Hello and welcome to the working week.
This could be seen as seven days of contrasts. While the Ukraine war grinds on and Nato conducts military exercises in the Baltics and central Europe, this week will commemorate the D-Day landings that enabled the liberation of Europe in the second world war.
There will be sporting thrills with the 24-hour Le Mans race in France as well as sporting scandal with the opening of the fraud case against Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the former heads of world and European football, in Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court.
France heads to the polls again for parliamentary elections, while the Belgian royal family heads to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Congolese hope for an apology for colonial oppression.
We will be reaching for the skies with several space mission launches, as well as the FT’s Investing in Space conference, while looking down (with some concern) on World Ocean Day, created to commemorate and act to protect our blue planet.
Thank you for the emails about the future of the working week. As was noted, many people — most obviously freelancers — have been working different forms of working schedules since before the worldwide web was even a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee’s eye, and usually much longer than corporate Monday to Friday or the mythical nine to five.
But the future of our working week is an interesting debate. What is the highlight of your schedule? Can this newsletter better inform you? Email me at the usual address jonathan.moules@ft.com
Economic data
The OECD will be giving its periodic outlook for the global economy on Wednesday, but we will also be getting updates on the more immediate situation with inflation figures for the US and China on Friday.
Monetary policy will again be centre stage with the rate-setting committees of the European Central Bank, Reserve Bank of Australia and the Central Bank of Russia all meeting this week.
Companies
As we come into land with the end of this quarter’s earnings season, the European budget airline Wizz Air will be reporting full-year numbers. It has not been a good week for the aviation sector with inadequate staffing levels to cope with a rush of holidaymakers creating chaos at airports — a problem predicted to last into the summer. However, Wizz has ambitious growth plans. Can it convince investors that it has clear skies ahead?
Inditex rules the retailing catwalk bringing new trends to the high street. But inflation in input costs — from labour to freight to energy — is the biggest challenge for new chair Marta Ortega, daughter of Inditex’s co-founder Amancio Ortega, who will be shepherding her first earnings call on Wednesday after she took the position in April.
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
China, Caixin general services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figures
Tuesday
Asia, Europe, Global: S&P Global sector PMI figures
Eurozone, France, Germany: S&P Global construction PMI figures
Australia, Reserve Bank of Australia’s monthly monetary policy meeting
Germany, March industrial production figures
South Africa, Q1 GDP figures
UK, retail sales figures, share index provider FTSE Group quarterly review of series members plus S&P Global/Cips services PMI figures
US, April consumer credit figures
Wednesday
EU, the OECD Economic Outlook report
EU, eurozone Q1 GDP and household consumption figures
France, March trade balance data
Italy, April retail sales figures
Japan, Q1 GDP figures, plus April trade balance data
Poland, National Bank of Poland’s monetary policy committee meets in Warsaw
Russia, May consumer price index (CPI) data
UK, S&P Global/Cips construction figures plus British Retail Consortium NielsenIQ May shop price index data
Results: Inditex Q1, Wizz Air FY
Thursday
China, May trade balance figures
EU, governing council of the European Central Bank holds its latest monetary policy meeting to decide interest rates in Amsterdam
UK, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors May residential market survey
Results: Tate & Lyle FY
Friday
China, May CPI and producer price index (PPI) data
Canada, May unemployment figures
India, Italy: April industrial production data
Italy, industrial production figures
Russia, central bank interest rate announcement
UK, Bank of England quarterly survey of public expectations for inflation
US, May CPI figures
World events
Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.
Monday
Austria, International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors meets in Vienna
China is expected to launch a spacecraft with three astronauts to the core module of the unfinished Chinese space station on a six-month mission
Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland: Pentecost/Whitsun public holiday
France, 78th anniversary of the second world war D-Day landings in Normandy. A US ceremony will also be held at the World War Two Memorial in Washington
South Korea, Memorial day to commemorate those who died during the Korean war
Tonga, public holiday for Emancipation Day, commemorating independence from British protectorate status
The UN marks Russian Language Day, recognised as one of the six official languages of the UN
UK, chancellor Rishi Sunak appears before the Treasury Committee to answer questions on his recently announced cost of living support package, plus a strike is planned by 4,000 rail, maritime and transport union members on Transport for London after the RMT criticised TfL for threatening 600 job losses
US, the ninth Summit of the Americas begins in Los Angeles, bringing together representatives from the US, Canada and Mexico to discuss common goals. This year’s motto is Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future
Tuesday
China’s nationwide university entrance exam, or ‘gaokao’, begins
Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, the first visit of a Belgian royal couple in 12 years, is expected to include a long awaited apology to the Congolese people over the country’s colonial past
Nato hosts a press event to discuss Exercise Ramstein Legacy 22 involving missile defence exercises across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
Switzerland, a ministerial meeting of the general council of the World Trade Organization begins in Geneva
Global Boardroom FT Live event with speeches from among others Gina Raimondo, US commerce secretary, on the semiconductor crisis and FT columnist Martin Wolf talking to Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda
Wednesday
Switzerland, corruption trial due to begin of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and ex-Uefa chief Michel Platini in the Swiss Federal Criminal Court
UK, FT Live Investing in Space conference begins online and in person at the Pan Pacific hotel in London, including an interview with astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti speaking from the International Space Station.
US, 21st Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, opens in New York
World Ocean Day to raise awareness of environmental damage to the seas
Thursday
US, SpaceX Cargo Dragon launches to the International Space Station from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Friday
China, 25th Shanghai International Film Festival opens
Portugal, public holiday for Day of Portugal
Saturday
France, 90th European 24hr Le Mans race, the world’s oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, starts
Papua New Guinea, general election begins
UK, London Fashion Week opens
Sunday
France, parliamentary election for the 577 members of the Assemblée Nationale
Germany, meeting of G7 science ministers begins in Frankfurt
Italy, municipal elections
Philippines, a public holiday commemorating the country’s independence from Spain in 1898
Russia Day, commemorating the country’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990
US, 75th annual Tony Awards for the best Broadway productions presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York
Source: Economy - ft.com
