White House and EU talk peace and defence

Hiya and welcome to the working week.

For a lot of of you the lunar new yr celebrations are persevering with, however in different elements of the world there are severe summits to be held. I’ve acquired Nick Lowe’s 1974 hit (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding operating via my head. Can we discover some signal of hope, even laughter, this week?

First off there’s the decision of Donald Trump to make Benjamin Netanyahu the primary overseas chief to go to him on the White Home in his second time period. The assembly, attributable to happen on Tuesday, will mark the primary abroad journey by the veteran Israeli chief for the reason that Worldwide Felony Court docket issued an arrest warrant in opposition to him final yr over allegations of conflict crimes stemming from the Gaza conflict. The pair are anticipated to debate methods to create a everlasting ceasefire in Gaza — little question emboldened at how Trump helped swing the present cessation of hostilities — in addition to the Iranian nuclear menace and a normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

In the meantime, throughout the Atlantic in Brussels, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will on Monday be having dinner with counterparts from all 27 EU member states for the primary time since Brexit occurred 5 years in the past — by the way in which, if you wish to understand how that nice divorce goes for British society, read this.

On the menu on Monday, in addition to little question some superb wine, pate and seafood, might be discussions about how the UK and its European neighbours can co-operate on defence and safety. Starmer may even maintain talks with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte. The UK-EU assembly was convened by the one-time Portuguese prime minister, now European Council president, António Costa, in one of his first acts after taking up the new job. A separate get collectively to think about different features of a “reset” in UK-EU relations, together with a attainable decreasing of commerce obstacles, is deliberate for later within the yr.

We then come to the attainable — however may not occur — information of the week. A federal choose was due on Monday to listen to arguments on Trump’s order to pause funding for billions of {dollars} of federal grants, loans and different monetary help. The transfer by the White Home had been blocked by a judge, however then Trump appeared to again down, rescinding the memo and leaving the court docket listening to in limbo. The White Home has informed the court docket it believes the restraining order request is now moot, however the plaintiffs disagree. We are actually ready for the plaintiffs to reply.

On the company entrance, we hit peak earnings season this week with greater than 120 S&P 500 corporations reporting quarterly figures. There may be additionally a really busy schedule of earnings from Asia, particularly as soon as the lunar new yr vacation durations are over midweek, and Europe.

The Financial institution of England’s Financial Coverage Committee is predicted to chop charges by 25 foundation factors to 4.50 per cent, whereas India’s central financial institution is predicted to chop charges by the identical quantity to six.25 per cent. Loads of US and European central bankers are scheduled to talk.

There’s a acquainted really feel to the statistical knowledge run, with the G7 comparator of producing and companies buying managers’ index stories dominating the beginning of the week, adopted by US labour market statistics, together with German orders, manufacturing and commerce, Japanese wages and family spending knowledge. Extra particulars under.

Yet one more factor . . . 

I confess I’m not an enormous sports activities fan — presumably attributable to selecting Tottenham Hotspur as an adolescent when everybody at my north London faculty was aligning themselves to soccer golf equipment — which is (one of many causes) why I can’t be watching the Tremendous Bowl this Sunday. However I do know my colleagues on the (premium subscriber) publication Scoreboard might be as a result of this very a lot suits with their remit of writing in regards to the enterprise of sport. Sign up here.

What are your priorities for the week forward? E-mail me at jonathan.moules@ft.com or, if you’re studying this out of your inbox, hit reply.

Key financial and firm stories

Here’s a extra full checklist of what to anticipate when it comes to firm stories and financial knowledge this week.

Monday

• Thames Water’s debt restructuring plan, authorised by collectors holding greater than 90 per cent of secured debt at conferences final month, is because of be heard in London’s Excessive Court docket at a sanction listening to

• Canada, China, Eurozone, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P International/HCOB January manufacturing buying managers’ index (PMI) knowledge

• EU: January Eurozone shopper worth index (CPI) inflation estimate

• Outcomes: Central Japan Railway Q3, Clorox Q2, East Japan Railway Q3, Julius Baer FY, Tyson Meals Q1

Tuesday

• UK: Kantar’s February grocery market share and store worth inflation report

• US: December Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT), manufacturing facility orders and sturdy items orders knowledge

• Outcomes: Alphabet This fall, Ametek This fall, Archer Daniels Midland This fall, BNP Paribas FY, Chipotle Mexican Grill This fall, Crest Nicholson FY, Cummins This fall, Dassault Systèmes This fall, Diageo HY, Digital Arts Q3, Estée Lauder Q2, Fox Corp Q2, Hubbell This fall, Infineon Applied sciences Q1, Juniper Networks This fall, KKR This fall, Mattel This fall, Merck This fall, Mitsui 9M/Q3, Mondelez Worldwide This fall, Nintendo 9M/Q3, OMV This fall, PayPal This fall, PepsiCo This fall, Pfizer This fall, Snap This fall, Spotify This fall, UBS This fall, Vodafone Q3 buying and selling replace, Western Union This fall, Willis Towers Watson This fall, YouGov HY buying and selling assertion

Wednesday

• FT Worldwide Vitality Coverage Discussion board 2025. Audio system together with Fatih Birol, govt director of the Worldwide Vitality Company, Eva Jensen on the European Surroundings Company and Irene Heemskerk, head of the Local weather Change Heart on the European Central Financial institution, focus on Europe’s vitality transition. Register for free

• Canada, China, Eurozone, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P International/HCOB January companies buying managers’ index (PMI) knowledge

• China: monetary markets reopen after the lunar new yr vacation.

• France: December industrial manufacturing figures

• US: December commerce in items and companies knowledge, plus the month-to-month ADP Employment Report

• Outcomes: Alfa-Laval This fall, Arm Holdings Q3, Banco Santander FY, Boston Scientific This fall, DCC Q3 buying and selling assertion, Ford Motor Firm This fall, GSK FY, Jack Henry & Associates Q2, Johnson Controls Q1, KDDI Q3, Match Group This fall, MetLife This fall, Information Corp Q2, Nomura Q3, Novo Nordisk FY, Prudential Monetary This fall, Qualcomm Q1, SSE Q3 buying and selling assertion, Stanley Black & Decker This fall, T Rowe Worth This fall, Uber This fall, Disney Q1

Thursday

• Deutsche Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel speaks on the inaugural BIS Chapultepec Convention in Mexico

• Eurozone, France, Germany, Italy, UK: S&P International/HCOB January development buying managers’ index knowledge

• Germany: December manufacturing orders knowledge

• UK: Financial institution of England units rate of interest

• US: This fall non-farm productiveness knowledge

• Outcomes: Amazon This fall, Anglo American This fall manufacturing report, AstraZeneca This fall, BCE This fall, Bristol Myers Squibb This fall, Compass AGM and Q1 replace, ConocoPhillips This fall, Eli Lilly This fall, Equifax This fall, Expedia Group This fall, Hershey This fall, Hilton Worldwide This fall, Honeywell This fall, ING This fall, Itochu Q3, Kellanova This fall, Linde This fall, L’Oréal FY, Mitsubishi 9M/Q3, Nikon Q3, Nippon Metal Q3, NTT Information Group Q3, Philip Morris Worldwide This fall, Pinterest This fall, Securitas FY, Snap-On This fall, Société Générale This fall, Suzuki Motor Q3, Take-Two Interactive Software program Q3, Thomson Reuters This fall, Beneath Armour Q3, Verisign This fall, Vinci FY, Watches of Switzerland buying and selling replace, Yum Manufacturers This fall

Friday

• India: Reserve Financial institution of India bimonthly rate-setting announcement

• UK: Halifax January Home Worth Index

• US: January employment report, together with the unemployment fee.

• Outcomes: Ashmore Group HY, Banco Sabadell This fall, Danske Financial institution This fall, Eisai Q3, Mazda Motor Q3, MediaTek This fall, Nippon Telegraph & Phone 9M/Q3, Skanska FY

World occasions

Lastly, here’s a rundown of different occasions and milestones this week.

Monday

• Belgium: European Council casual retreat to debate European defence. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is because of attend a working dinner, the place he’ll meet all 27 EU leaders for the primary time.

Tuesday

• India: IIC-Bruegel Annual Seminar, a two-day closed-door workshop specializing in key features of India-EU relations, begins in New Delhi

• Portugal: fortieth birthday of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo

• US: President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the White Home

Wednesday

Thursday

• New Zealand: Waitangi Day nationwide vacation

• South Africa: President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers annual State of the Nation handle to a joint sitting of parliament in Cape City

• US: New York Style Week begins

Friday

• Turks and Caicos Islands: parliamentary elections

• US: thirtieth Annual Critics Alternative Awards, honouring the very best in cinematic and televised/streaming achievement, might be held in Santa Monica, California

Saturday

• Canada: seventh Invictus Video games, a biennial sporting competitors for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and girls to introduce them to Paralympic sports activities and encourage them to remain bodily energetic, funded by the Duke of Sussex’s Royal Basis. Katy Perry performs on the opening ceremony in Vancouver

• North Korea: Navy Basis Day nationwide vacation

Sunday

• Ecuador: parliamentary and presidential elections

• Kosovo: parliamentary elections

• Liechtenstein: parliamentary elections

• US: Tremendous Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs competing in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles for the premium American Soccer crown. Kendrick Lamar will headline the half-time live performance