Amidst the corporate earnings season ramp up, this is a very important week for local data, the highlight the RBA’s Meeting and expected cut in interest rates on Tuesday. A small cut of 25 basis points (100 basis points = 1%) is the most likely outcome according to the punditry.
Other important local data includes Retail Sales today and NZ unemployment numbers on Tuesday providing a barometer on how our cousins are coping with their housing melt (their banks are literally our banks)
Further afield, the US corporate earnings season continues, whilst the UK central bank meets on Thursday to discuss further quantitative easing (QE) and cash rate adjustments.
From the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS):
Monday: Retail Trade Dec 2011
Tuesday: Overseas Departures and Arrivals Dec 2011
Friday: Building Approvals Dec 2011 – data cube for smaller areas (full data released last week)From the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA):
Tuesday: Monetary Policy Changes (cash rate)
Wednesday: Chart Pack
Thursday: Release of Minutes of Tuesday meetingOther Local and New Zealand data
Tuesday: NZ unemployment Rate, Labor Cost index
Wednesday: Westpac Consumer SentimentInternational:
Monday: German Factor Orders
Tuesday: German Industrial Productions
Thursday: China CPI/PPI, UK Trade Balance and BOE Meeting (cash rate)
Friday: ECB Press Conference, UK GDP estimate, US unemployment claims/non-farm payrolls, China Trade Balance/New Loans data (tentative), US Trade Balance