Next Week At A Glance

This story features WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION. For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: WBC

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

As we head towards Christmas, the new topic of discussion is as to just what net impact significantly lower oil prices will have on the global economy, and individual economies. The rule of thumb is that exporters will suffer and importers will benefit, but it’s not quite so cut and dried. The US is now pretty much neither.

The oil discussion has for once drawn some of the attention away from the monthly US jobs numbers, and one gets the feeling tonight’s number would have to be a significant beat or miss to actually move the stock market dial much. Close enough will be good enough, as long as it’s at least around 200,000.

Australia seems hell-bent on a Santa Rally, despite lower commodity prices, in the belief the RBA will soon be forced to join the global easing game. We must also consider that the holidays are approaching, many fund managers run on calendar year-ends, and subsequently pay bonuses based on December books-close. It always helps to push things along a little.

It’s a relatively quiet week on the global economic data front next week. China will be in focus nonetheless, with monthly inflation, trade, industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment numbers all due over the course of the week.

In the US the focus will be on November retail sales data, which will include the critical Thanksgiving sales period.

In Australia we’ll see the ANZ job ads series and the NAB business and Westpac consumer confidence surveys, all of which will provide some clues to just how Christmas trading might fare downunder.

As we await the handing down of the Financial Systems Inquiry findings, Westpac ((WBC)) will hold its AGM on Friday.
 

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.

Click to view our Glossary of Financial Terms