The Business News Week Ahead

The week opens with Chinese industrial production and retail sales on Monday with the same August combo to be repeated in the US, first with production on Tuesday then sales on Wednesday. Employment data will include UK and Australian labour market reports on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, and of course weekly jobless from the US also on Thursday. Consumer price data will be light: the UK on Wednesday and Japan on Friday. Trade data from Japan, which have been in steep contraction, will be posted on Tuesday, as will Germany's ZEW report, where sentiment has been recovering, and US housing starts and permits on Thursday which have been bouncing sharply higher. The week will also see a heavy run of central bank meetings where, however, no new stimulus is expected: the Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve both on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday.