The popular "cash for clunkers" government program will end Monday after a rush of buyers apparently exhausted the $3 billion allotted to encourage car owners to exchange gas-guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Meanwhile, new-home sales in July are expected to rise for the fourth month in a row, and economists also predict a smaller year-over-year decline in June home prices, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, out Tuesday.

Computer-maker Dell Inc. (DELL) and retailers, from discounter Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) to jeweler Tiffany & Co. (TIF), will report quarterly results next week.

 
   Cash-For-Clunkers Program To End Monday

The federal government said it would end "cash for clunkers" rebates at 8 p.m. Monday, after high consumer demand threatened to drain the new-car discount program weeks earlier than expected. Obama administration officials had initially expected the $3 billion program to last through Labor Day, but a big wave of buyers, as well as administrative bottlenecks, prompted officials to end the program early. "Cash for clunkers" offered discounts of $3,500 or $4,500 to consumers who traded vehicles rated at 18 miles per gallon or less for more fuel-efficient models.

 
   Higher Home Sales, Smaller Price Drops Seen

Economists expect more good news about the housing market next week after a surprise 7.2% jump in existing-home sales reported Friday. A government report Wednesday is expected to show new-home sales rose 1.6% in July, the fourth monthly increase in a row. Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which measures home prices in 20 major cities, on Tuesday is likely to show a smaller year-over-year price decline in June than in the May report.

An updated figure on second-quarter gross domestic product, out Thursday, is forecast to show a 1.4% decline, slightly larger than the 1% contraction estimated earlier this month. The government also will report on July durable goods orders Wednesday and personal incomes and spending in July on Friday. In addition, the final reading on the Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment for August will be released Friday. Regional manufacturing reports are due Monday from the Chicago Fed, Tuesday from the Richmond Fed and Thursday from the Kansas City Fed.

Among appearances by Federal Reserve officials: Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart speaks Wednesday in Chattanooga, Tenn., and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks Thursday in Little Rock, Ark.

 
   Dell, Toll, Retailers To Report Results

Dell, the second-largest PC maker after Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), is among the largest companies posting results in a slow week. It is expected to report lower profit and revenue for the fiscal second quarter on a continuing slump in demand. Also reporting next week is luxury-home builder Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL), which last week said orders climbed 3% in its fiscal third quarter, stunning analysts who had predicted double-digit declines.

Retailers scheduled to post fiscal second-quarter results include Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS) on Tuesday; Dollar Tree and Guess Inc. (GES), both Wednesday; J. Crew Group Inc. (JCG) on Thursday; and Tiffany on Friday.

 
   FDIC May Loosen Rules On Bank Buyouts

To attract more buyers for failed banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is expected to vote Wednesday to soften its proposed restrictions on private-equity firms buying collapsed lenders, according to people familiar with the matter. While FDIC officials still are hammering out details of the final rule, the agency is expected to back away from some parts of its July proposal, including a requirement that buyout firms that bid on failed institutions maintain much thicker capital cushions than banks, these people said. The FDIC, grappling with 77 bank failures this year, the most since 1992, is trying to strike a delicate balance.

 
   FDA May Delay OK On J&J Epilepsy Drug

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to act by early next week on Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) application to market a new epilepsy drug, which J&J hopes to call Comfyde. But the drug might not get approved just yet - it failed to show a significant improvement compared with a placebo in one of its clinical trials, though it did so in another. Wells Fargo thinks the mixed data will cause FDA to delay a final decision until more data supporting the drug's effectiveness comes in, with possible approval in late 2010. Wells Fargo has modest expectations for the drug, seeing $405 million in annual sales in 2013.

 
   Reader's Digest Bankruptcy Filing Likely

The publisher of Reader's Digest magazine is set to file for bankruptcy as early as next week after reaching a deal to turn the company over to senior lenders, the Wall Street Journal reported. Readers Digest Association Inc. announced this week that it planned to restructure through bankruptcy. Under its pre-negotiated bankruptcy plan, senior lenders led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) would swap a significant amount of their $1.6 billion in debt for about a 92.5% equity stake in the reorganized company. The plan would cut the company's debt by 75% to $550 million. The board and senior management would get a 7.5% stake.

 
   GM Could Choose Opel/Vauxhall Buyer Soon

The board of General Motors Co. was meeting Friday to discuss bids for its Opel/Vauxhall unit, and two people close to the discussions said an announcement could come as early as next week. GM's revamped board met last week to review "final" offers for a majority stake in the loss-making European unit, though the two bidders are being pressed by German authorities to tweak the proposals. The Detroit auto maker technically has a final say in what GM insists will be a "commercial" decision, but the proposed sale has become politically charged by its reliance on up to EUR4.5 billion in government guarantees, mainly from German federal and state authorities.

 
   Central Bankers, Finance Officials Meet

Central bankers and global finance officials continue their annual, two-day conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., through Saturday. At the event, organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday said economic activity appears to be leveling out in the U.S. and abroad, but he's not expecting a rapid economic recovery.

 
   Obama Takes Break From Health-Care Battle

President Barack Obama will be on vacation next week, along with much of the rest of the country. He doesn't plan to participate in any health-care events during his time off in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., leaving that to other administration officials, his spokesman said. Obama plans to keep in touch with members of Congress during his break, and his spokesman didn't rule out personal meetings with lawmakers to sway them on the health-care issue.

 
   Islamic Holy Month Of Ramadan Begins

Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, starts this weekend. During the month, Muslims can eat only after the traditional firing of a cannon to signal sunset. In Dubai, companies have hosted lavish banquets to woo Muslim clients as they break their fasts, but they are scaling back amid the financial crisis.

 
   Conferences

Among the significant conferences next week are the Barrington Research Healthcare Conference on Monday and Tuesday in Chicago and SourceMedia Conferences Americas Summit 2009 from Monday through Wednesday in San Francisco.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; kathy.shwiff@dowjones.com

(Peter Loftus and other Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this report.)