The Business News Week Ahead

Flash updates on April inflation will deserve the most attention opening with Germany on Thursday followed on Friday by France. Less urgent for the markets will be GDP flashes for the first quarter, opening with Korea on Monday followed with the US on Thursday with positive growth expected for both especially the US; Germany, France and also Italy will report GDP on Friday with contraction expected for all three. Perhaps exceeding GDP in their market-moving potential will be April sentiment updates amid expectations for wide gains, including for Germany's Ifo and GfK reports on Monday and Wednesday as well as Italian business and consumer confidence on Tuesday and especially US consumer confidence also on Tuesday. Durable goods orders from the US are often a market moving and are expected to rebound sharply in data posted on Monday; also scheduled are industrial production from Korea and Japan both on Thursday, and April's CFLP manufacturing report from China on Friday. Other data to watch include Australian first-quarter CPI, Canadian GDP for February, and Germany unemployment, the latter consistently rock solid and scheduled for Thursday. And though no action is expected, the week will see major announcements from the Bank of Japan on Tuesday and the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.