Hello and welcome to the working week.
Feeling out of this world? No? Then you are clearly not a tech billionaire. This week’s galactic diary item is brought to you by SpaceX, arguably the more successful of the various entrepreneurial rocket endeavours. It has a slot booked on the launch pad in Florida for Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission.
It is certainly not surprising that people are trying to get off the planet given what we have been doing to the earth’s ecosystem. And climate change has been very much in focus during Norway’s national election campaign, which reaches its conclusion this week. The population is alert to its society’s contradictions — Norway is both one of the largest proponents of green technology, such as electric cars, and western Europe’s biggest petroleum producer — leading to the campaign being dubbed the “climate election”.
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Companies
Investors will be scanning Ocado’s third-quarter trading update for any signs that online penetration, which peaked at about 13 per cent of the grocery market during the pandemic, has slipped back as vaccinations have made trips to the local supermarket less grim. Also expect some detail on the impact of the fire at Ocado’s largest distribution centre in July.
British middle-class bellwether John Lewis will be keen to move the narrative away from store closures — it has shut 16 of its department stores over the past 18 months — so expect updates on its ventures in property, horticulture and financial services along with its interim results on Thursday.
There is a different kind of financial question hanging over Manchester United, which releases its full-year earning results on Friday, including its financial outlook for the year ahead. Investors will look for details of the bill for its blockbuster deal for Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as an indication of how quickly the English Premier League club could return to growth after 18 months of disrupted fixtures due to pandemic curbs. Before coronavirus, revenues were regularly above £600m a season from broadcast, sponsorship and ticketing.
Economic data
There is plenty of inflation and labour market data this week for the US, India, France and the wider EU. After last week’s disappointing UK growth figures, publication of the country’s employment data will provide further evidence of how the British pandemic recovery is faring.
Talking of the UK labour market, the Financial Times is running a survey on how the return to work is being managed. Are workers under pressure to go back or is your employer being flexible? Register your experience here. Responses will be published as part of a feature in the FT.
Key economic and company reports
Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.
Monday
India, monthly consumer price index (CPI) figures
Opec, monthly oil market report
UK, Heathrow airport publishes monthly traffic figures
Tuesday
Japan, monthly industrial production figures
UK, British Retail Consortium publishes quarterly jobs report
UK, Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes labour market data
US, Apple launch event — new iPhone, watch and iPad expected
US, Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPI data
Results: JD Sports H1, Ocado Q3 trading update
Wednesday
Canada, monthly CPI figures
China, monthly retail sales and industrial production figures
EU, Eurostat publishes industrial production figures
France, CPI data
UK, ONS publishes Producer Price index and CPI data
UK, ONS publishes monthly index of housing rental and sale prices
US, Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes Import and Export Price indices
US, Federal Reserve publishes industrial production figures
Results: H&M Q3 trading update, Inditex H1, Mediaset H1, Redrow FY, Tullow Oil H1
Thursday
Australia, Reserve Bank of Australia publishes its quarterly bulletin
Canada, monthly wholesale trade figures
US, monthly sales for retail and food services
Results: Ashtead Group Q1, Clinigen FY, FirstRand FY, John Lewis Partnership H1, Kier FY
Friday
EU, Eurostat publishes inflation figures
UK, ONS publishes monthly retail sales figures for Great Britain
UK, monthly insolvency statistics
Results: Manchester United FY
World events
Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.
Monday
Norway, culmination of the country’s two-day parliamentary election
Tuesday
UK, shortlist of six books for the Booker Prize for Fiction announced
US, 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly convenes in New York
US, planned launch of SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission from Florida
Wednesday
France, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen delivers State of the EU speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
Jewish religious holiday Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, begins
Thursday
Bahamas, parliamentary elections
Friday
Russia, elections to elect new Duma
UK, London Fashion Week begins
UK, Liberal Democrat Party conference — held this year online — begins
Source: Economy - ft.com
