Geneva car show
March 8-18 - The largest car expo event this year is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, amid mixed results for European car makers but with large global players expecting a rebound after a few difficult years and last year’s natural disaster in Japan. The GM-Peugeot alliance is likely to be scrutinised.
US central bank's rate decisions
March 13 - The US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet and it is highly unlikely that Fed officials will touch their benchmark interest rate, now at 0.25%, as they said in late February it would “stay low until at least late 2014”. The Fed’s FOMC also said it expects unemployment will remain high and inflation subdued and is therefore likely to maintain “a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy.” At any rate, FOMS meetings are often seen as tentative market movers, with investors eyeing the Fed’s comments to catch any signs on which they could possibly base their market tactics.
UK Budget Day
March 21 - Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is scheduled to deliver the UK budget, first privately to the Budget Cabinet and then publicly in a speech to the House of Commons. UK Budget Day occurs every year in the third week of March on a Wednesday, before the start of the new fiscal year. The event is seen as a market mover as the budgetary settings presented by the chancellor tend to influence the outlook for the economy.
BRICS summit
March 29 - India will host this year’s meeting of the world’s biggest emerging markets, the fourth such summit since the group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa was set up in 2006. The fast-growing nations, also known as ‘BRICS’, reportedly will deal with India’s proposal for a multilateral bank that would be financed exclusively by the developing nations.
DATA IN FOCUS
March 13
Germany’s latest ZEW Economic Sentiment Index, based on a survey of about 350 German institutional investors and analysts which asks respondents to rate the relative 6-month economic outlook for Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, will be released.
US retail sales figures for February, giving a fresh picture of consumer spending in the world’s largest economy.
March 14
Britain’s latest labour market data, including the unemployed claimant count change for February and the unemployment rate for January.
Eurozone's CPI, the most important inflation data used by the European Central Bank to shape its inflation target.
March 15
US PPI data for February, also known as factory gate inflation, measuring the change in the price of finished goods and services sold by producers.
Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, based on a survey of about 250 manufacturers in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve district which asks respondents to rate the relative level of general business conditions.
March 16
Monthly inflation data from the United States, including core CPI which is typically a market mover closely watched by the Federal Reserve as well as traders.
March 20
UK's inflation data for February, a closely-watched economic indicator because it is used as the central bank's inflation target.
March 22
Monthly retail sales figures are released in Canada and the UK.
March 23
Canada reports on its February inflation data (CPI, including core CPI that excludes the eight most volatile items in the consumer basket).
US new home sales data for February, providing an annualised account of new single-family homes sold during the month. It's a leading indicator of economic health because the sale of a new home triggers a wide-reaching ripple effect.
March 26
Germany’s latest Ifo Business Climate Index comes out, based on surveyed manufacturers, builders, wholesalers and retailers. The composite index tends to have a hefty impact on markets as Germany is the biggest economic generator in Europe. It is based on a survey of about 7,000 businesses in which respondents rate the relative level of current business conditions and expectations for the next six months.
March 30
Canada releases its monthly GDP data for January.
