1/25/10 - theGrio & CNBC Market Preview

TheGrio and CNBC team up to deliver a weekly wrap up of money matters and market updates for our community.

CNBC's Shartia Brantley reports:

Earnings season continues with fourth-quarter reports from Apple, Verizon and Yahoo.

The Federal Open Market Committee convenes in New York on Monday for a two-day meeting to discuss the economy and interest rates. The federal funds rate, which affects mortgage, credit card and student loan rates, has been near zero since December 2008.

The December new and existing home sales reports are due this week from the National Association of Realtors. The November report showed a 7.4 percent month-to-month increase in sales of previously-owned homes and an 11.3 percent decrease in sales of newly-built single-family homes.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for January is due Tuesday, reflecting trends in consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. The 52.6 reading in December (1985=100) was the second consecutive month of improvement.

Watch the video, exclusively on theGrio.com.