The Economic News Week Ahead

The PMIs for March, and early indications on the depth of the month's virus slowdown, will be hitting the market all on Tuesday in this order: Japan, France, Germany, Eurozone, US. Very substantial declines are expected, with readings generally expected to drop about 10 points from the 50 breakeven line to the mid-to-low 40s or high 30s. Confidence data, which like the PMIs are very timely, will also dominate the week and all are expected to show sharp declines: EC consumer confidence flash from the Eurozone on Monday with Germany's Gfk consumer climate index on Thursday; French and Italian sentiment data will be posted on Thursday and Friday. Thrown into the week's mix will be February data on US durable goods on Wednesday, which had already been struggling before the virus, and new home sales on Tuesday which had been booming.