Next Week
March 13, 2009
Central bank interest rate meetings are scheduled next week at the Fed, Bank of Japan and in Turkey, Hong Kong, Mexico and Colombia. The Fed, BOJ and HKMA have run out of rate-reduction room, and policy initiatives now revolve around unconventional operations to ease liquidity strains, promote monetary growth and lower long-term interest rates. The other three monetary authorities are expected to cut their rates by varying amounts.
The central banks in Australia and Britain publish minutes from their last policy meetings, and Fed Chairman Bernanke will be testifying late in the week.
Finance ministers from the G-20 will be meeting in Britain on March 13-14th, and OPEC oil ministers are meeting in Vienna on March 15th.
Scheduled U.S. data releases include the quarterly current account deficit and the Treasury TIC capital flows, consumer and producer prices, the Philly Fed and Empire State indices, housing starts and the NAHB index, weekly jobless claims and the index of leading economic indicators.
Euroland reports its final CPI figures, industrial production and the current account. Within the bloc, Italy has several planned releases covering trade, jobs, industrial production and consumer prices. Spanish retail sales, Dutch unemployment, and Benelux consumer sentiment arrive, too. From Germany we get the ZEW sentiment index of financial investors, import prices, and producer prices.
Japan ends the week with a holiday to celebrate the Vernal equinox on Friday but earlier releases the all-industry index, the tertiary index, construction spending and department and supermarket store sales. The Tankan monthly proxy compiled by Reuters also is scheduled next week.
From Britain the week ahead sees the release of the Rightmove house price index, the DCLG housing market index, unemployment and jobs, wages, the monthly budget figures, the CBI industrial trends survey and M4.
Switzerland, which figures to remain in the spotlight because of its foray into intervention, will release industrial orders and output, retail sales, trade, and the ZEW index of investor sentiment. Norwegian trades and Swedish unemployment come out next week as well.
Canada releases the monthly manufacturers’ survey results, quarterly capacity usage and productivity figures, retail sales, wholesale turnover, auto sales, and consumer prices. Australian building permits, motor vehicle sales and imports are on the calendar, too.
Copyright 2009 Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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