Week ahead

Highlights for March 27 to April 1

28 Tuesday

* EWomenNetwork: Accelerated Networking event, 11:30 a.m., Maggiano's, Streets at Southpoint mall, 8030 Renaissance Parkway, Durham. Elaine Morgan, director of advertising and marketing at the Herald-Sun on "Advertising Your Business ... How Do You Plan and How Do You Pay?" Reservations required, www.ewomennetwork.com or Joyce Loebsack, 218-5656.

* Lisa Harper, chairwoman and chief creative officer of children's clothier Gymboree, will discuss her two decades in the retail industry. Part of the UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School's Dean's Speaker Series. The speech will be held in the Koury Auditorium at 5:30 p.m., with a reception after the event. It is a free event, but RSVPs are requested. Call 843-7787 or e-mail kfbsrsvp@unc.edu.

* "Protection Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks, Intellectual Property," seminar offered by Wake Technical Community College Small Business Center, 6:45 to 8:45 p.m., Western Wake campus, 3434 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary. Free. Contact: Ken, 363-3360.

30 Thursday

* Reinventing Today's Business for the Challenges of Tomorrow: conference sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Sustainable Enterprise, Thursday and Friday, Hilton Hotel Raleigh-Durham, RTP. Janine Benyus, a biologist and author of "Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature," will give the keynote address. $550 for corporate participants, $375 for academic and nonprofit participants. Contact: Ruth Tolman, 962-1499 or cse@unc.edu or www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/ki/cse/conference.

For complete calendar listings, see Friday's Business section.

Economic calendar

MONDAY: The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting on interest rates.

TUESDAY: The Fed concludes its two-day meeting and will issue a decision on interest rates about 2:15 p.m. Conference Board reports its monthly Consumer Confidence Index

THURSDAY: The Pantry of Sanford holds its annual shareholder meeting in Durham. Etrials Worldwide of Morrisville reports quarterly financial results. Commerce Department reports on gross domestic product, for the fourth quarter, final.

FRIDAY: N.C. Employment Security Commission reports February jobless data for the Triangle. Commerce Department reports on personal income and spending, factory orders for February.