Spring is in the air

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Hello and welcome to the working week.

It’s set to be an exciting few days for economists. The IMF and the World Bank kick off their joint spring meeting on Monday in Washington. There’s a packed agenda with some interesting reports and meetings to dig into, including the IMF’s World Economic Outlook on Tuesday and a gathering of the G20 finance ministers on Thursday.

It’s also a notable week for democracy, with several countries holding elections, the biggest being India. The country begins its 44-day parliamentary election process on Friday. Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party looks set to secure another five years in power but the election will be closely watched by those worried about the erosion of Indian democracy.

We are now in earnings season proper, and a host of financial companies report. Keep an eye out for Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Blackstone and American Express to name a few. One company you can’t miss is Netflix. Investors will be keen to see if the streaming giant has continued the impressive growth it recorded at the end of last year.

One more thing . . . 

Last week I told you what I found interesting about marathons and this week I’m going to run with it (forgive me, both for this joke and all the awful ones to follow).

The Boston marathon has been going since 1897. That’s quite a long run. One notable participant is Roberta Gibb, the first women to run the marathon in 1966. Women weren’t allowed to compete until 1971, so Gibb hid in some bushes near the start until the starting-gun went off.

Jonathan is back next week. Before I go, one last joke/piece of advice if you’re taking part in the Boston marathon or London’s race on Sunday: marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

Key economic and company reports

Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.

Monday

• UK: Richard Haythornthwaite is installed as the new chair of NatWest. He replaces Sir Howard Davies who steps down at the end of his term just as the bank undertakes an ambitious reorganisation

• US: IMF and World Bank start their spring meeting

• Results: Charles Schwab Q1, Goldman Sachs Q1, M&T Bank Q1,

Tuesday

• Canada: The government finance minister Chrystia Freeland presents the annual state budget to parliament

• China: quarterly GDP data

• France: LVMH Q1 sales

• UK: Monthly unemployment figures

• US: IMF releases its World Economic Outlook along with Chapter 1 of its global financial stability report

• Results: Bank of America Q1, Bank of New York Mellon, Q1, Johnson & Johnson Q1, Morgan Stanley Q1, Omnicom Q1

Wednesday

• UK: Monthly inflation figures for March

• UK: Rio Tinto Q1 operations review

• US: IMF releases the first of its twice-yearly fiscal monitor report

• Results: Abbott Laboratories Q1, ASML Q1, Citizens Financial Group Q1, Financial Services Q1, Hays Q3 trading statement, Las Vegas Sands Corp Q1, United Airlines Q1

Thursday

• US: G20 finance ministers meeting

• Results: Blackstone Q1, Deliveroo Q1 trading update, easyJet H1 trading update, Equifax Q1, Netflix Q1, Infosys Q4

Friday

• UK: Deloitte publishes its consumer tracker

• Results: American Express Q1, Procter & Gamble Q3

World events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

Monday

• UK: House of Commons and House of Lords return from their Easter breaks along with the Scottish and Welsh parliaments

• US: Jury trial for Donald Trump is scheduled to start. The former president is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to facilitate a payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with Trump in 2006

• US: Boston marathon

• US: Federal Election Commission filing deadline for the first quarter of the year

Tuesday

• Belgium: National Conservatism conference starts today and runs until tomorrow. Speakers include Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former UK home secretary Suella Braverman and GB News host Nigel Farage

• China: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is on a state visit to China, is scheduled to meet Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping

• Greece: Olympic flame lit at a ceremony in Olympia, before starting its journey to France for the Olympic Games in Paris

• US: The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for Fischer vs United States and rule if a statute used to charge about 330 defendants accused of storming the Capitol building on January 6 2021 has been applied correctly

Wednesday

• Croatia: Parliamentary elections

• Italy: G7 foreign ministers meeting

• Europe: Special summit of EU heads of state. The meeting will be focused on improving EU competitiveness and how to deepen integration of the bloc’s single market

• Solomon Islands: Parliamentary elections

Thursday

• China: Beijing international film festival

• UK: Report published by media regulator Ofcom on the media use and attitudes of parents and children

Friday

• India: Parliamentary elections begin

• UK: The International Olympic Committee holds an event in London on how AI could be used at the Olympics

Saturday

Sunday

• Democratic Republic of Congo: Senate elections

• Ecuador: Series of referendums are held on reforms to combat organised crime

• Maldives: Parliamentary elections

• UK: London marathon