The Business News Week Ahead

There will be plenty of central bank announcements in the week but no changes are expected, whether from the Bank of Japan on Tuesday (where policy is soft), the Bank of Canada on Wednesday (where policy is firm), or the European Central Bank on Thursday (where policy is soft). Inflation data may be key in the week starting on Monday with German producer prices, which have been in outright contraction, followed on Wednesday by Canadian consumer prices which, unlike many countries, have been above the 2 percent target. And positive improvement is the call for Japanese consumer prices which will be posted on Friday. Manufacturing, like inflation, is another problem area of the global economy and the week's data will include manufacturing sales out of Canada and industrial trends out of the UK, and gains are expected for both. Expectations for sentiment indicators are mixed with French business climate seen flat but German ZEW data and EC consumer confidence both expected to improve. Other data will include employment out of the UK and Australia, with steady strength expected for both, and also existing home sales data from the US where emerging strength is once again expected. The week winds up on Friday with a run of January PMI flashes with continued contraction in manufacturing the consensus for both Japan and German but with France, though only modestly positive, expected to be the highlight.