The Business News Week Ahead

First-quarter GDP in China will offer the first global indication on the impact of the coronavirus. Steep contraction is expected but that report won't be posted until Friday. On Monday, China opens the week with merchandise trade data for March which will update how heavily the nation's exports and imports have suffered. The first indication of the virus's hit to the US demand side will be issued on Wednesday and a very sharp overall decline is the call for March retail sales. Industrial production will follow later Wednesday for the first definitive indication on the US supply side, and again shocking headlines are the call. An announcement from the Bank of Canada and the March labour force survey from Australia, as well as another jobless claims report from the US, will fill in the calendar ahead of Friday's China run that will not only include GDP but also industrial production and retail sales. The week's results will offer key indications of just how deep the global recession is proving to be.