Hello and welcome to the working week.
There is a symmetry to the next seven days. We begin with the reaction to Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections and end next Sunday with another national vote in neighbouring Greece.
In both cases, the ruling party has been on the ropes because of the government’s response to national calamities both natural and man made. The Financial Times is on the ground in Ankara so you can read the latest analysis of those results.
The other big set piece event this week is the G7 summit, hosted by Japan in Hiroshima. US president Joe Biden may not attend in person because of the US debt ceiling impasse, but there are plenty of reasons for member states to meet. Germany is pushing contentious plans to endorse gas investment while the US wants its rich nation partners to increase the economic pressure on China.
Beijing meanwhile is busy playing mediator in the Ukraine conflict. It is sending a special envoy to visit Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France and Poland, starting on Monday. On this matter, the US and China are united.
This week’s earnings are a mixed bag of food (in particular Greggs and Premier Foods), phones (BT and Vodafone) and fashion (Burberry and Boohoo.com). Further details below.
In the UK, the National Conservatism Conference, an event created by the Edmund Burke Foundation, a public affairs group, to help build a western coalition of rightwing politicians, kicks off on Monday. On Tuesday, the heads of the Competition and Markets Authority will be grilled by MPs on the business and trade committee with questions being asked about their controversial decision to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Finally, a plug for the US edition of the FTWeekend Festival, happening in Washington on Saturday with a guest list including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Salman Rushdie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Barbara Sturm and various FT columnists and writers. You too can experience the weekend paper come to life online by registering at ft.com/festival-us, and if you are a newsletter subscriber save $20 by using the code NewslettersxFestival.
Thank you to those who have got in touch about The Week Ahead list with suggestions. Email me at jonathan.moules@ft.com.
Economic data
The US and China dominate the data run this week. US retail, manufacturing and house sales figures will provide further evidence as to the extent of the slowdown. The monthly Chinese activity readings are potentially important given recent signs that the post-Covid rebound is losing momentum.
Japan will provide a first stab at its first-quarter gross domestic product growth figure and Canada provides an update on its inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index.
The main data point for the UK this week will be unemployment figures on Tuesday. The EU publishes its spring economic forecast for GDP, inflation, employment and public finances on Monday. There will also be a variety of speeches from central bankers, while Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey answers MPs questions at a Treasury select committee hearing.
Companies
Boohoo reports full-year figures on Tuesday and there may well be tears. Online clothes retailing is not in a happy place at the moment. Witness Asos’s results last week. Boohoo had blamed a return to the high street for declining revenues in its last trading update.
Simon Bowler, head of research at Numis, writes about Boohoo in an analyst note: “Given the exit rate, muted data around online demand (as in part evidenced by Asos) and risks associated with the US warehouse launch in the fiscal year, we see little incentive for the company to increase expectations at this stage.”
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
EU, spring economic forecast for GDP, inflation, employment and public finances
India, April wholesale price index (WPI) inflation rate measure
Results: Bridgestone Q1, Currys trading update, Diploma H1, Suzuki Motor Corp FY
Tuesday
Canada, April consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate figures
China, April retail sales and industrial output data
EU, flash Q1 employment figures
Germany, Zew Economic Sentiment survey
International Energy Agency Oil Market Report
Spain, European Central Bank supervisory board member Anneli Tuominen and Dominique Laboureix, chair of the ECB’s single resolution board, speak at Iese Business School’s Madrid campus
UK, monthly labour market figures
US, NAHB Housing Market Index and April retail sales figures
Results: Boohoo.com FY, Bouygues Q1, Britvic H1, Greggs trading update, Home Depot Q1, Imperial Brands H1, Land Securities FY, Marston’s H1, Singapore Airlines FY, Vodafone FY
Wednesday
FTX’s US-based leadership team is due to appear in court to challenge the authority of liquidators charged with winding down the company’s business in the Bahamas.
EU, April harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation rate figure
Japan, preliminary Q1 GDP figures
US, April housing starts data
Results: Aegon Q1 trading update, British Land FY, Cisco Systems Q3, Experian FY, JD Sports FY, Mitchells & Butlers H1, Sage H1, Siemens Q2, Synopsys Q2, Take-Two Interactive Software Q4, Target Q1, TJX Q1, TP ICAP Q1 trading update and AGM, Zurich Insurance Q1
Thursday
France, Germany, Switzerland: financial markets closed for public holidays
Japan, April trade balance data
Results: BT Group FY, Burberry FY, easyJet H1, International Distributions Services FY, Investec FY, Premier Foods FY, Walmart Q1
Friday
Germany, April producer price index (PPI) inflation rate figures
Japan, April CPI inflation rate figures
UK, GfK Consumer Confidence survey
Results: Deere & Co Q2, IQE FY, Nationwide Building Society FY
World events
Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.
Monday
France, president Emmanuel Macron hosts the Choose France summit to promote inward investment in the country. Read his FT opinion piece here.
Israel, protests expected in Ramallah on the West Bank to mark the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when Palestinians were forced from their villages or fled amid the war surrounding Israel’s creation.
UK, National Conservatism Conference begins in London, with home secretary Suella Braverman and Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg among the speakers.
UK, the world’s first self-driving bus service is scheduled to begin in Scotland.
UN Security Council holds a briefing on Ukraine. In Latvia, Canadian and Latvian forces begin training Ukraine soldiers.
Tuesday
Belgium, Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels
France, 76th Cannes Film Festival begins
UK, Competition and Markets Authority chair Marcus Bokkerink and chief executive Sarah Cardell quizzed by MPs on the business and trade committee.
US, secretary of state Antony Blinken, defence secretary Lloyd Austin and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo to testify at Senate appropriations committee hearing on the US-China relationship.
Wednesday
UK, Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey give speeches at the British Chambers of Commerce global annual conference in London
Thursday
UK, local council elections in Northern Ireland
UK, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey appears before the Treasury select committee to answer questions on the impact of tightening on the economy and the role of quantitative easing in the outbreak of double-digit inflation. Separately, the BoE’s chief economist Huw Pill opens a research workshop gathering academics and central bankers from around the world to discuss the latest developments in macro-financial research.
Friday
Israel, several thousand Israelis are expected to march through the alleyways of Jerusalem to the Western Wall, commemorating the establishment of Israeli control over the city after the 1967 six-day war.
Japan, the 2023 G7 summit opens in Hiroshima
ECB board member Isabel Schnabel speaks at the Conference on Financial Stability and Monetary Policy in honour of Charles Goodhart, followed by the opening of the Charles Goodhart Library at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London.
Saturday
US, FT Weekend Festival US begins in Washington
Sunday
Greece, parliamentary elections
Japan, G7 summit concludes
Source: Economy - ft.com
