Next Week
April 24, 2009
Next week sees a checkerboard of holidays. Anzac Day shuts Australia on Monday. Japan will be closed on Wednesday for Showa Day, the first of four Golden Week holidays followed by Constitution Memorial Day on May 4th, Greenery Day on May 5th, and Children’s Day on May 6th. Friday, May 1st, is of course May Day, celebrating workers in many countries throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Central banks hold interest rate policy meetings in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Poland, Colombia and Israel. Fed policy has shifted to quantitative easing. The same is true in Japan, where new central bank price and growth forecasts will be presented in the semi-annual economic outlook. Rate cuts of at least 50 basis points appear likely in both South American countries as well as South Africa and New Zealand. Several ECB officials, notably including Trichet, will be speaking to the public and may foreshadow what gets don the following week at their policy meeting.
First-quarter GDP, the factory-sector PMI, personal consumption and income, and the Case-Shiller house price index highlight a U.S. schedule of indicator releases that also includes consumer confidence, auto sales, factory orders, the Dallas and Richmond Fed indices, and the usual assortment of weekly statistics like jobless claims, energy stocks, mortgage applications and chain store sales.
The last week of each month always sees a wide range of Japanese data: retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, construction orders, consumer prices, labor statistics, the Shoko Chukin index of small firm sentiment, the manufacturing PMI, and household spending.
Other Asian indicators to be awaited are China’s PMI and trade figures from Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and India. South Korea also reports industrial production.
Euroland launches a revamped statistical website and reports money and credit growth, preliminary consumer prices, unemployment, and business and consumer sentiment. Germany, Italy, and France separately announced latest consumer confidence data. German consumer and import prices, as well as unemployment, are due as well. Italy releases business sentiment, consumer prices and wage figures. French producer prices and housing starts are on tap, too. Spanish and Belgian consumer prices will be announced, and Belgium also releases GDP.
Sweden has several releases including trade, retail sales, producer prices, and the PMI index. Switzerland’s index of leading economic indicators and Norwegian retail sales arrive as well.
Down under sees the release of Australian trade figures and private credit growth, as well as New Zealand trades, business sentiment, and building permits.
South Africa reports consumer prices, while Canada unveils producer prices, raw material prices, and monthly GDP.
The housing market in Britain will be on display, via the Hometrack and Nationwide house price indices, mortgage lending and approvals, and the British Banking Association’s data on home loans. The CBI retail-sector survey, consumer confidence, M4 growth, and the U.K. factory PMI round out the schedule.
Copyright 2009 Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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