Greece successfully convinced bondholders to let the Hellenic
Republic off the hook for 135 billion euros in the biggest
sovereign-debt restructuring deal in history. This week, Central
bankers will be making key policy announcements on interest rates
and monetary stimulus.
1) Italy will report its Q4 GDP numbers. Earlies estimates
showed Italy on the cusp of a recession. European finance
ministers will review the Greek bailout that was approved.
The Bank of Japan will announce its policy decisions. Since
growth in the world's third largest economy has been slow,
we can expect the central bank to continue asset purchases
to fuel growth. The US Treasury will report on the gov budget
deficit data.
2) The spotlight turns to the economy on Tuesday. Report will
reveal the health of retail sales, business inventories and
small business optimism. The Federal Reserve will reveal
its strategy for interest rates and asset prices.
3) On Wednesday, The Energy Information Administration will
provide information on petroleum inventories and the Bureau
of Labor Statistics will report on prices of imports and
exports, a valuable measure of global inflation.
4) Weekly initial claims on unemployment insurance will be
reported Thursday morning. The Fed will report on its balance
sheet and the money supply. The Treasury will measure
international investors' appetite for US securties.
5) Reading on consumer price index, the most important measure
of inflation, industrial production and consumer sentiment
come out Friday.
Sheila McKinney
