July ended with an extended rout for equities in China as well as many developing markets and a further sell-off in commodities stocks: on Friday, oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil reported their worst quarterly results in a decade. During the coming week, expect macro concerns to shift toward developed markets and away from commodities and emerging markets. A series of critical data points are to be released, including new U.S. jobs data, which may cement a Federal Reserve rate hike in September. Down under, the Reserve Bank of Australia makes its monthly rate announcement on Tuesday, potentially adding to policy divergences as major players linger in accommodative territory while the Fed takes off.
Monday, August 3: With rising concerns that London real estate prices are nearing bubble status, the Halifax House index (HHI) release for July will be closely watched on Monday in light of concerns over historically unprecedented low lending rates at the Bank of England. With data collected by going back to 1983 by the Bank of Scotland, the HHI is the longest-running real estate index in the U.K. Separately, the Bank of England will release its quarterly inflation report on Thursday, with many economists expecting the bank’s tone to become more hawkish in part because of rising property values.
Tuesday, August 4: The Reserve Bank of Australia will make its monthly interest rate announcement with expectations for no change in language as Aussie central bankers balance domestic growth with deflationary pressures from abroad. In a speech Thursday at the Boao Forum for Asia in Sydney, RBA governor Glenn Stevens noted that macro policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region should be preparing for the potential effects of the some A$400 billion ($292 billion) in Chinese investment capital likely to flow into the area’s economies.
Wednesday, August 5: After losing more than 30 percent of its market valuation year-to date, Toronto–headquartered Barrick Gold Corp., the largest gold mining firm on the planet by volume, reports second-quarter 2015 earnings. With more than 100 million ounces of proven gold reserves and more than 800 million ounces of proven silver, the firm recently announced a sale of 50 percent of its stake in a copper mining field in Chile, worth more than $1 million, to Chilean mining group Antofagasta in an attempt to shore up its balance sheet.
Thursday, August 6: Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay dropping the world’s first deployed atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Commemorative events are being held around the world, including in Edinburgh, Seattle, London and across Japan.
Friday, August 7: With expectations for a September hike in rates by the Federal Reserve a near-market consensus, the July employment report by the Department of Labor is likely one of the final major domestic indicators to occur before an announcement. After a string of positive initial claims releases by individual states, expectations are running high for a solid decrease in the U.S. headline jobless rate.
Saturday, August 8: On its second day, the Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia will kick into full gear. The three-day festival features 24 headline performers and several workshops on folk performing arts such as the boduberu, a dance native to the Maldives, and how to play the morin khuur, a bowed stringed instrument that is a national symbol of Mongolia.
