Three things to watch for the week ahead: consumer confidence; global inflation; AI acquisition

Consumer confidence

The University of Michigan will release its preliminary consumer sentiment index for August on Friday.

Economists expect the index to rise to 55. 1 from 51. 5 in July.

Consumer confidence is a key indicator of economic activity as consumer spending accounts for about 70% of U. S. GDP.

The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday.

Economists expect the central bank to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to 1. 75%.

The Bank of England is raising interest rates in an effort to curb inflation, which is currently running at 9. 4%.

Microsoft is reportedly in talks to acquire Nuance Communications, a speech recognition software company.

The deal could be worth up to $ 20 billion.

Nuance's technology is used in a variety of applications, including customer service, healthcare, and finance.