General Motors Corp. (GM) is expected to file for bankruptcy protection Monday, the government-imposed deadline for the 100-year-old auto maker to restructure itself into a viable company.

Meanwhile, economists expect the U.S. unemployment rate to climb to 9.2% for May; that report is due next Friday. Also on tap this coming week will be the month's figures on auto and same-store sales.

Home builders Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (HOV) and Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) are among the few companies reporting quarterly results next week.

 
   GM Bankruptcy Likely To Be Short

The Obama administration plans to usher GM into bankruptcy court Monday and push through a restructuring that will cost taxpayers billions of dollars more than previously envisioned, turning what once was one of the most profitable companies in the world into a government ward.

Under the latest plan, the U.S. would provide the Detroit auto maker with at least $30 billion in financing to carry it through and out of bankruptcy, on top of the $20 billion in loans the government has given the company. It also agreed to turn the loans into a controlling ownership stake in GM of up to 72.5%.

Meanwhile, Chrysler, which entered bankruptcy at the end of April, could emerge as soon as next week, assuming a judge approves sale of the company's assets to Italian auto maker Fiat SpA (FIATY).

 
   May Jobless Rate Likely To Top 9%

Economists are predicting May unemployment will rise to 9.2% from 8.9% a month earlier. The government will release the latest job statistics next Friday. On Thursday, Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve, predicted the unemployment rate would reach as high as 10% before reversing, saying employment didn't trough until 21 months after the end of the 2001 recession.

 
   Auto Makers, Retailers Report May Sales

Auto makers and retailers will report May sales on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. New-vehicle sales are expected to rise from April but still remain far below year-earlier levels. Also, car-shopping Web site Edmunds.com predicted Ford Motor Co. (F) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) may come within striking distance of GM. Edmunds sees May sales at 890,000 vehicles, down 36% from a year earlier but up 8.9% from April.

On the retail front, this will be the first monthly sales report since 1979 without data from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), which said in April it would stop reporting such figures. Strong results at the world's largest retailer and drugstore chains drove the biggest monthly gain in same-store sales last month since August, at 1.2%. Lower-end department stores also posted improved results, signaling that consumers are increasing their spending beyond the discount chains.

 
   April Income, Spending Figures Due

The government will report on April personal income and spending rates as well as April construction spending Monday. Also due that day is the Institute for Supply Management's May index of manufacturing activity. That group will report on the service sector Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors will issue its April pending home sales index. The index increased 3.2% in March.

Also out Wednesday are data on April factory orders, which are expected to rise slightly. A revised number for first-quarter productivity is expected Thursday.

Among appearances by Federal Reserve officials: Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify about the federal budget before House lawmakers Wednesday and present welcoming remarks to a conference on financial markets and monetary policy Thursday in Washington.

 
   Homebuilders Likely To Post More Losses

Both Hovnanian and Toll Brothers are expected to post losses when they report fiscal second-quarter results on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The latest data has not shown much improvement in the housing market, and prices are being hurt by a glut of unsold houses. Family-controlled Hovnanian has reported losses in the past 10 quarters, and Toll, which builds large suburban houses and upscale urban condos, has seen losses in the past six.

Also reporting next week are wine maker Constellation Brands Inc. (STZB) and defense contractor SAIC Inc. (SAI), both Wednesday.

 
   Cancer Drug Studies To Be Detailed

Thousands of cancer doctors - and a good number of investors - will converge in Orlando through Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in cancer treatment, and the impacts on drug makers such as Roche Holding AG (RHHBY), Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OSIP). The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology comes after a data deluge of more than 4,000 cancer studies released two weeks ago. Some of that data will be further detailed, while the most notable studies have been withheld as "late breakers" that will be orally presented by researchers.

 
   Obama To Visit Mideast, Europe

President Barack Obama said he will discuss the need to diversify energy sources when he meets with Saudi King Abdullah next week, saying neither country benefits from turbulent prices and an overreliance on fossil fuels. Obama and Abdullah will meet in Riyadh on Wednesday, at the start of the president's trip to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France.

Obama plans to discuss U.S. relations with the Muslim world in a speech Thursday in Egypt, part of his attempt to mend the U.S. image in the Islamic world. Obama is then due to visit the German city of Dresden and the former Nazi death camp at Buchenwald next Friday and attend D-Day commemorations in France on June 6.

 
   Geithner To Discuss Trade In China

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner heads to Beijing this weekend to urge Chinese leaders to fundamentally alter the export-oriented economy that has created years of trans-Pacific trade tensions. In meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, Geithner is expected to reiterate U.S. support for the giant stimulus package that China has implemented to combat the global recession. But he also is planning to press Beijing to take drastic measures to turn China's economy into one that depends heavily on sales to domestic consumers and less on sales to the U.S. and other foreign markets, according to a senior Treasury Department official.

 
   Conan Takes Over 'The Tonight Show'

Jay Leno passes "The Tonight Show" desk to Conan O'Brien Monday after 17 years and more than 3,800 episodes at the helm of NBC's late-night talk show. O'Brien will be just the fifth man to take the hot seat in the show's 55-year history. Leno will return to the network in September in a program running Monday through Friday at 10 p.m. EDT.

 
   Conferences

Among the significant conferences next week are the Standard & Poors Insurance Conference from Sunday through Tuesday in Brooklyn; Goldman Sachs Lodging, Gaming, Restaurant & Leisure Conference on Monday and Tuesday in New York; RBC Capital Markets Global Energy & Power Conference on Monday and Tuesday in New York; Bank of America and Merrill Lynch U.S. Technology Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in New York; and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. Diversified Financial Services Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in New York.

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

(Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this report.)