Hello and welcome to the working week.
This week the US election cycle is starting to gather speed. The first Republican presidential primary debates will kick off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. But the debate may have one notable absentee, Last Friday Donald Trump, on his social media platform Truth Social, suggested he would not take part.
Without Trump, the debate may not matter to many Republican voters. Trump leads the race for the party’s nomination by a significant margin, a recent New York Times/Siena poll suggesting Trump can command 44 per cent of the party’s votes with Florida governor Ron DeSantis trailing at 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, other events this week have taken us quite far away from US politics. India and Russia had both launched spacecraft towards the Moon, hoping to be the first to reach the previously unvisited South Pole, where data suggests craters could hold deposits of water ice. But Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 span out of control and crashed into the Moon’s surface on Sunday ahead of its planned Monday touchdown. India’s Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land on Wednesday.
Back on Earth, some companies are reporting this week that are worth keeping an eye on. Zoom, which had huge growth through its streaming of virtual meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Monday — just after the company started requiring some of its own employees to come back into the office. The world’s biggest mining group BHP reports full-year earnings on Tuesday. Chinese tech company Baidu is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday as the company tries to compete with the likes of Open AI, Google and Microsoft in the race to conquer AI. Nvidia, which builds the chips that power most AI models, is also set to report second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
One more thing . . .
This Thursday is Ukraine’s Independence Day, marking 32 years since the state was formed after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Celebrations within the country will be muted, with no big events or parades scheduled to take place as conflict continues. But the Ukrainian diaspora will be hosting events in cities across the globe. The Ukrainian World Congress has a list of some of the events this week if you would like to join in.
Our FTWeekend Festival is back on Saturday, September 2 at Kenwood House Gardens, London! Book your pass today to enjoy a day of debates, tastings, Q&As and more . . . Speakers include Michael Gove, Rachel Reeves, Jesse Armstrong, and many others. As a newsletter subscriber, claim £20 off your festival pass using promo code FTWFxNewsletters at: ft.com/festival
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
UK: the High Pay Centre publishes its annual review of remuneration for chief executives of FTSE 100 companies.
UK: Rightmove updates its house price index for August.
Results: Breville FY, Goldwind Science & Technology H1 interim results, Lufax Holding Q2, Nordson Q3, Self Storage Group Q2, SJM Holdings FY interim results, Zoom Q2.
Tuesday
Iceland: harmonised Consumer price index for July.
UK: CBI industrial trends survey.
US: Richard Dickenson becomes CEO of Gap, the clothing retailer
Results: Dick’s Sporting Goods Q2, BHP FY, Baidu Q2, China Aircraft Leasing Group, Coty H1 interim results, Q4, Fidelis Insurance Holdings Q2, John Wood Group H1, Kingsoft Q2, Lowe’s Q2, Macy’s Q2, Medtronic Q1, Redbubble FY, SFC Energy H1, Toll Brothers Q3.
Wednesday
Iceland: Reykjavík’s central bank will decide if it will raise its main interest rate, which stands at 8.75 per cent. After the last increase in May, the bank’s governor Ásgeir Jónsson refused to rule out rates climbing above 10 per cent.
Singapore: CPI for July.
South Africa: CPI for July.
UK: flash purchase managers’ index for August.
Results: Autodesk Q2, Bath & Body Works Q2, Footlocker Q2, Grab Q2, Kohl’s Q2, Mowi Q2, NetApp Q1, Nvidia Q2, Ooma Q2, Peloton Q4 Snowflake Q2, Splunk Q2, Williams-Sonoma Q2, Woolworths Group FY, Zuora Q2.
Thursday
France: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development releases trade statistics for the second quarter of the year.
Results: Abercrombie & Fitch Q2, Air New Zealand FY, Burlington Stores Q2, Dollar Tree Q2, Gap Q2, Hays FY preliminary results, Nordstrom Q2, Norwegian Air Shuttle Q2, Qantas Airways FY preliminary results, Royal Bank of Canada Q3, Weibo Q2, Workday Q2.
Friday
UK: GfK releases its consumer confidence survey which tracks consumers’ outlook on their finances and the wider economy for the next 12 months.
Results: Australian Finance Group FY, Cathay Financial Holdings Q2, China Merchants Bank H1 interim results, CMOC Group H1 interim results, Hofseth BioCare H1, Wesfarmers FY, Yuexiu Property H1 interim results.
World events
Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.
Monday
Cambodia: Parliament convenes for the first time under prime minister Hun Manet after his father, Hun Sen, passed power to him at the start of August.
Israel: The US joint chiefs of staff chair Gen Mark Milley is scheduled to visit the country next week and meet defence minister Yoav Gallant. His visit comes after proposed judicial reforms last month led many military reservists to threaten boycotting serving in the county’s armed forces.
US: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui after wildfires tore through the Hawaiian island. They will meet emergency staff who have been responding to the crisis and speak to survivors.
Tuesday
Norway: Facebook owner Meta is in court seeking to pause fines being imposed by the data regulator, Datatilsynet. The tech company is being fined $98,500 a day until it takes action on privacy breaches identified by the regulator.
Singapore: Election nomination day.
South Africa: President Xi Jinping visits the country for the Brics summit and is set to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa
Wednesday
Germany: Gamescon, one of the world’s largest expos for video games, starts in Cologne. Economics minister Robert Habeck is expected to attend the opening.
India: The Chandrayaan lunar lander is scheduled to touch down on the Moon’s South Pole.
US: The first of the Republican primary presidential debates is held in Wisconsin.
Zimbabwe: Presidential, parliamentary and local elections.
Thursday
India: G20 trade and investment ministers meet in Jaipur.
US: The annual Jackson Hole economic policy symposium starts.
UK: GCSE school results day in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Ukraine: The country celebrates it 32nd Independence Day; financial markets are closed.
Friday
Europe: New rules created by the Digital Services Act kick in today. Tech companies including Facebook, TikTok and X Corp, previously known as Twitter, will be forced to police the content that appears on their platforms. The EU hopes the rules will protect children online and crack down on ads that use personal information to target users.
UK: Ofgem, the energy regulator, announces the new price cap for gas and electricity running from October to the end of December.
US: Deadline for Donald Trump and the 18 other individuals named in a Georgia indictment to hand themselves in to the state’s authorities in Fulton County.
Saturday
Japan: A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rocket carrying a Japanese lunar lander takes off from Tanegashima Space Centre. The mission is designed to show that lighter and more inexpensive missions to the moon are feasible.
Gabon: Presidential, parliamentary and local elections.
Sunday
UK: The annual Notting Hill Carnival street festival starts in London. At least 1mn people are expected to fill the streets of the UK capital’s western district.
US: The 13th annual Streamy awards are held in Los Angeles, California. The awards honour online creators.
Source: Economy - ft.com
