Keir Starmer sets foreign policy agenda

Hello. Welcome to weekday business.

Will this be the week that Sir Keir Starmer gets to grips with his agenda? He delivers his annual Mansion House speech on foreign affairs in the gilded surroundings of the Lord Mayor’s Banquet Hall. It starts with a great opportunity to do. This is his chance to show what kind of changes his new(ish) Labor government will bring to relations with US President-elect Donald Trump, the EU and China.

On Thursday, Starmer is expected to set out new pledges in his ‘Transformation Plan’ speech, but Duchy of Lancaster Chancellor Pat McFadden today denied these targets constitute a reset.

Of course, past events for Mr Starmer – most obviously the giveaway scandal shortly after his party came to power – have been disastrous for Mr Starmer. One potential diplomatic booby trap Starmer is trying to avoid this week is Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to London on Monday. The Prime Minister has repeatedly called on the British Museum to permanently return the Parthenon sculptures, formerly known as the Elgin Marbles. Athens. The two sides are scheduled to meet, and the British leader said he would not stand in the way of the “loan” of some artefacts if an agreement is reached between the British Museum and Greece.

Speaking of political turmoil, this Sunday will also see the run-off of Romania’s presidential election. Romania’s Constitutional Court last week called for a recount of the first round of votes after pro-Russian ultranationalist Karin Georgescu took the lead, shocking the nation.

As corporate earnings reports trickle out this week, we hope to see more data released about the success of this year’s Black Friday shopping event as we approach Cyber ​​Monday. One retailer I’ve been shopping around recently (for other companies’ stock) is Mike Ashley’s sportswear and fashion retailer Frasers Group. We will provide you with the latest information on transactions.

This week will be rich with economic data, especially Friday’s release of the US unemployment rate and EU third-quarter GDP estimates, as well as the latest Purchasing Managers Index data and G7 economic comparisons.

Central bank officials will appear in chambers and on parliamentary committees over the next seven days to share their thoughts on the global economy and monetary policy. Some of them will take part in the FT’s Global Banking Summit, a two-day event in London that kicks off on Tuesday and includes on-stage panels and keynotes, as well as private roundtables. It will be done. Please register here. See below for details on the rest of this week’s events.

One more thing. . .

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will (understandably) attract a lot of media attention with a series of events as it officially reopens to the public next Sunday. Last year’s excellent analysis by FT Paris bureau chief Leila Abboud of the background to the massive reconstruction effort to restore one of the world’s great Christian places of worship remains spot on.

Major economic and corporate reports

Here’s a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week:

Monday

Cyber ​​Monday is the first full business day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, and many retailers traditionally hold special promotions and sales online.

Federal Reserve Board Member Christopher Waller speaks at the American Institute for Economic Research’s Building a Better Fed Framework Financial Conference in Washington.

Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P Global/HCOB November Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Data

EU: Eurozone unemployment rate in October

UK: National November House Price Index

Result: Prosus HY

Tuesday

FT Global Banking Summit opens in London. Speakers at the two-day event include Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan and Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing.

Federal Reserve Board Member Adrianna Kugler speaks on labor market and monetary policy at Detroit Economic Club event

Brazil: Q3 GDP estimates

South Korea: Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate data for November (morning local time)

Türkiye: November CPI inflation data

UK: BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor

Results: Paragon Banking Fiscal Year, Salesforce Q3

Wednesday

Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell speaks at New York Times Dealbook Summit panel event in New York

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks at the ECON hearing of the Economic and Monetary Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels

Andrew Bailey speaks at Financial Times Global Board Event

OECD Economic Outlook

Australia: Third quarter GDP estimates

Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P Global/HCOB November Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Data

United States: Federal Reserve Beige Book

Results: Campbell’s Co Q1, Dollarama Q3, Dollar Tree Q3, Royal Bank of Canada Q4

Thursday

Germany: October mining and industrial order data

South Korea: Q3 GDP estimates (Morning local time)

Victoria Cleland, Executive Director of Payments at the Bank of England, speaks on ‘The Future Roadmap for the Bank of England’s Real-Time Gross Settlements (RTGS) Services’ at the FinTech Connect event in London

EU, France, Germany, Italy, UK: S&P Global/HCOB November Construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Data

Results: Brown-Forman Q2, DS Smith HY, Frasers Group HY, Future FY, Kroger Q3, Toronto-Dominion Bank Q4

Friday

Federal Reserve Board Director Michelle Bowman speaks at Missouri Bankers Association Executive Conference

EU: Q3 GDP estimates

Germany: October industrial production index

India: Reserve Bank of India Bimonthly Monetary Policy Statement

United States: November employment statistics. Also, December University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey data

Results: Berkeley Group HY

world events

Finally, we’ll summarize other events and milestones from this week.

Monday

UK: Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deliver annual foreign policy speech at Mayor’s Dinner in London

United States: Deadline for Donald Trump to file a motion to dismiss his hush money lawsuit, given his presidential victory last month. It is unclear whether such a move will be announced soon

Tuesday

Belgium: Two-day NATO foreign ministers meeting chaired by Secretary-General Mark Rutte begins in Brussels

UK: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani begins a two-day state visit accompanied by his first wife Sheikh Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suheim Al Thani. King Charles and Queen Camilla will be hosting visitors at Buckingham Palace, while Mr Starmer will hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister in Downing Street.

UK: Turner Prize winners announced at Tate Britain in London, marking 40 years of award for UK or UK-based artists

Wednesday

Thursday

France: Lyon’s Festival of Lights, originally intended to express gratitude to Mary, mother of Jesus, opens with hundreds of thousands of spectators expected to attend

Malta: Two-day Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council begins in Ta Qari

Uruguay: MERCOSUR Summit of leaders of South American trading bloc countries in Montevideo

UK: Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a speech outlining the government’s new goals.

Saturday

France: President Emmanuel Macron hosts formal inauguration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris ahead of reopening to public tomorrow

Ghana: Presidential and parliamentary elections

Qatar: Government officials, business executives and academics arrive for the 22nd Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade. The theme of this year’s two-day event is “The Need for Innovation”

Sunday

Romania: Presidential election run-off

UK: National solidarity march against anti-Semitism in London highlights increased incidence since Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year