WEEKAHEAD-The view from Reuters editors in the Americas

For video commentary on the week ahead in the Americas, click on link.reuters.com/baz25q

GM IPO - General Motors GM.UL on Wednesday is expected to price an IPO that will raise some $10 billion, allowing the U.S. Treasury to begin to reduce its stake in the automaker to about 43 percent. Helping answer whether the U.S. automakers tentative recovery has legs, the Reuters Global Autos Summit in Detroit will feature speakers ranging from Ripplewood Holdings industrial partner Thomas Stallkamp to United Auto Workers President Bob King. Expect substantial further reaction to the massive IPO at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which starts its press preview on Wednesday and continues on Thursday. We will have previews on both the IPO and the Auto Show as well as full coverage. christian.plumb@thomsonreuters.com

EXTENDING TAX CUTS - Whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts will be the top issue when the outgoing Congress -- without the new lawmakers elected in the midterm vote on Nov. 2 -- returns to work on Monday. Negotiations are likely to come to a head when congressional leaders from both parties meet President Obama at the White House. Also this week, Republicans will vote for their congressional leaders on Wednesday. And former Ways and Means Committee head Charles Rangel, a Democrat from New York, goes to a trial by his peers on Monday as the Ethics Committee looks into charges of ethics violations. alistair.bell@thomsonreuters.com

U.S. ECONOMY/FED - Recent glimmers of hope for the moribund economy have raised the question of whether the Federal Reserve really will buy the full $600 billion in bonds that it has promised. But a report on U.S. consumer prices on Wednesday should offer a reminder of why Fed officials' nerves are frayed. The core CPI is seen ticking up just 0.1 percent, with the year-on-year index dropping to an eerily low 0.7 percent. Reports on Monday should show retail sales gained in October, albeit with unwanted inventory still piling up at businesses. On Friday, Chairman Bernanke could provide a signal on the strength of the Fed's bond-buying commitment in remarks in Frankfurt. That might provide wanted clarity after a smattering of speeches by hawks and doves earlier in the week. tim.ahmann@thomsonreuters.com

MARKETS - After an unexpected selloff this past week, Wall Street turns to fresh data and politics to determine whether stocks can resume their rally. There are fears Tuesday's producer price figures will show businesses are stuck with rising costs they can't pass on to cash-strapped consumers. Investors also want political clarity over future tax policy after Republicans' big election gains. Elsewhere, resurgent dollar bulls are curious to see if the euro has put its sovereign debt worries behind it while the bond market appears to be struggling with renewed doubts over the Fed's latest round of easing. david.gaffen@thomsonreuters.com