The world at work / Canadian and U.S. October unemployment figures to show the recession's toll this Friday The auto sector / Ford reveals how its third quarter went; Chrysler unveils a five-year plan

MONDAY

WHAT FORD EARNED

Ford Motor Co., the one Big Three car maker that didn't seek creditor protection or accept government bailouts, managed to post a $2.3-billion (U.S.) profit in its second quarter, although most of that was thanks to a gain from reducing its debt. The third-quarter numbers, expected to be released today, could show a pure profit, some analysts say, thanks to a boost in Ford's market share. But that would be a big surprise, since the consensus view is a loss of around 22 cents a share.

MANUFACTURING INDICATOR

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management releases its ISM manufacturing index, from a survey of purchasing managers, for October. A good number will cement the view that the U.S. economy is on the mend.

OTHER EARNING REPORTS

Cameco Corp. and Kinross Gold Corp. release their latest earnings reports.

TUESDAY

CAR NUMBERS

North American auto makers will report their sales numbers for October, and they are expected to show some modest gains. General Motors Co. has already said it is likely to post its first year-over-year monthly sales gain in almost two years, and it expects to have gained market share in the United States for the third month in a row.

FACTORY ORDERS

Statistics on orders to U.S. factories in September will be released by the U.S. Commerce Department.

WEDNESDAY

RATE DECISION

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board will release its decision on interest rates at the end of its regular two-day rate-setting meeting. Even though last week's strong GDP numbers showed the recession in the United States is at an end, after four down quarters, the Fed is not expected to raise rates from their rock-bottom levels. Unemployment is too high, and higher rates could undermine confidence in the stock market. And there is no hint of a return of inflationary pressure. Still, there will be much parsing of the Fed's comments, to determine if there are hints of when an upward trajectory in rates may resume. CAR PLANS

Chrysler unveils its five-year business plan and a revamped product lineup to analysts and journalists at a six-hour presentation at its headquarters just outside of Detroit.

EARNINGS REPORTS

Earnings releases are expected for Torstar Corp., WestJet Airlines Ltd., Yellow Pages Income Fund and TransCanada Corp.

THURSDAY

PURCHASING INTENTIONS

The release of the October Ivey Purchasing Managers Index will give us an idea if Canadian companies are buying more goods, a leading indicator of improvement in the economy. The index, established in 2000 by the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and the Purchasing Management Association of Canada, gathers data monthly from a panel of 175 purchasing managers. A number above 50 means there were more increases in purchases than reductions. HOUSING STATS

Statistics Canada will release information on the value of building permits issued in September.

EUROPEAN RATES

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England will release and explain their latest interest rate decisions.

EARNINGS REPORTS

Canada's three big publicly traded insurance companies - Great-West LifeCo Inc., Manulife Financial Corp. and Sun Life Financial Inc. - release their third-quarter reports.

FRIDAY

The recession may be just about over in Canada and the United States, but the damage to individuals' lives continues. On both sides of the border October employment numbers will tell the tale, and show just how many people are working, or more to the point, not working.

In the United States, the unemployment number could breach the key 10-per-cent level, a line not crossed in more than 25 years. Many forecasters, including former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, have predicted that joblessness will climb above 10 per cent and stay there for some time.

In Canada, there's hope for more positive employment numbers, after September's figures showed an unexpectedly high 30,600 new jobs were created. The unemployment rate even managed to drop from 8.7 per cent to 8.4 per cent that month. While economists also expect good stats this time, they won't likely be as good as last time.