Jobs, earnings and interest rates this week, but in no particular order.
Australia will have the March jobless number to contend with on Thursday, with the ANZ monthly series on jobs ads released today.
The latest monthly survey of business confidence from the National Australia Bank is out tomorrow, while the Westpac/Melbourne Institute survey of consumer confidence is out on Wednesday.
We also get the international trade figures and building approvals numbers for February. Both are out today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In corporate matters the Bank of Queensland produces the first result from the March balancing companies and will give us an idea of the impact of the credit crunch, the stockmarket market fallout and three interest rate rises (plus the extra from the banks themselves).
And the financial reorganisation plan for Allco Finance Group is due on Friday.
The NAB business survey and the consumer confidence survey from Westpac will be watched closely to see whether the recent sharp falls in both are continuing.
Overseas the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank are expected to leave their key interest rates on hold after regular meetings this week but the Bank of England is likely to cut rates again from the present 5.25% because the home lending market seems to be following the US market lower.
In the US, first quarter earnings-reporting season starts.
According to Reuters, first-quarter US earnings estimates have fallen sharply. Standard & Poor’s 500 companies are now expected to show an 8.1% fall in earnings, down from analysts’ projections at the beginning of the quarter for a 4.7% fall. That estimate includes financial stocks, especially the banks.
Friday’s jobs figures for March and the first quarter were not pretty. But if you look at the rebound in some sectors, homebuilding shares have risen 20% since February!
Giants, Alcoa (tonight our time) and General Electric (Friday night our time) lead the reporting season.
Other companies set to announce quarterly results include some with a retail focus: the second biggest consumer electronics chain in the US, Circuit City, home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc and drug store chain Rite Aid.
Mainstream retailers reporting same store sales on Thursday include Target Corp, Kohl’s Corp and Gap Inc.
A hint was given on Friday when the deep discount chain Family Dollar Stores (think our $2 shops) reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit and cut its full-year earnings forecast, blaming the worsening economy.
The minutes from the most recent interest rate-setting meeting of the Fed are released on Tuesday: that’s the meeting which cut rates 0.75%.
MONDAY:
ABS figures on international trade and building approvals for February; ANZ job ads series for March; the performance of construction index from the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association; Australian Petroleum Exploration Association (APEA) annual conference in Perth.
TUESDAY:
NAB March monthly business survey; Dun and Bradstreet March business expectations survey.
WEDNESDAY:
Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence survey; APEA Conference in Perth; Australian Pipeline Association meeting in Adelaide.
THURSDAY:
ABS labour force and unemployment figures for March; Bank of Queensland interim results; Bank of England and European Central Bank, Bank of Japan meet
FRIDAY:
Allco Financial Group reorganisation plan due.
