Weekly Reports | Apr 12 2013
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
Alcoa may always unofficially kick off the US quarterly reporting season but the company is no longer considered a bellwether or indicator of any general earnings trend. Tonight the first two big US banks report, JP Morgan (Dow) and Wells Fargo, and they will be more closely watched. There’ll be more bank releases as we roll into next week, along with some of the bigger tech names.
It is clear corporate earnings reports will have to be a bit of a Barry overall if Wall Street’s enthusiasm is to be tempered. Forecasts have already been set quite low, nevertheless, which suggests more room for upside surprise than downside. The story will play out over the next month.
EU finance ministers will meet this weekend and it might just provide an opportunity for the minister from Slovenia to cry poor. Here we go again? We shall have to see.
The focus for Australia, and the rest of the world, on Monday will be the ever speedy release of China’s March quarter GDP result, along with monthly sales, production and investment data. Thursday sees Chinese property prices.
Beyond that, Australia will see housing finance and investment lending on Monday and the minutes of the April RBA meeting will be released on Tuesday for everyone to pull apart.
It’s a busy week for US data, in the midst of some important earnings reports, with housing market sentiment, housing starts, the CPI, industrial production, the Empire State and Philly Fed manufacturing indices, and the Fed Beige Book all due.
Tuesday’s ZEW investor sentiment index from Europe can also be a market mover.
Perhaps the highlight for next week will nevertheless be a case of “can the yen breach 100?”. The dollar-yen has spent all week flirting with what is considered parity to the US dollar, but each time the sellers have held the fought. If a breach does occur, then another leg down for the yen is on the cards. Can’t be long now before a Honda in Australia is cheaper than a Cherry.
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