PREVIEW: Some of the major business economic events scheduled for this week

Government figures for release this week will show that the U.S. economy powered into 2000 at full throttle. Gross domestic product, the nation’s total output of goods and services, probably grew at a 5.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 1999 after expanding at a 5.7% pace during the third quarter. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the estimate of GDP growth Friday. The statistics will be revised in February and March as government analysts gather more information.

Inventory building and “a supremely confident consumer filling the shopping cart to the brim in December,” are fueling continued growth, said Vincent Boberski, an economist at Dain Rauscher in Chicago. That suggests consumer spending alone probably advanced at a 5% clip in the fourth quarter, adding further to expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its policy session next week.

Other reports due this week:

* Highlighting the strength in the economy, the Conference Board is expected to report Tuesday that consumer confidence advanced in January after setting a 31-year high a month earlier. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index probably rose to 142.3 for January from 141.4 during December.

* On the housing front, the National Assn. of Realtors is likely to report Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes set an annual record in 1999 as sales for December totaled 5.01 million dwellings at a seasonally adjusted annual rate versus 5.09 million during November, analysts said.

* The Labor Department on Thursday is likely to report that labor costs remained tame in the fourth quarter, even with the unemployment rate at an almost 30-year low and businesses in a variety of industries and places struggling to fill vacancies. The employment cost index probably increased at a 0.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter after rising at a 0.8% pace during the third.

* A Commerce Department report Thursday is expected to show that factory orders for big-ticket items such as autos, aircraft, electronics and industrial hardware, probably increased 1% in December after rising 0.9% in November.