Weekly Reports | Nov 16 2012
For a more comprehensive preview of next week's events, please refer to "The Monday Report", published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.
By Greg Peel
Next week will be an abbreviated week for markets in the US. There will be a flurry of activity up to Wednesday ahead of Thanksgiving on Thursday. Friday will see a half-day on the NYSE (1pm close) and about three people will turn up, with everyone else taking a four-day holiday.
The Friday after Thanksgiving is nevertheless known as Black Friday. It sounds a bit ominous, but in fact “black” implies profits moving “into the black” for US retailers who have spent up big on inventories ahead of the holiday season. The Black Friday sales are akin to the Boxing Day sales in Australia, without the discounts. Although everything's discounted these days. How goes Black Friday basically determines whether US retailers will have a good Christmas and hence a good year.
Crammed into the three days before Thanksgiving will be data on housing market sentiment, housing starts and existing home sales, consumer sentiment and a leading economic index. All attention will of course be focused on any new headlines regarding our friend the “cliff”.
Things could get interesting in Europe next week, with eurozone officials due to meet in Brussels on Tuesday night and supposedly decide whether Greece should get its next bail-out tranche. Don't be surprised if the decision is delayed, because next weekend the Spanish state of Catalonia goes to the polls on a referendum of greater sovereignty. It is assumed that the this election is one thing holding back the Spanish bail-out request, and Germany wants to kill all its birds with one stone in the German parliament.
It's a quieter week for Australian data next week, with the highlights being housing affordability and Tuesday's release of the minutes of the Cup Day RBA meeting. Close attention will be paid to China on Thursday, nevertheless, when HSBC releases its flash estimate of the November manufacturing PMI.
Hands up if you're sick of the local AGM season. Oh dear, you're about to hit the avalanche this week and next.
Find out why FNArena subscribers like the service so much: "Your Feedback (Thank You)" – Warning this story contains unashamedly positive feedback on the service provided.
