Week Ahead

Trade tick tock 

The clock is ticking on getting a ‘phase one’ trade deal agreed in time for Christmas. This weekend coming was supposed to see the US and Chinese leaders meet in Chile and sign an agreement. Any meeting between the two has been pushed back to December, but there has been progress. Stay sharp for daily trade headlines. 

Powell testimony 

All eyes on the Fed again as chair Jerome Powell will discuss the economic outlook before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on Wednesday. It comes after the Fed’s third rate cut this year and a signal that it is pausing the easing cycle. Also watch for the US CPI inflation readings the same day. 

Walmart earnings 
 

Shares in Walmart have been on a tear this year and there are more signs it’s actually pulling ahead of Amazon. A recent survey from First Insight showed a majority (55%) of US consumers said they prefer to shop at Walmart versus Amazon, up from about 47% a year earlier. The prior quarter earnings were very strong, beating on both top and bottom line. US sales rose for the 20^th consecutive quarter. Q3 numbers are due at 11:00 GMT on Thursday. 

UK data 

A batch of UK data is crossing this week, providing traders with a clearer picture of the state of the economy as we enter the year-end. GDP and manufacturing numbers (Monday) are followed by unemployment and earnings figures (Tuesday), CPI inflation data (Wednesday), and retail sales (Thursday).  

RBNZ 
 

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to cut interest rates when it convenes on Wednesday. Analysts at ANZ say the central bank will cut the OCR to 0.75% from 1% and leave room for further cuts in the future. Westpac says the RBNZ will not cut rates, but the recent rise in unemployment from 3.9% to 4.2% may warrant additional stimulus. 

Corporate diary 

11 Nov William Hill – trading update 

12 Nov Aggreko – trading update 

12 Nov Deutsche Post-DHL – Q3 results 

12 Nov – Enel – Q3 results 

12 Nov – Infineon Technologies – FY results 

12 Nov – Linde plc – Q3 results 

12 Nov – Vodafone – H1 results 

13 Nov – ABN Amro – Q3 results 

13 Nov – British Land – H1 results 

13 Nov – SSE – H1 results 

13 Nov – TalkTalk – H1 results 

14-Nov – Walmart – Q3 earnings 

14 Nov – Bouygues – Q3 results 

14 Nov – Burberry – H1 results 

14 Nov – Merck KGaA – Q3 results 

14 Nov – National Grid – H1 results 

14 Nov – Premier Oil – trading update 

15 Nov – Vivendi – Q3 results