Japan- Labour cash earnings (YoY) (August)
Released by: Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (monthly report)
Time: 10:30 (JST)
What is it?
It is the level of earnings per employee before tax deductions, and includes bonuses and overtime pay.
Why is it important?
Though the report does not take into consideration accumulated wealth and capital gains from assets, the figure is an accurate reflection of consumers' spending capacity. Elevated levels of spending tend to propel economic growth, and high earnings tends to lead to high levels of inflation.
What are market expectations?
Economists polled by Bloomberg predicted 0.0% from last month's figure of 0.3%.
UK and Eurozone PMI Manufacturing (September)
Released by: UK-Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Eurozone -NTC Economics (monthly)
Time: UK 9:30 (BST), Eurozone 10:00 (CET)
What is it?
It is a monthly survey of manufacturing sector activity.
Why is it important?
The survey gives an idea of the economic outlook as figures tend to match the overall state of the economy. A high PMI indicates an increase in materials purchased, and a figure above 50 is positive for the pound.
What are market expectations?
A Bloomberg survey yielded a median estimate of 45.0 for the UK, and 45.3 for the eurozone.
UK- Index of services (July)
Released by: National Statistics (monthly)
Time: 9.30 (BST)
What is it?
It is a measure of the change in gross value added (GVA) for the service industries (GVA is the difference between the value of the service provided and the value of the goods and services used up in providing that service).
Why is it important?
It is a good indication of the state of the economy as service industries account for around 74% of UK GDP.
What can we expect?
A Bloomberg survey of analysts predicts a change of +0.1% compared with the previous change of +0.2%.
Eurozone- ECB Trichet's Speech 11:00 (CET)
Eurozone - Unemployment Rate (August)
Released by: Eurostat (monthly report)
Time: 11.00 (CET)
What is it?
The cumulative percentage of unemployed individuals across the euro area.
The figure is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed in the labor force by the total labor force, yielding a percentage measure.
Individuals are defined as unemployed if they are 15 years or older and without a job, having actively sought employment in the past 4 weeks and are willing and able to work in the next 2 weeks.
Why is it important?
A dropping unemployment rate means more people have jobs than before, which generally means they have more money to spend. Higher levels of spending helps instigate economic growth. Low levels of unemployment can also lead to wage inflation, however, which brings overall inflationary concerns.
As this figure is released earlier than GDP figures, it can be useful for gauging the overall economic health of the eurozone, although its impact is somewhat reduced by individual member states releasing unemployment data in advance of this combined rate.
What can we expect?
Economists polled by Bloomberg gave a median forecast of 7.3%, which would be unchanged from last month's figure.
U.S.- MBA Mortgage Applications (September 26)
Released by: The Mortgage Bankers’ Association (weekly report)
Time: 07.00 (EST)
What is it?
The MBA conducts a weekly survey of mortgage lenders from which it compiles a number of indices.
The headline figure is the weekly percentage change in the MBA Mortgage Applications figure.
Why is it important?
The number of mortgage applications acts as a leading indicator for home sales. Consequently the report can be used as a guide of housing demand and thereby economic momentum. A high reading is seen as positive for the economy as a whole, as it implies increased household income and spending.
U.S. - ADP Employment Change (September)
Released by: Automatic Data Processing, Inc (monthly report)
Time: 08.15 (EST)
What is it?
This report estimates the change in numbers of people employed in the US(the figure is seasonally adjusted).
Why is it important?
If there is a rise in employment, it means that, generally speaking, overall there should be more wages being earned, which can fuel consumer spending. Generally this is good for the well-being of the economy, although higher spending can also spur inflation, which may be force the Fed to make an attempt to counteract via rate increases.
What are market expectations?
A Bloomberg survey of analysts forecasts a change of -50,000, compared with last month's figure of -33,000.
U.S. - Construction Spending (September)
Released by: U.S. Census Bureau (monthly report)
Time: 10.00 (EST)
What is it?
A report that measures the total amount of spending on US residential and non-residential construction activity.
Why is it important?
The construction industry bears a significant impact on US GDP and the state of the economy. Builders are more likely to spend more when they feel that the economy is healthy and that demand is likely to be strong.
As it is affected by interest rates, it bears an influence on commodities, bonds and stocks.
What are market expectations?
Economists polled by Bloomberg predicted a change of -0.5%, compared to a previous figure of -0.6%.
U.S. - ISM Manufacturing (September)
Released by: Institute for Supply Management (monthly report)
Time: 10.00 (EST)
What is it?
It is a survey that gauges the condition of US manufacturing activity.
Why is it important?
It is considered to be the most important of all manufacturing indices.
The ISM Manufacturing Index is liable to move markets, especially when periods of rapid economic growth are approaching the end of their cycle.
Its reputation as one of the chief market-moving economic releases is related to how quickly the data is released: the information contained in the report presages other key data, such as Non-farm Payrolls and CPI.
Moreover, variations in manufacturing tend to wield the greatest influence on changes in GDP, despite manufacturing constituting only a comparatively small proportion of GDP.
Trends in the direction of the economy are accordingly often foreshadowed by developments in manufacturing: an upturn in manufacturing activity after a period of recession is a strong indication of a reversal upward in the economy.
On the other hand, waning levels of manufacturing orders and production in a phase of expansion may well suggest a slowing economy - or even herald the beginning of a recession.
What are market expectations?
A survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg showed a predicted figure of 49.5. This is slightly lower than last month's figure of 49.9.
