Geopolitical jitters in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Paris November 13 failed to derail investor sentiment this past week. Newly public tech companies such as Square and Match Group shored up confidence after getting off to rocky starts, and the European Central Bank offered up soothingly dovish rhetoric. In the coming days several data points will emerge to test this resilience, including housing and oil supply figures in the U.S. and updated GDP numbers from the U.K. While the U.S. takes a day off to give gratitude on Thanksgiving, an investor summit in Africa comes on the heels of an attack at a Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, the capital of Mali, a reminder to allocators that the rapid growth possible in Sub-Saharan developing economies often comes with political uncertainty.
Monday, November 23: Consensus analyst forecasts for National Association of Realtors October existing home sales data release call for the pace to moderate somewhat while remaining on track for the strongest year since 2007. Home buying surged to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.55 million in September as eager buyers sought to lock in mortgage loans ahead of a presumed Federal Reserve rate hike.
Tuesday, November 24: Luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. releases third-quarter earnings results. Analysts covering the firm are anxious over the impact of declining growth prospects for key developing Asian markets. Its sales numbers considered a measure of high-net-worth consumer confidence, the jewelry company announced a quarterly dividend last week after a trailing 12 months that have seen its shares decline by more than 20 percent.
Wednesday, November 25: Last week the Energy Information Administration adjusted its calculation methods to include more individual geographic breakouts with an eighth consecutive rise in total crude stocks to more than 487 million barrels, despite rig closures in recent months. This trend is expected by forecasters to remain intact this week. Amid slack supply, energy markets appear poised to remain subdued in the near term.
Thursday, November 26: Information Management Network’s 13th Annual African Capital Markets Conference will kick off in Cape Town, South Africa, with institutional and sovereign investors, corporate issuers and regulators in attendance. Luckily for those investors and bankers who are able to make this year’s conference, the annual Festival of Beer — the largest beer festival in the Southern Hemisphere — kicks off the following day at Hamilton’s Rugby Club in Green Point, a suburb of Cape Town.
Friday, November 27: The U.K. National Office for Statistics releases second-estimate third-quarter GDP data. Economists have remained generally bullish on the U.K.’s economy for that three-month period, anticipating only a marginal contraction in the pace of growth as the manufacturing sector grapples with fewer customers and a construction boom fueled by sky high prices in metropolitan regions cools.
Saturday, November 28: The city of Lopburi, Thailand, roughly 90 miles north of Bangkok, plays home to the Lopburi Monkey Banquet. The event allows revelers the opportunity to break bread with 3,000-odd long-tailed macaques, ambassadors of mischief and good fortune.
