STORY: From ditched Fed rate cut bets to the spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank, these are the business and finance stories to look out for in the week ahead.
1/ Ditched rate cut bets
Markets hastily ditched bets for a mid-year Fed rate cut.
September is now seen as the likely start date for easing as sticky inflation underlies a strong economy.
That puts the U.S. consumer into sharper focus with retail sales data due on April 15.
Earnings results could also shed light on consumer spending, with Bank of America, American Express and Discover Financial Services among others reporting.
2/ On track?
Investors will get a first look at how growth in the world’s second-largest economy is shaping up in a week filled with Chinese data.
First quarter gross domestic product numbers are due on Tuesday, alongside data on house prices and retail sales.
Expectations are for the economy to have grown 4.6% on an annual basis, a rocky start for Beijing in meeting its 2024 growth target of around 5%.
3/ India votes
India, the world’s largest democracy by population, starts voting on April 19 in national elections.
It will be held in seven phases and results are expected from June 4.
Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third consecutive term and is expected to win easily.
Since Modi’s BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won key state elections in December, markets have rallied on hopes of policy continuity at the national level.
4/ IMF/World Bank meeting
Finance ministers and central bank governors across the world descend on Washington, D.C., on Monday for the annual Spring Meeting of the IMF and World Bank.
A raft of reports on the economic outlook and financial stability will be released, while G20 and G7 policymakers also get together.
There is no shortage of topics to chew over.
