The Business News Week Ahead

PMI flashes, offering anecdotal assessments of March activity, will be one of the week's focuses, all posted on Wednesday in this order for the majors: France, Germany, the UK, and the US. Definitive data from the US will include new home sales on Tuesday and durable goods orders on Wednesday, where moderation for both is the call, as well as goods trade and personal income & outlays both on Friday, the latter headlined by PCE prices where moderate results are also the call.

Another of the week's highlights will be a run of sentiment data from Europe beginning on Wednesday with the Eurozone's confidence flash will which offer clues on how Covid developments, or lack thereof, are affecting the zone's consumer. Germany data will be posted on Thursday with the GfK reading on the consumer and on Friday with Ifo's reading on what analysts see ahead. France's business climate indicator is out on Thursday with Italy's business and consumer confidence report on Friday.

Wednesday's first look at February consumer prices will be a highlight of the UK calendar that will also include the monthly labour market report on Tuesday and retail sales on Friday. Central bank meetings will be headlined by the Swiss National Bank announcement on Thursday; no action is the call for a country where Covid difficulties have not kept the economy from performing well. Note that US GDP on Thursday will be a revision.