STORY: From U.S. tech giant earnings to major central bank meetings, these are the stories to watch in business and finance in the coming week.
:: Lookahead
:: The Fed
The Fed concludes its July monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
Investors are pricing in a more than 90% chance of a September rate cut amid evidence of cooling inflation and a nascent downshift in the jobs market.
U.S. employment data due on Friday will give them the chance to assess whether the gradual signs of slowing have continued in July.
:: Tech tantrums
Markets are on edge over earnings from U.S. tech giants.
Microsoft is due to report on Tuesday, Facebook-parent Meta on Wednesday and Apple and Amazon on Thursday.
Disappointing numbers could re-ignite the worries that caused last Wednesday’s crushing selloff in U.S. stocks.
:: To hike or not to hike
There’s growing speculation that the Bank of Japan could hike rates on Wednesday.
Japanese politicians, including the prime minister, hinted at the need for near-term policy normalization.
The yen has rebounded by a staggering 10 yen per dollar from three-decade lows at the start of the month.
:: Bank of England
The Bank of England meets on Thursday and markets see a near 50% chance that rates will fall for the first time since March 2020.
Growth is modest and consumer inflation has returned to 2%, but wage growth and service-sector inflation are proving sticky.
Markets will watch results from big banks including Barclays, to get a sense of how well they are likely to fare when borrowing costs start to fall.
