Week ahead: ECB rates; US jobs; UK budget
The European Central Bank (ECB) announces its latest decision on Thursday 7 March. It’s widely expected to leave rates on hold but indicate that its policy of high rates is coming to an end.
Outside of this will US jobs keep the hopes alive for a rate cut from the Fed in June? IGTV caught up with tastylive's CEO, Tom Sosnoff , to look at the current environment of record high stock market benchmarks and the tech motor behind it. How long can it go?
Also, is Bitcoin only just getting going? There’s a number of companies reporting earnings in the coming week with Greggs, Tullow Oil, L&G and Fresnillo in the UK, Vivendi in France, and Gap, Costco and Target in the US.
(AI Video Summary)
Tuesday's expectations
The upcoming week, starting on 4 March, is supposed to be relatively calm in terms of news and economic activity. However, there are a few things to keep an eye on. On Tuesday, we'll get to see Tokyo CPI data, which tells us about inflation levels in Japan. This helps us understand if prices are rising or falling. We'll also have the BRC retail sales monitor coming out, which gives us information about consumer behavior and retail sales in the UK. This helps us understand if people are buying more or less stuff.
Wednesday's expectations
On Wednesday, we'll see some interesting things happening. Australia will release its fourth quarter GDP figures, which show us how well their economy is doing. Germany will also release their trade balance numbers, which tell us how much they're exporting and importing. This helps us understand if their economy is growing or not. The Bank of Canada will announce its interest rate decision, which could mean they'll change how much it costs to borrow money. Finally, in the US, we'll see some data on job openings and a report from the Federal Reserve called the beige book, which tells us about the state of the economy.
Thursday's expectations
Thursday will bring more data, like trade numbers from Australia and China, and information about house prices in the UK. This helps us see if demand is high or low in the housing market. The eurozone interest rate decision will also be important because it could mean they will change how much they charge to lend money.
Friday's expectations
Friday will be a big day. We'll get data on job creation in the US, which is important for understanding if the economy is adding new jobs. In the markets, tech stocks, especially in the hardware sector, have been doing well lately. People are worried if they have reached their peak and if they might start going down in value. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have seen big gains due to new regulations and interest from individual investors. Bitcoin is attractive because there is only a limited supply, and its value doesn't move together with the rest of the market.
Lots of company earnings reports expected
Throughout the week, many companies will report their earnings, which gives us an idea of how well they are doing. Some of the companies reporting are Greggs, Travis Perkins, Ferguson, Target, Legal & General, Rathbone, Aviva, ITV, Fresnillo, Tullow Oil, Costco, Gap, Target and Broadcom.
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