Finance Week Ahead: Focus on the Fed

Another volatile trading week has come to an end, with the major U.S. indices in the red overall and the Dow on Friday seeing its fourth straight day of triple-digit swings. Central bank concerns, from lack of further Bank of Japan action to continued worries over the timing of Fed tightening, led the way; Japan's Nikkei also saw some serious action, plunging to officially enter bear market territory on Thursday before recovering a bit on Friday, while the yen soared against the dollar.

"Central banks are powerless!" cried Yahoo! Finance Breakout's Jeff Macke this week as he and Matt Nesto discussed how the Japanese crash mocks central bank intervention. But the Fed will rule next week as well, as the two-day policy meeting gets under way on Tuesday. Be sure to join our Breakout! team for special live coverage on Wednesday, straight from Yahoo! studios in midtown Manhattan. One not-to-miss feature of this live event: Yahoo! Finance columnist Rick Newman will tell us how Fed Chief Ben Bernanke cost him thousands of dollars. Really. You'll have to tune in to get the details, beginning at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Next week we'll also have guest David Stockman, former budget director under President Ronald Reagan, back on The Daily Ticker, talking about the Fed, budget issues and the general "corruption of capitalism" in the U.S. To refresh your memory, the last time he was on, he told us all, "There are bubbles all over, hide in cash!"

Here's everything else you should look out for in the next week:
Monday, June 18

• Stream of housing data kicks off with the housing market index at 10:00 a.m. ET
• Other data: Empire state manufacturing survey, credit card default rates, Treasury international capital
• G8 summit in Northern Ireland, hosted by UK PM David Cameron, to be attended by world leaders including Barak Obama, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
• Paris Air Show begins, with Airbus vs. Boeing expected to dominate
• Possible IPOs this week: Regado Biosciences, Aratana Therapeutics, Bluebird

Tuesday, June 19

• The two-day FOMC meeting begins
• More housing data with housing starts at 8:30 a.m. ET
• Other data: Consumer inflation
• Following the conclusion of the G8 summit, Obama will make an official visit to Germany to meet with Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck. German elections will be held in September and if Merkel remains chancellor, she will become Germany's second-longest-serving postwar chancellor following Helmut Kohl.

Wednesday, June 20

• FOMC meeting announcement/forecasts in at 2:00 p.m. ET, Bernanke presser at 2:30 p.m. ET
• Data: Weekly mortgage applications, oil inventories
• Earnings: FedEx (FDX)
• From Germany, Obama will deliver a speech at Bradenburg Gate in Berlin
• There will be a National Press Club luncheon, at which AP President/CEO Gary Pruitt will discuss the seizure of AP phone records first reported in May

Thursday, June 21

• More real estate data with existing home sales at 10:00 a.m. ET
• Other data: Jobless claims, PMI manufacturing index, Philadelphia Fed survey, leading indicators, natural gas inventories, Fed balance sheet/money supply
• Shareholder meeting: Best Buy (BBY)

Friday, June 22

• Quadruple witching day: This is when the contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures all expire. This happens four times a year, on the third Friday of March, June, September and December.