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NEW YORK (Reuters) � Stock investors will head into next week wondering if September will end as strongly as it began for the market, with manufacturing and personal income data among the top indicators on tap.

The data will be watched for further clues on whether the economic recovery is still on track and to see if the market's recent rally has support.

Friday's advance left the three major U.S. stock indexes with gains for the fourth week in a row, boosting investors' confidence that the upward move will continue.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX) is up 9.5 percent since the end of August. Its move above the 1,130 level on Monday represented a technical breakout that analysts said suggested further gains were likely.

If the rally holds, it would make September the best month for the S&P 500 since at least March 2000, and the best September for stocks since 1939, according to Reuters' data.

"Sentiment has turned sharply higher over the past few weeks after very bearish readings last month," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial, in Westport, Connecticut.

The data next week includes two manufacturing reports -- one from the Institute for Supply Management and another from the ISM-Chicago, better known as the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. A Commerce Department report on personal income and spending is also on the agenda.

The last ISM manufacturing report "helped propel the markets higher," Sheldon said, so "any disappointment could be a setback" for stocks.

OF FACTORIES AND PERSONAL FINANCE

Tepid demand amid a U.S. unemployment rate of 9.6 percent is expected to have caused a slowdown in manufacturing activity in September. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index probably dropped to 54.5 in September from 56.3 in August, according to a Reuters poll of economists. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Data next week is also expected show moderate gains in personal income and consumer spending in August, consistent with views of an economy that is on a slow growth path, but not contracting. Both reports are due on Friday.

Next week also brings consumer confidence data, on Tuesday, as well as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final September reading on its consumer sentiment index on Friday.

The final figures on second-quarter gross domestic product will be out on Thursday, with the Reuters poll forecasting growth at an annual rate of 1.6 percent -- matching the second, or preliminary, reading on the quarter's GDP.

On Friday, September domestic car and truck sales will be reported. A rise in total vehicle sales to an annual rate of 11.50 million units is seen versus August's 11.43 million.

READING THE S&P'S SIGNALS

The S&P 500's move above 1,130 this week let the broad index break out of its recent trading range.

Technical analysts are watching 1,173 as the S&P 500's next level of resistance. That level represents the high following the May 6 flash crash. Another level to watch is 1,220, the S&P 500's high for this year.

"What's so important about moving above a trading range is it signals a willingness to buy at higher prices. That type of evidence is supportive of further upside," said Chris Burba, short-term market technician at Standard & Poor's in New York.

But "after such a huge run since late August, the odds of taking a breather here are increasing," he said.

For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) ended up 2.4 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 2.1 percent and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) climbed 2.8 percent.

Next week also marks the end of the third quarter and options analysts expect fund managers to try to pick up some of the quarter's better performers.

"A lot of option traders are anticipating window dressing, which is helping the winners of the last quarter, specifically Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Netflix (NFLX.O), Amazon,com (AMZN.O) and some material names, such as Freeport McMoRan (FCX.N) and Vale (VALE5.SA) (VALE.N)," said Steve Claussen, chief investment strategist at online brokerage OptionsHouse LLC in Chicago.

The earnings slate is light, with just a handful of S&P 500 companies expected to report results, including Jabil Circuit (JBL.N), Paychex (PAYX.O), Walgreen (WAG.N) and Family Dollar Stores (FDO.N).

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, with additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Lucia Mutikani and Doris Frankel; Editing by Jan Paschal)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) � Regulators seized three corporate credit unions on Friday and will repackage about $50 billion in troubled assets to sell on the open market.

The National Credit Union Administration said the three corporate credit unions, which provide clearing services to retail credit unions, were critically undercapitalized.

Barclays Capital will manage the securitization plan, the regulator said, adding that a securitization trust will be created to issue guaranteed notes backed by the U.S. government.

NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said the agency also put in place on Friday regulations requiring corporate credit unions to hold higher levels of capital and setting risk limits.

The seizure of the three corporate credit unions comes after the NCUA last year took over two other such institutions, citing a critical deterioration in their finances.

Corporate credit unions are the retail credit union's credit union, providing services including lending, and check and payment clearance services.

Corporate credit unions have experienced more troubles than their retail counterparts because they did not face the same restrictions on permitted investments, leading to big losses in certain securities during the financial crisis.

The institutions seized on Friday were Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union of Warrenville, Illinois; Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union of Plano, Texas; and Constitution Corporate Federal Credit Union of Wallingford, Connecticut.

The NCUA insures credit union and consumer deposits up to $250,000 per account.

(Reporting by Dave Clarke and Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) � The United Auto Workers health care trust and the governments of Canada and Ontario may not participate in General Motors Co's (GM.UL) upcoming IPO to avoid taking a cut on the price of their shares, three people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

The Treasury still plans to sell at least 20 percent of its stake to become a minority shareholder in the top U.S. automaker, five people familiar with the matter said.

The UAW's trust fund for retiree health care -- known as the VEBA -- and Canada together hold just under 30 percent of GM common stock as a result of the automaker's restructuring in a U.S. government-directed bankruptcy in 2009.

VEBA managers and Canadian officials have raised the possibility of waiting until follow-on stock offerings to avoid offering the hefty discounts typically required for initial offerings, the sources said.

All the people with knowledge of the discussions asked not to be named because preparations for the deal remain private and tightly controlled by U.S. securities laws.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Clare Baldwin in New York, Kevin Krolicki in Detroit and Philipp Halstrick in Frankfurt. Additional reporting by John McCrank in Toronto. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

NEW YORK (Reuters) � Citigroup Inc (C.N) said on Friday its board of directors would raise Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's salary above the token $1 he has earned for the past two years.

"Beginning in 2011, the Board intends to compensate Vikram commensurate with the job of CEO of Citi," Chairman Richard D. Parsons said in a statement on Friday.

Pandit said in February 2009 he would earn $1 annually until the bank returned to profitability. Massive losses on bad loans forced Citigroup to take a record $45 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds over three bailouts in 2008 and 2009.

The government is still unwinding its almost 18 percent stake in Citigroup, but the bank has posted two consecutive profitable quarters so far in 2010. Parsons said the board was "very pleased" with Pandit's progress in making Citigroup profitable.

Pandit will continue to earn $1 for the rest of 2010, the bank said on Friday. Citigroup plans to award the rest of its top executives incentive pay for the first nine months of 2010, in the form of common shares, at the end of September.

The "stock salary" is a holdover from the executive compensation standards set by former U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg. As long as the government still holds a stake in Citigroup, the company is required under law to limit incentive pay to its top executives to one-third of their overall compensation.

John Havens, CEO of Citigroup's institutional clients group, will receive the highest level of incentives, with $750,000 in shares per month, according to the filing.

Other top executives who will receive share payouts include Chief Financial Officer John C. Gerspach, Vice Chairman Edward J. Kelly, and North American Consumer Banking CEO Manuel Medina-Mora.

Citigroup shares were trading up 2.1 percent at $3.88 on Friday afternoon.

(Reporting by Maria Aspan, editing by Gerald E. McCormick; Editing by Derek Caney)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) � New orders for a wide range of long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose in August and business spending plans rebounded strongly, the latest sign a sharp summer slowdown in the economy was abating.

Other data Friday showing new home sales were flat last month underscored the many obstacles to the recovery. Still, the durable goods report diminished concerns of a double-dip recession and implied a modest pick-up in output.

"For people looking for a double dip, the durable goods report told you the third quarter is going to look pretty good for capital spending. The markets reacted to that," said John Canally, economist at LPL Financial in Boston.

Durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 2.0 percent after falling by 2.8 percent in July, the Commerce Department said, the largest increase since March. The rise was above market expectations for a 1.0 percent gain.

But a decline in aircraft and motor vehicle bookings depressed overall orders 1.3 percent, the largest fall in a year, after a 0.7 percent gain in July. A gauge of business spending plans rebounded 4.1 percent after July's 5.3 percent drop.

Stocks on Wall Street rose as investors welcomed the revival in business investment, while government debt prices fell. The U.S. dollar dropped against a basket of currencies to its lowest level since February.

In another report, the department said new single family home sales were at a 288,000 unit annual rate in August, unchanged from July's rate and the second lowest pace on record. However, the supply of houses on the market tumbled to the lowest in 42 years.

SIGNS OF STABILITY

The housing market is showing some signs of stability after a downward spiral following the end of a tax credit for home buyers in April. Data this week showed home building rose in August and sales of previously owned houses crawled off a 13-year low.

But a 9.6 percent unemployment rate and still tight access to credit are keeping potential home buyers on the sidelines.

"While the low level of mortgage rates would seem to be an enticement for sales, mortgage lending standards are only beginning to loosen," said Peter Muoio, a senior principal at Maximus Advisors in New York.

"We need to see stronger job growth and reduced uncertainty before households will be ready and willing to jump back into the housing market."

With housing still struggling for footing, builder KB Home (KBH.N) resorted to cost cutting, resulting in a smaller-than-expected third-quarter loss. The homebuilder issued a cautious outlook for the near-term.

Although other data such as private sector employment and retail sales have also suggested an easing of the harsh conditions that gripped the economy in the second quarter, domestic demand remains lackluster as households struggle with falling wealth.

The Federal Reserve this week said it was prepared to pump more money into the economy if needed to stimulate the recovery and avert a crippling phase of deflation.

Analysts believe the U.S. central bank could announce a new asset purchasing program as early as next month.

"Unless the economic data improves markedly between now and then, they will probably start at the next meeting (in November) and maybe test it for a while. It will be after the elections and therefore less political," said Canally.

The economy's poor health and a record budget deficit will influence the outcome of the November 2 mid-term elections, which could see the Republicans wrest control of Congress from the Democratic Party.

Even though the durable goods orders report showed some strength, analysts expect manufacturing growth to slow as demand remains subdued. Manufacturing has been leading the economy's recovery from the worst recession in 70 years.

Durable goods inventories rose 0.4 percent after increasing 0.6 percent in July. Shipments, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, declined 1.5 percent last month, while unfilled orders dropped for a second straight month.

Economists at Goldman Sachs also noted that the shipments-to-inventories ratio -- a useful leading indicator for industrial activity -- dropped, while the year-over-year increase has slowed sharply.

"Despite today's stronger-than-expected release, we therefore expect a further slowdown in industrial activity in coming months," they wrote in a note.

(Editing by Andrea Ricci)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) � New U.S. single-family home sales were flat in August, but the supply of houses on the market tumbled to the lowest level in 42 years, government data showed on Friday.

The Commerce Department reported August sales at a 288,000 unit annual rate, unchanged from July's rate, which was revised up from a previously reported 276,000 unit pace. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales rising to a 290,000 unit pace in August.

The housing market is starting to stabilize after a downward spiral following the end of a homebuyer tax credit in April. Data this week showed home construction rose last month and sales of previously owned homes crawled off 13-year lows.

But activity in the sector, which contributed to the worst recession since the Great Depression, remains subdued amid a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

The number of new homes available for sale fell 1.4 percent to 206,000 units, the lowest since August 1968. Despite August's unchanged sales pace, the supply of new homes on the market dipped to 8.6 months' worth from 8.7 months' worth in July.

The median sale price for a new home fell 0.6 percent last month from July to $204,700, the lowest since December 2003. Compared to August last year, the median price fell 1.2 percent.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) � A dramatic upheaval among HSBC's (HSBA.L) (0005.HK) top management after a boardroom row has left the bank scrambling to limit damage to its reputation but unlikely to alter its increasing focus on Asia.

Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan is set to be replaced by Stuart Gulliver, the head of investment banking, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Its Finance Director Douglas Flint is to take over as chairman, as a power struggle after the announced departure of its chairman two weeks ago spread across the board.

"It's quite remarkable for a company that's renowned for its stewardship," said Chris Wheeler, analyst at Mediobanca in London.

"It's got to be bad news in the short term. It's not affecting the underlying performance, but it looks ugly and it's unstable for a bank that's come through this (crisis) looking very healthy," he said.

Shares in HSBC, the world's third biggest bank and the largest outside China, were up 0.2 percent at 665.3 pence in London at 1001 GMT. Its Hong Kong-listed shares dipped 0.6 percent.

"The overall broad strategy is going to remain constant," said Dominic Chan, an analyst at BNP Paribas. "The (possible) Nedbank purchase and everything they've said recently all says they're not going to suddenly change direction and decide they want to be an investment bank."

The board shake-up was triggered by news two weeks ago that Chairman Stephen Green was leaving for a ministerial position in the British government.

That prompted jostling for position by board members. Geoghegan threatened to quit if he was not made chairman, the Financial Times reported this week, which the bank dismissed as "nonsense."

Analysts broadly welcomed the potential Flint and Gulliver double-act. Both are HSBC veterans and have a firm grip on the complexities of the bank, which spans 86 countries.

"It's an unusual move, but with banking becoming an increasingly regulated sector, Flint is actually a good choice," said Daniel Tabbush, an analyst at CLSA in Bangkok.

"He's a conservative player who knows the business well, has a clear understanding of accounting systems in various countries, as well as how profitable each country is, so he's going to represent some continuity."

GOVERNANCE CONCERNS

Gulliver had been groomed for the CEO role and was given wider responsibility for running Europe and the Middle East when Geoghegan moved to Hong Kong earlier this year.

That symbolized HSBC's greater emerging markets push -- it aims to be listed on Shanghai's international board and is in talks to buy a majority of South Africa's Nedbank (NEDJ.J).

It was not clear if Gulliver would move to Hong Kong from his current London location.

If confirmed, Gulliver would become the second investment banking chief to be named chief executive of a top British bank this month, following Bob Diamond's appointment as CEO of Barclays Plc (BARC.L).

That comes despite a backlash against riskier investment banking among politicians. UK banks will be subjected to a wide-ranging probe that will examine the possible break-up of retail and investment banks and ways to boost competition, a commission said on Friday.

Critics said the appointment of Flint would also go against best corporate governance practice, as it is hard for a former executive to be objective about strategic decisions they may have helped make and could be reluctant to reverse them.

"This stuff has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis," said a corporate governance director at a UK asset manager.

"The role of a chairman is to be an independent voice vis-a-vis how the CEO's operating and to have a very critical and objective eye toward the strategy... human nature is what it is; people will want to see their legacies preserved," he said.

HSBC has a history of promoting from within and angered investors five years ago when it promoted Green to chairman. It wrote to shareholders before that was voted on, citing its size, geographical spread and complexity as reasons for not complying with best practice.

(Additional reporting by Clare Jim, Joel Dimmock and Cecilia Valente; Editing by Chris Lewis and Mike Nesbit)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) � New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods excluding transportation rose in August and business spending rebounded strongly, pointing to an improvement in the economy after a recent soft patch.

Orders excluding transportation rose 2.0 percent after falling by 2.8 percent in July, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That was the largest increase since March and beat market expectations for a 1.0 percent gain.

However, overall orders dropped 1.3 percent, the largest decline in a year, after a 0.7 percent increase in July. Markets had expected orders to fall 1.0 percent.

"Overall, I think it's a much stronger number than the headline suggests. It was a weak report last month but I think this definitely shows underlying improvement," said Tom Simons, money market economist at Jefferies & Co. in New York.

U.S. stock index futures extend gains on the data, while Treasury debt prices extended losses. The U.S. dollar fell against the euro.

Data for August such as private sector employment, retail sales and home sales have suggested an easing of the harsh conditions that gripped the economy in the second quarter, calming fears the economy could slide back into recession.

But domestic demand remains lackluster and the Federal Reserve this week said it was prepared to pump more money into the economy if needed to stimulate the recovery and avert a damaging downward spiral in prices.

Last month, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft -- a closely watched proxy for business spending -- rebounded 4.1 percent in August after a 5.3 percent drop in July. Markets had expected a 2.0 percent rise.

Durable goods orders are a leading indicator of manufacturing, a sector which is leading the economy's recovery from the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression as businesses replenish inventories.

But manufacturing is slowing as domestic demand remains tepid, with households grappling with high unemployment and falling wealth.

The decline in overall orders last month reflected a 40.2 percent plunge in non-defense aircraft orders after a 69.1 percent surge in July.

Boeing Co (BA.N) received only 10 orders for civilian aircraft in August, a sharp slowdown from 130 bookings in July, according to information posted on the plane maker's website.

Orders were also weighed down by bookings for defense aircraft, which fell 2.7 percent, and a 4.4 percent drop in motor vehicle orders.

Durable goods inventories rose 0.4 percent after increasing 0.6 percent in July. Shipments, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, declined 1.5 percent last month, while unfilled orders dropped for a second straight month.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by Emily Flitter in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

LONDON (Reuters) Stock index futures signaled a slightly higher open for Wall Street on Friday, with shares set to rebound from Thursday's falls.

By 3.57 EDT, futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.1 percent, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 0.2 percent and Nasdaq futures were up 0.2 percent.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after a weak reading on the labor market pulled stocks on the S&P 500 (.SPX) through a key technical level below 1,130 -- the high end of the summer's trading range.

Investors are likely to focus on a batch of data set for release on Friday to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.

U.S. durable goods figures for August are due at 1230 GMT, while new home sales data for the same month are scheduled for release at 1400 GMT. A poll of economists by Reuters forecasts sales of 290,000 units, up from 276,000 the month before.

Investors will closely watch developments in the currency markets after the dollar rose sharply against the yen on talk that Japanese authorities were buying dollars for yen in their second intervention this month. There was no immediate confirmation from the authorities.

In company news, a senior Credit Suisse (CS.N) commodity executive and a team of traders have left the bank to set up a hedge fund backed by Blackstone Group, the latest shake-up resulting from tough U.S. financial reform.

The second-largest shareholder in Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell (CRCL.AS)(CRXL.O), which has criticized Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) $2.3 billion offer for the company as meager, has increased its stake since the bid.

U.S. customer management and billing firm CSG Systems (CSGS.O) agreed to buy British rival Intec Telecom Systems (ITL.L) for 236.7 million pounds ($370.9 million) to create a global presence in business support systems.

South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's fourth-largest pension fund, said it will invest $300 million in U.S. property through real estate investment firm Townsend Group.

California regulators voted on Thursday to boost the state's renewable energy target to 33 percent by 2020, which could provide a big boost to the alternative-energy industry in the nation's most populous state.

The Senate will not vote on renewing Bush-era tax cuts before the November 2 elections, a spokesman for the majority leader said on Thursday, as Democrats face internal divisions and potential Republican obstacles.

After the closing bell on Thursday, shares of AMD (AMD.N) fell 2.8 percent to $6.22 after the company updated its third-quarter outlook.

Shares of Nike Inc (NKE.N) rose 2.7 percent to $79.77 in extended trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected orders and profit.

In Europe, shares dropped for a fourth straight session, led lower by mining stocks. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) was down 0.5 percent by 0857 GMT.

(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by Michael Shields)

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) � The yen dropped on Friday, driven by rumors Japan was intervening for the second time this month to weaken it, while Japanese equities cut their losses on strength in exporter stocks.

Currency dealers had been expecting Japan to step back into the market after heavy yen-selling intervention last week for the first time since 2004, though renewed pressure on the dollar resulting from the risk of more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve and falling U.S. yields made them wonder about the timing.

"Given that this would be the second time (for intervention) and not as much of a surprise, I think the impact would be pretty limited at best. Even now, it seems tough for the dollar to hang onto the 85 yen level, and this will make it hard for the Nikkei to rise substantially in turn," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing with Jujiya Securities in Tokyo.

Japanese equities followed the dollar higher against the yen, with investors embracing the benefits to domestic exporters of a weaker currency.

The dollar was at a session high around 85.38 yen minutes after trading at 84.50 yen, with dealers citing talk of intervention. The post-intervention low of 84.26 yen was hit on Thursday.

Japan intervened on September 15 minutes after the dollar hit a 15-year low of 82.87 yen, selling an estimated 2 trillion yen ($23.70 billion), its largest single-day yen selling intervention. Also pressuring the dollar were shrinking yield gaps between the dollar and the yen.

Japan's Nikkei share average was largely unchanged on the day, cutting earlier losses. Big exporter stocks such as Toyota (7203.T) and Honda (7267.T) were among the biggest supports to index.

($1=84.37 Yen)

(Editing by Alex Richardson)