So this week will be a lot like last week.
There will be a focus on what some central banks say and do, more Chinese economic data, along with key figures in the US, plus American banks reporting third quarter results.
And, of course Europe, or rather a durable and doable solution to its debt problems, both sovereign and banking.
The G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris at the weekend has set next Sunday as the deadline for Europe to have sorted out a plan to resolve the debt crisis.
So there will be a lot of publicity this week about the plan’s development, as well as opposition.
And a report is due later in the week on the latest review of the bailout that seems to be working, the 85 billion euro package for Ireland.
Financial markets had a very solid week last week, especially on Friday in Europe and the US as the belief in a eurozone solution grew.
AMP Capital Investors’ chief economist Dr Shane Oliver says:
"The noises out of Europe have remained positive with the Troika (i.e. the IMF, ECB, and EU) appearing to clear the way for the payment of the sixth tranche of bailout funds for Greece, all countries now ratifying the July 21 enhancement of the EFSF (taking it to 440bn euros) and Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy reaffirming plans to recapitalise banks and devise a more “durable” and “comprehensive” solution for Greece and Europe’s debt problems by the November 3 G20 leaders summit.
"The key elements of the plan under consideration appear to be a 30 to 60% write down of Greek debt, recapitalising banks to ensure they can withstand it and boosting the fire power of the EFSF to protect other countries such as Portugal, Italy and Spain (possibly via a partial guarantee for investors against bond losses)."
In China, after the trade and inflation data late last week, more economic activity data for month of September and the quarter.
GDP growth figures are out on October 18 and the AMP’s Dr Shane Oliver says it’s likely to have grown by around 8.8% over the year to the September.
Fears about the slowdown in China are now a major issue for western investors, but the Chinese stockmarket had its strongest week in months last week, so it would seem those fears are fading inside China.
Industrial production, retail sales and urban investment data will also be released.
Dr Oliver says that, "With the global backdrop having deteriorated, domestic demand growth having cooled down, inflation looking like it has peaked (down to 6.1% in September) and mounting anecdotes that tight monetary conditions are taking their toll, Chinese authorities are likely to start easing monetary policy by year end.
"The key risk is that Chinese authorities are too slow to respond," he added.
Central banks also meet in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand this week to consider interest rates.
The Indonesian central bank cut interest rates last week and the Monetary Authority of Singapore moved to slow the appreciation of the country’s currency, which was also a small easing of monetary policy.
In the US, there is growing confidence that the economy has stopped sliding.
October retail sales, out on Friday, rose 1.1% from September thanks to a strong rise in car sales, but consumer confidence again fell in the Reuters/University of Michigan sentiment survey.
But economists say that October business conditions indexes for the New York and Philadelphia regions (due tonight and Thursday respectively) are likely to improve slightly, industrial production data (tonight as well) is likely to see a modest rise, housing related indicators are likely to confirm a continued basing and core inflation (Wednesday) is likely to show a further rise to 2.1% over the year to September.
The Fed’s Beige Book of anecdotal evidence on the economy is likely to show that the economy has stopped slowing but that growth remains weak and very patchy.
Several regional Federal Reserve presidents are due to make speeches this week and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke addresses a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston conference on Tuesday night, our time.
The US profit reporting season will step up pace with results due from about 150 major companies in the S&P 500 Index. .
After industry leader JPMorgan Chase produced lacklustre third quarter profit and revenue figures (which were dominated by one-off accounting changes) US analysts are looking for more bad news from the slew of big banks due to report this week.
Tonight, our time, Citigroup and Wells Fargo report quarterly results, followed by Bank of America and Goldman Sachs on Tuesday night. Morgan Stanley reports on Wednesday.
Market forecasts show a loss is expected from Goldman Sachs and weak earnings from the other big banks.
Besides the banks, results will include tech majors Microsoft and Apple, with the latter tipped to report another huge profit for the quarter.
Apple shares closed at a record high of $US422 Friday, cementing the company’s status as the world’s most valuable in terms of market value.
Other tech giants, IBM, Intel and eBay also report earnings this week.
As well, quarterly earnings reports are expected from Delta Air Lines, Acer, Coca Cola, Harley Davidson, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo! Inc, the New York Times Co, ATT, Verizon, Amex, Halliburton and McDonald’s.
In Australia, the Telstra shareholder vote on the NBN deal
