U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated between gains and losses before reports on consumer confidence and house prices. PVH Corp., owner of the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, jumped in late U.S. trading after raising its full-year profit forecast. AOL Inc. advanced 1.7 percent in Germany. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) futures expiring in September rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,408.5 at 7:26 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 1 point to 13,108. The S&P 500 last week briefly traded above a four-year high of 1,419.04 reached in April. The benchmark gauge has rallied 2.3 percent in August and is on course for its third straight monthly gain. “Global growth is not self-perpetuating, but is instead heavily dependent on continued monetary stimulus,� Robert Bergqvist, chief economist at SEB AB in Stockholm, wrote in a report today. “Since the world economy is unable to take off on its own, central banks are being forced into increasingly drastic stimulus measures. We expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to deliver a new round of quantitative easing this autumn.� Investors are waiting for a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Aug. 31 at the central bank’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His address in 2010 preceded a second round of bond purchases, or quantitative easing, to help support the economic recovery. U.S. Confidence A report today may show confidence among U.S. consumers advanced for a second month in August. The Conference Board’s index increased to 66 this month from 65.9 in July, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 77 economists. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of house prices in 20 U.S. cities is projected to be almost unchanged in June from a year earlier, the first time since September 2010 that it hasn’t shown a drop. In Japan, the government downgraded its view on personal consumption, housebuilding, exports, imports and industrial output in the world’s third-largest economy. It also lowered its assessment of the global economy. The Cabinet Office said that risks to Japan’s economy include a “further slowing down of overseas economies and sharp fluctuations in the financial and capital markets,� according to a monthly report released in Tokyo today. PVH Gains PVH Corp. (PVH) rose 5.4 percent to $93.25 in late U.S. trading after increasing its annual profit forecast to a maximum of $6.32 a share, excluding some items such as currency exchange and higher pension costs, from as much as $6.25 previously. Analysts had estimated $6.23, the average of predictions compiled by Bloomberg. The company said that second-quarter net income rose 31 percent to $87.7 million, or $1.19 a share, helped by climbing sales for its Tommy Hilfiger brand in North America. Quarterly retail sales of the label in Europe rose 15 percent on a comparable-store basis, excluding currency fluctuations, even as the economy in the region may be moving toward another recession. AOL Inc. (AOL) gained 1.7 percent to $34.42 in German trading, extending a rally after yesterday announcing a $600 million accelerated stock buyback agreement and a special cash dividend of $5.15 a share, the final steps in returning about $1.1 billion to shareholders. Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) rose 0.7 percent to $19.14 in German trade. The U.S. printer maker plans to eliminate 1,700 positions and shut a factory in the Philippines as it explores a sale of its inkjet technology to bolster profitability. To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Levring in Copenhagen at plevring1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

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