It might sound a bit melancholy, but Greece and the US economy will again dominate markets here and overseas in the coming week.
The outlooks are covered in separate stories above, but suffice to say that it is going to be five days of trading tensions and volatile share prices that will leave us none the wiser by the close of trading in the US early Saturday morning our time.
Take the US: the focus is likely to be on the Federal Reserve’s regular monetary policy setting meeting Tuesday and Wednesday nights, our time, and the third estimate of first quarter economic growth due on Friday night, our time.
Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke has a press conference after the end of the two-day meeting of the Open Markets Committee early Wednesday, our time.
As well, there are a number of important statistics: existing US home sales, new home sales and durable goods orders, plus the weekly employment benefits data Thursday night.
The third estimate of US first quarter growth is out on Friday night, our time.
US earnings will be dominated by tech groups, such as software group, Adobe Systems Inc, the giant Oracle and chip maker, Micron Technology, Cruise line operator Carnival Corp, logistics giant, FedEx Corp and homewares group, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
Greece will dominate, however, with the euro leaders’ summit later in the week expected to be key to an agreement on a second bailout for the near bankrupt country.
Investors will be looking for some sort of agreement on the latest aid package for Greece and resolution around whether private bond holders will be forced or encouraged to volunteer to extend their investments in Greek debt.
The annual Paris Air Show will be held this week: expect a lot of doom and gloom about the impact of higher oil prices, talk of more trade fights between Air Bus and Boeing and, of course, stories of major plane contracts.
In Australia, the minutes of the Reserve Bank board meeting two weeks ago will repeat the message from Governor Glenn Stevens that the RBA is of the view that rates will need to rise at some point, but that we haven’t yet reached that point.
Money markets are now pricing in no change in rates for most of this year.
ABARES’s quarterly commodity export forecasts will be out tomorrow and will further define the extent of the damage done by the first quarter floods and cyclones.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics first quarter financial accounts are due, along with population growth figures.
RBA assistant governor Philip Lowe (Economics) speaks at a corporate function in Adelaide on Friday.
Corporate meetings include: Jindalee Resources, Hillgrove Resources, Range Resources, Liberty Resources, Aviva Medical, Vocus Communications, Pacific Niugini Ltd, Pluton Resources, Viento Group, Aguia Resources, InterMet Resources, CMI Ltd, and Virax Holdings.
Fitch Ratings’ Global Banking Conference will be held in Sydney on Friday.
In Asia we get the trade data for Japan for May, which should show an improvement in exports.
That is out later today.
On Wednesday we get the flash reading of the HSBC-Markt survey of Chinese manufacturing.
And we will also have inflation reports from Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
