U.S. oil company is expected to post third quarter earnings of $1.75 per share—only slightly lower than during the same period last year. But Chevron has much more exposure to currently weak U.S. refinement margins than does its rival Exxon, and is likely to fare significantly worse than it did last year when it announces results on Friday.

CBS, which boasts dominant TV network ratings but is still dogged by an ailing radio division, is looking for 44 cents in earnings when it reports on Thursday.

Viacom is seen as reporting 50 cents in profit and strong growth in the third quarter on Friday.

Credit Suisse will be one of the last of the big global banks to share third quarter results when it reports on Thursday.

Berkshire Hathaway reports its third quarter earnings on Friday, and investors will be looking for any insight into chairman Warren Buffett's most recent investments.