Macroeconomic data releases scheduled for the first week of December include new car sales and employment data in the U.S., as well as an announcement from the European Central Bank that many expect will include increased easing. Art collectors from across the globe converge on Miami Beach this week for the Art Basel festival mid-week and this Saturday, a parade of holiday revelers dressed as horned demons will descend in the Alpine city of Klagenfurt to remind children that Santa knows who has been naughty and nice.
Monday, November 30: Some 50,000 people including heads of state, top diplomats and businesspeople will convene in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget for UN climate change conference COP21. The session this year marks one decade since the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, which the U.S. has signed but not ratified and from which Canada withdrew in 2012.
Tuesday, December 1: November vehicle sales figures from Autodata Corp. are expected by analysts to be slightly stronger than the annualized rate of 18.24 million registered in October. If data meets or beats estimates, car sales figures this year might reach a new record.
Wednesday, December 2: The 14th annual Art Basel Miami Beach festival, featuring works from 267 galleries from around the globe, opens for previews ahead of general opening on Thursday. This year’s event will include outdoor film screenings on the 7,000-square-foot projection wall of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center.
Thursday, December 3: For financial markets the European Central Bank policy announcement on Thursday is the among most eagerly anticipated scheduled events this coming week. Persistent deflationary pressure and sluggish demand from abroad have inspired increasingly dovish rhetoric from ECB president Mario Draghi in recent weeks.
Friday, December 4: With initial jobless claims hovering near post-1973 lows, expectations are for the November employment report from the U.S. Department of Labor to confirm even further improvement in the domestic job market.
Saturday, December 5: Klagenfurt, Austria hosts the annual Krampusnacht festival, a spirits-fueled celebration of all things Krampus, St. Nicholas’ Alpine yuletide sidekick. Scholars believe the horned punisher of naughty children predates Christianity in Central Europe.
