The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to increase slightly in July from a month earlier, even as auto and retail sales likely improved during the same period. Jobs data are due next Friday; automakers report sales Monday and retailers Thursday.

The pace of corporate earnings reports slows next week, but three Dow Jones Industrial Average components will post results along with nearly 40 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Also, the U.S. Senate is expected to approve Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court next week. The House is scheduled to be in recess.

 
   July Jobless Rate Estimated At 9.6%

The national unemployment rate is expected to rise slightly in July from 9.5% a month earlier. The latest figure, due next Friday, has been estimated at 9.6% by a group of economists. Most experts expect the U.S. to see double-digit jobless rates before the figure begins to decline.

 
   July Could Be Best Month For Auto Sales

New-vehicle sales are expected to post the highest annual sales rate of 2009, with the $1 billion "cash for clunkers" federal program giving an added boost to results the past week. The program began July 24 and reportedly exhausted its $1 billion in funding by Thursday night. The House on Friday approved an additional $2 billion to keep the program running and the Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.

 
   Data Due On Retail Sales, Personal Income

Major retailers are scheduled to report July same-store sales figures Thursday. Same-store sales dropped 4.9% a month earlier, in line with projections, as retailers contended with high unemployment, the second wettest June in a decade and a lack of stimulus checks that helped spur some buying last year. Same-store sales fell for 10 straight months through June, outpacing the string of declines during the 2001 recession.

In other economic reports, the government will report Monday on June construction spending and the Institute for Supply Management will issue its July report on manufacturing activity. The institute reports on the services sector two days later. Government reports on June personal income and spending are due Tuesday as is the National Association of Realtors' report on June pending home sales, an index of contracts signed. Data on June factory orders will be released Thursday.

 
   Kraft, P&G, Cisco To Report 2Q Results

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) are among the biggest companies reporting quarterly results next week. Kraft, which is due Tuesday, has been benefiting from more people eating at home, while P&G, set for Wednesday, is putting more focus on lower-priced goods to compete with less-expensive brands and private-label rivals.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) is expected to post an 18% drop in sales as its industry reels from sharp pullbacks on information-technology spending. But investors will be watching closely for the networking-gear giant's forecast. The company reports Wednesday.

Others on tap include casino operator MGM Mirage (MGM) and health insurer Humana Inc. (HUM), both Monday; media giant News Corp. (NWS, NWSA) and insurer Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU), both Wednesday; and broadcaster CBS Corp. (CBS), stock exchange Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and restaurant chain owner Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (WEN), all Thursday.

 
   Senate To Vote On Sotomayor Nomination

The full Senate is scheduled to debate the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court starting Tuesday. President Barack Obama's first high court nominee is expected to be easily confirmed. Sotomayor, a federal appeals court judge who has twice been confirmed by the Senate for federal judgeships, would replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter.

 
   Senate Panel Won't Vote On Health-Care Bill

Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, pledged to work into next week to narrow differences on health-care reform legislation with top Republicans. But the Montana Democrat said the panel, which has wide jurisdiction over health policy, would not vote on the bill before the Senate starts its August recess next Friday. He also said it is unclear whether a draft of the bill would be made public next week.

 
   Shareholders To Vote On Schering-Plough Purchase

Shareholders of Merck & Co. (MRK) and Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) are scheduled to meet separately next Friday to vote on the drug makers' proposed $46 billion merger. Merck shareholders will gather in Bridgewater, N.J., in the morning while Schering-Plough's meet in the afternoon in Boston. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Elsewhere in the pharmaceutical industry, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide by Monday whether to approve Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) paliperidone palmitate, a once-monthly, injectable formulation of J&J's antipsychotic Invega. Also, executives from several drug makers are scheduled to speak at a BMO Capital Markets conference Wednesday in New York.

 
   U.S., Swiss To Discuss Deal In UBS-IRS Case

Switzerland and the U.S. are set to hammer out next week the details of an agreement in principle reached between Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS) and the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. is seeking UBS client names as part of a stepped-up IRS campaign against wealthy tax scofflaws who hide their money offshore. The settlement is expected to result in UBS turning over account information for thousands of clients, though likely not the full 52,000 demanded by the IRS. The deal's details are likely to be ironed out by next Friday, when UBS and the IRS are due back before a judge to update him on their progress.

 
   Clinton To Visit 7 African Countries

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit seven African nations next week as she continues her recent globetrotting. The chief U.S. diplomat will first attend the U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday. Next, Clinton will meet with her South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to discuss creating a regular bilateral forum. Her other stops are Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

 
   Souter To Speak At ABA Annual Meeting

Associate Justice David H. Souter of the Supreme Court will address the American Bar Association's opening assembly Saturday as part of the lawyers group's annual meeting in Chicago. The gathering continues through Tuesday and will include discussions of financial problems facing law firms, testing incarcerated individuals for HIV, legal risks of blogging, and proposed legislation on health care and greenhouse gases.

 
   Conferences

Among the other significant conferences next week are the BMO Capital Markets Focus on Healthcare Conference from Tuesday through Thursday in New York and Credit Suisse Group Midsummer's Latam Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in New York.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975; kathy.shwiff@dowjones.com

(Peter Loftus and other Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this report.)