It also happens to be the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War, the wounds of which remain fresh in Buenos Aires. Friday marks half a century since the burglary at the Watergate hotel-apartment-office complex in Washington. Fortunately, this was resolved more quickly, although it left the irritating legacy of the patch attached to what appears to be every subsequent political scandal. The last of these, the partygate, has a way of running, although the main protagonist, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will be (ironically) the focus of a legitimate social gathering this week as he turns 58 on Saturday. . Partygate’s spin-off series, Are You Being (Poorly) Served, is likely to see another installment with the government promising to publish controversial and delayed legislation to circumvent the Northern Ireland Protocol on Monday. As my colleague Peter Foster noted in the excellent Brexit Briefing newsletter last week, this is unlikely to end well. Johnson is also expected to announce a new “development plan” this week with Chancellor Risi Sunak. Following the OECD verdict on UK development next year – only Russia affected by sanctions is projected to be worse off among the G20 – the country clearly needs a new plan, if not a new prime minister, to implement it. . The Falkland Islands Royal Guard at Port Stanley following the surrender of Argentina in June 1982 © IWM / Getty Images France goes to the polls again on Sunday for the second round of parliamentary elections. The concern for the newly elected president Emanuel Macron this time is not the far right but an alliance from the far left. There will be at least one resolution this week. Colombians will go to the polls on Sunday for the second round of the presidential election in their country, which will decide whether the populist Rodolfo Hernandez can oust the former leftist rebel Gustavo Petros. Whatever the outcome, it will be an interesting competition.
Financial data
It will be (another) week for interest rate news. The main attraction will be the meeting of the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve, but there will also be decisions by the Bank of England and the respective companies in Japan, Switzerland and Brazil. The question is not whether the tightening of monetary policy will accelerate, but to what extent – the answer to this question depends in part on your confidence in the ability of the given economy to achieve a mild landing or whether it is doomed to enter a recession. The jump in US inflation on Friday fueled talk of a rapid tightening. Policymakers have already pointed out that at least the Fed will offer a series of interest rate hikes of half a point. Traders have priced the federal funds rate rising to about 2.9 percent by the end of the year from the current target range of 0.75 to 1 percent. The OECD raised its index last week before the announcement of US inflation figures, calling for faster action by the Fed.
Companies
Retail trade is heavily represented in this week’s profit calendar. The title is Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket chain, with observers wanting to hear more about how inflation is affecting household spending. However, just two months after its full-year results, few expect the company to deviate from its cautious scenario that profits this year will be held back by the need to keep prices for buyers in check. I asked Jonathan Eley, FT Retail Correspondent, for a comment. “The company has been gaining market share in recent months, but sales growth rates in the first quarter will be confused by the closure of pubs and restaurants in the same period a year ago,” he said. “It boosted supermarket sales, but it hurt Booker, Tesco’s wholesale business.” Among analysts’ comments, Barclays has forecast a total drop of 1.8 percent in the UK, with lower volumes being partially offset by higher prices. Read the full calendar of the week here
