Assemblies for central bankers and military chiefs

Hello and welcome to the work week.

Now seems a good time for central bankers to meet and pool ideas on how to pull their economies out of a global inflationary crisis. Thank goodness, then, for the European Central Bank’s annual Forum on Central Banking, a meeting among the palaces in the pretty town of Sintra on the Portuguese Riviera to discuss the challenges to monetary policy in a rapidly changing world: a title to which which the organizers admit was only recently agreed given the rapidly changing world that the eurozone economies are now facing. Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey are among the high-profile speakers.

Geopolitical summits are a topic again this week. NATO will meet in Madrid on Tuesday for three days of discussions, including its expansion following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Topics discussed include maintaining support for Ukraine, strengthening partnerships and maintaining an open door, and strengthening transatlantic unity.

This is also the week of Ukraine’s Constitution Day, a public holiday for the country marking the founding of an independent state in 1996.

Speaking of breakup, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to detail Tuesday how she plans to hold a second independence referendum. Read Robert Shrimsley’s excellent opinion piece to understand why Sturgeon is making the decision now. The future of Britain is the subject of a conference in London organized jointly by the Tony Blair Institute and the Britain Project, a hybrid campaign group and think tank.

Of course, reorganizing countries is a controversial business, as will no doubt be discussed on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the UK’s handover of Hong Kong to China. The story of journalist and political activist Claudia Mo, told poignantly in this weekend’s FT Magazine, recalls the battles waged and ultimately lost over the past quarter-century by those who wanted to preserve the autonomy of the city region — even though the protesters didn’t stop us from taking to the streets on Friday.

This week will also see the next installment of Britain’s summer of dissatisfaction with lawyers retiring on Monday amid ongoing protests over appeal cuts – although the Justice Department questions this, saying criminal legal aid is being cut by £135million a year increases. Postal workers can follow lawyers to pickets when the Communication Workers Union sends out industrial action ballots to more than 115,000 of its members this week.

Need some lighter entertainment? Well it’s a good week for major sports tournaments with the start of Wimbledon and the Tour de France starting in Copenhagen this year. The FT has also published its summer reading recommendation list.

Thank you again for your messages regarding this newsletter. If you don’t have a comment to make yet, or would like to say more about what merits a mention and what doesn’t, email me at [email protected].

economic data

Consumer confidence reports, inflation and gross domestic product updates this week will provide some clues as to the effectiveness of the various monetary tightening measures and will no doubt give Sintra central bankers food for thought.

Central bankers in Sweden and Hungary will make interest rate decisions this week.

companies

A quieter week for scheduled corporate news. The most important earnings reports all come from the USA. investors Nike, the global sports brand, may care more about the executive team than the numbers. Nike’s Head of Diversity Felicia Mayo will leave the company late next month after just two years in the role.

Important economic and company reports

Here’s a more complete list of what to expect this week in terms of corporate reports and economic data.

Monday

• The European Central Bank’s annual Central Banking Forum begins in Sintra, Portugal

• US Durable Goods Order Dates, May

• Results: Nike Q4

Tuesday

• France, consumer confidence figures

• Germany, Consumer Confidence Numbers

• Hungary, interest rate decision

• UK, Office for National Statistics publishes the first results of the 2021 census of England and Wales

• US, monthly consumer confidence and home price index numbers

Wednesday

• Germany, preliminary Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

• Japan, May retail sales

• Spain Flash Inflation and Retail Sales Data

• Sweden, Riksbank monetary policy meeting

• UK, British Retail Consortium Retail Price Index

• UK, EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Maroš Šefčovič is set to address Bloomberg’s London headquarters on the EU-UK partnership

• US Q1 GDP numbers

• Results: General Mills Q4

Thursday

• Canada, April GDP data

• EU, May unemployment figures

• France, May Producer Price Index (PPI) data and June CPI data

• Germany, June unemployment data, May import prices and May retail trade data. Also, ECB President Christine Lagarde’s speech at the first meeting of the Simone Veil Pact, organized by Renew Europe.

• Italy, May Unemployment plus May PPI data

• Japan, industrial production data for May

• UK final Q1 GDP and consumer trends report and Nationwide June house price data

• Results: Walgreen’s Boots Alliance Q3

Friday

• China, France, Italy, UK, US: Caixin and S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data

• The ECB will end its long-running bond-buying programme, which was part of stimulus measures introduced a decade ago to combat stubbornly high inflation

• EU flash inflation numbers for June

• Italy, May CPI data

• Japan, Monthly Unemployment Rate

• UK, consumer credit figures

• United States, Construction Expenditure Statistics

world events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones from this week.

Monday

• The UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the governments of Kenya and Portugal, begins in Lisbon

• Britain begins the Wimbledon tennis tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in south-west London amid controversy over banning Russian players

• In the UK, lawyers who are members of the Criminal Bar Association are beginning to strike amid an escalating dispute with the government over the funding of court cases. The defense lawyers’ strike is likely to cause widespread disruption to court hearings across England and Wales.

Tuesday

• France, the new National Assembly, is holding its first session after the results of the June 12 general election created a hanging parliament – read Martin Sandbus (Premium) Free Lunch Newsletter for a fuller explanation. Also, Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to visit Paris to “reset” ties with France after tensions erupted over a scrapped submarine deal.

• The NATO summit in Spain in Madrid begins with the participation of the heads of government of the 30 member countries and discussions on the applications of Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of Spain joining NATO.

• Ukraine, Constitution Day on the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of Ukraine in 1996

• UK, London Mayor Sadiq Khan hosts the State of London debate at the O2 in Greenwich and the Henley Royal Regatta begins on the River Thames

• British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of the US is to be sentenced after being found guilty in a sex abuse trial

Wednesday

• Belgium, the Ommegang Festival, including a pageant recreating the historic entry of Charles V, begins in Brussels

• The UK Committee on Climate Change publishes its 2022 Progress Report to Parliament, assessing the UK’s chances of reaching net zero by 2050. Another strike threat also threatens a vote for industrial action at Royal Mail over plans to sack 542 frontline delivery managers as part of wider restructuring.

Thursday

• Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the notorious late dictator, takes office as the country’s new president

• UK, the Future of Britain conference organized by the Tony Blair Institute to discuss progressive solutions to the country’s problems begins in London

Friday

• Brazil will take over the presidency of the UN Security Council in July

• Canada Day, federal holiday commemorating the founding of the union of the provinces of British North America that formed Canada in 1868

• Denmark, the Tour de France starts in Copenhagen. It ends on July 24 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

• EU, the Czech Republic takes over the six-month EU Council Presidency

• Hong Kong, 25th anniversary of the former colony’s repatriation from British to Chinese rule

• India, Annual Rath Yatra or Chariot, Hindu Festival

• Rwanda, National Day commemorating the independence from Belgium

• Somalia, National Day commemorating the founding of the country from British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland

• UK, deadline for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to appeal the decision to extradite him to the US on espionage charges

Saturday

• Italy, The Palio di Siena, Italy’s most famous (and controversial) horse race, takes place in Siena’s Piazza del Campo

• UK, 50th Anniversary of Pride in London Parade

• US, World UFO Day is held on the anniversary of the Roswell Incident in New Mexico in 1947

Sunday

• Belarus, Independence Day

• UK, The 134th Annual Wenlock Olympian Games – believed to have inspired the modern Games – begins in Wenlock, Shropshire