EU-China summit, COP28 and Boris Johnson testifies

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the World myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

Hello and welcome to the working week.

Like the buses, you wait for one summit then two significant ones come along at once.

The headline act from last week, COP28, rolls on — register here to watch FT Live events direct from Dubai, while premium subscribers can sign up here for Moral Money updates every weekday during the summit.

But added to this political jaw-jaw list will be Thursday’s much anticipated two-day EU-China summit, hosted by President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The EU wants to trade, but not at any cost. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called for a “clear-eyed” approach to China’s hardening global posture.

For the UK government, this week will start with a reminder of last week’s blow up with the Greek prime minister over the Elgin Marbles as the Meidias hydria vase, removed from Greece to the British Museum more than 200 years ago, goes on display (on loan) at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

This will be just a prelude however to the discomfort that will be unleashed on Wednesday when the UK Covid inquiry begins grilling former prime minister Boris Johnson. Sajid Javid and Matt Hancock, both health secretaries during the pandemic, have already told the inquiry that their boss was, respectively, “not in charge” and presiding over a “toxic culture” as the crisis unfolded, so Johnson has a lot of explaining to do.

Another thorny domestic UK political issue will be raised with the publication on Monday of the Northern Ireland affairs committee’s report on the effectiveness of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. Tension has been growing over the prolonged deadlock at Stormont with politicians in the region calling for reform of the 1998 agreement to make political structures more durable and to reflect changing political dynamics.

Meanwhile, Egypt goes to the polls at the weekend with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi widely expected to win re-election despite an economic crisis including record inflation and foreign currency shortages.

There is a steady run of economic news during the working week, with the relative state of the G7 economies highlighted by purchasing managers’ index surveys for the services sector, US payroll data, Japanese inflation figures and a UK retail sales survey. More details about these and the trickle of earnings announcements this week below.

One more thing . . . 

Thank you to all of you who shared about your Advent preparations — “Christmas creep” appears to be a real concern, alongside sightings of Valentine’s Day cards and other assorted pink merch in shops on December 26.

For those for whom yule rules, your time has now come. St Nicholas Eve, the primary occasion for gift-giving in the Netherlands and other countries, arrives on Tuesday. If you’re looking for that ideal present — an orange cord jumpsuit or Meri Meri dinosaur costume — HTSI has the list.

Keep sharing your priorities for the week ahead. Email me at [email protected] or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit reply.

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

Tuesday

• Senior executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and other global banks to speak at the Goldman financial services conference in New York

• Brazil: Q3 GDP figures

• EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P Global/Cips November services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data

• France: Monthly industrial production figures

• South Africa: Q3 GDP figures

• UK: BRC-KPMG November Retail Sales Monitor, plus Kantar grocery market share figures and price inflation

• Results: Ashtead Group Q2, AutoZone Q1, DiscoverIE HY, Drax trading update, Ferguson Q1, JM Smucker Q2, Marston’s FY, Moonpig HY, Oxford Metrics FY, Peel Hunt HY, SSP Group FY

Wednesday

• Australia: Q3 GDP figures

• Germany: Monthly industrial orders data

• UK: Bank of England publishes its latest twice-yearly Financial Stability Report

• Results: British American Tobacco trading update, Brown-Forman Q2, Campbell Soup Q1, John Wiley & Sons Q2, Paragon Banking FY, Redde Northgate FY, Tui FY

Thursday

• China: November trade balance figures

• EU: Q3 GDP and employment figures

• UK: November Halifax House Price index

• Results: AJ Bell FY, Balfour Beatty trading update, Broadcom Q4, Cooper Companies Q4, Dollar General Q3, DS Smith HY, Frasers Group HY, Lululemon Q3

Friday

• Various countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland: Immaculate Conception public holiday. Financial markets closed

• China: November consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) inflation rate data (PM local time)

• Germany: Final November CPI and harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation rate data

• India: Monetary policy committee rate-setting decision

• Japan: Revised Q3 GDP figures (AM local time)

• Russia: November CPI inflation rate data

• US: Monthly employment report

• Results: Associated British Foods trading update ahead of AGM, Berkeley Group HY

World events

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

Monday

• Financial Times Business Book of the Year announced

• Greece: The Meidias hydria vase, a Greek artefact that has been in the British Museum since the 18th century, goes on display at the Acropolis Museum

• UK: Westminster’s Northern Ireland affairs committee publishes its report on the effectiveness of the institutions created by the Good Friday Agreement

Tuesday

• The OECD releases its latest Pisa education study based on test results of 15-year-olds’ reading, mathematics and science abilities in 90 countries. Click here for the results at 11am CET

• UK: 2023 Turner Prize winner announced at an award ceremony in Eastbourne’s Winter Gardens. Click here for the shortlist

• US: Senate banking committee expected to publish testimony from the chief executives of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup and four other lenders ahead of their appearance before the Senate the next day

Wednesday

• The Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins this evening, commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BC

• UK: Former prime minister Boris Johnson begins giving evidence to the country’s official Covid-19 inquiry, and is expected to continue tomorrow

Thursday

• Brazil: 63rd summit of heads of state of Mercosur and associated nations in Rio

• China: EU-China Summit begins in Beijing, attended by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Charles Michel and Chinese President Xi Jinping

• Italy: Milan’s La Scala theatre begins its 2023-24 season with a performance of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Don Carlo

Friday

• Japan: G7 interior and security ministers gather in Mito city for a three-day summit

• UK: Protest planned at the controversial Cumbria colliery to coincide with COP28, opposing approval of the country’s first new deep coal mine in decades

• UK: National Audit Office report on financial services regulation, examining the Financial Conduct Authority’s effectiveness in working with others, particularly Treasury officials

Saturday

Sunday