Monday, June 13: China’s National Bureau of Statistics releases May retail sales, industrial production and fixed investment data and the People’s Bank of China publishes data on new loans for May. Despite small encouragement from better-than-anticipated import and producer price data, there is still cause for concern, with estimates for the total loans outstanding in the country ranging from 200 percent to more than 300 percent of GDP.
Tuesday, June 14: On deck in India is May wholesale price index data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Expectations for the indicator to rise again on higher fuel and food costs. Consensus forecasts are for a reading of 5.39 percent, slightly above the Reserve Bank of India’s target threshold. With many analysts expecting this monsoon season to feature higher-than-normal rainfall, price pressures in the food sector may abate in coming months.
Wednesday, June 15: The June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee stands to be the biggest event of the week for global financial markets. A speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen suggested that the chances of a rate hike announcement are slim after a weak jobs report for May but left the door open for an increase by September. Not all voices from within the Fed favor waiting, however. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, one of the most hawkish voices in the central bank, has argued repeatedly in recent public appearances that the FOMC has sufficient cause to raise rates.
Thursday, June 16: The Eurogroup meeting in Brussels is likely to focus at least in part on the possible exit of the U.K. from the European Union after the referendum vote one week later on June 23, as well as progress on the Greek debt restructuring plan. During a speech this past week, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi raised urgent concerns over the slow pace of economic reforms within the EU, noting that demographic factors require immediate action to prevent a drag on growth in the region.
Friday, June 17: Finding Dory, the sequel to 2003 Disney aquatic-themed animated film Finding Nemo, opens in theaters. After a disappointing first quarter with earnings that fell short of estimates, Walt Disney Co. is hoping Dory will make the cash register ring this summer. The film got some unexpected — at least unofficially — publicity this past week over whether or not the film features a lesbian couple, a claim that the film’s producers neither confirm nor deny. With more than 40 million copies sold, Finding Nemo is the all-time best-selling DVD; is the seventh-highest grossing animated film and 35th-highest animated film of all time. Another much-anticipated Disney production is also making a debut this month: Shanghai Disneyland opened its doors June 9.
Saturday, June 18: The Stonehenge solstice celebration is an opportunity for modern-day Druids, hippies and tourists alike to celebrate the shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. While some celebrants may just be there to party, many will be there to marvel at the series of 25-ton stones stacked in a ceremonial circle that still baffles anthropologists as to its original rationale. Along with the winter solstice and the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, the summer solstice is one of the few days a year the monument, which researchers estimate may date as early back as 3000 B.C., is open to the public.
