Sep. 8--Friday brings August producer price index data, and investors will see whether their inflation worries have truly dissipated. Economists are expecting the rate to drop on a month-over-month basis, but to be more than 10 percent higher year over year.

Experts will watch how the cash-strapped consumer is holding up in Friday's retail sales data. The predictions: Not particularly well.

The increase in exports continues to help curb the nation's trade deficit. The latest reading comes Wednesday, with economists expecting July's deficit to increase slightly from June's $56.8 billion.

All of this data will make for a volatile week on Wall Street. Will the Dow fall back toward the two-year lows it reached back in July?

On Tuesday, Apple Inc. plans to host a special event, feeding speculation that it may release updated models of the iPod media player to spur holiday sales.

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