Check-up on China’s economy | Financial Times

Hello and welcome to the working week.

With the first quarter of 2023 out of the way, now for the data chronicling how the companies and countries have fared so far. On Tuesday the one to watch will be China’s first-quarter GDP report.

Beijing rounded off 2022 with a run of disappointing growth figures, ending the year with slightly more than 3 per cent annual growth. But now that China has lifted Covid-19 restrictions many are hoping the economy can make up lost ground and post some more impressive numbers.

In March President Xi Jinping set a target for annual growth of 5 per cent, a conservative estimate compared with the breakneck speed seen in previous years. This week’s GDP figures will be an early indication of whether the country’s economy can be expected to live up to that aim. A promising first glimpse was export figures, which expanded by nearly 15 per cent in March, hinting that a key part of the country’s economy is coming back to life.

Investors will also be keeping an eye on how trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have played in China’s economy. The US has been trying to strangle the flow of computer chips into the country to stop China from gaining more footholds in what it sees as a strategically important sector.

In Delaware, the Fox defamation trial is due to start on Monday. Voting machine maker Dominion claims that Fox News amplified false claims that the company’s machines were used to steal votes from former president Donald Trump during the last election. Dominion is seeking $1.6bn in damages.

On Dominion’s witness list are some of the network’s biggest names, including owner Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan, and presenters Tucker Carson and Sean Hannity.

Finally, Earth Day on Saturday aims to raise awareness of environmental issues. To mark the annual event, protest group Extinction Rebellion is hoping to flood London with 100,000 protesters over the weekend.

Jonathan is back next week, but I hope you have enjoyed my stint in preparing you for the upcoming week. Before I go, I would urge you to check out FT Edit, our new app for getting eight bits of the best journalism every week day. If you have any thoughts or feedback about the Week Ahead, please email me at [email protected] or if you’re reading this as a newsletter, just hit reply.

Economic data

Chinese GDP data is likely to dominate this week, but there will also be plenty of insights into how the UK economy is faring, including PMI and unemployment figures for March, plus the outlook for inflation.

In the US the Federal Reserve is publishing its third Beige Book of the year, while at the end of the week the Bureau of Labor Statistics issues the state unemployment data for March.

Companies

Another batch of US banks report first-quarter results, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Last week ended with some of their rivals, such as JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, beating expectations, indicating that the turmoil in the US banking sector last month had little immediate effect on the profitability of the biggest lenders.

Also keep an eye on Tesla reporting its Q1 results on Wednesday. Elon Musk dropped the price of the company’s cars by as much as 9 per cent in March following an earlier cut to prices in January and investors will be keen to see if lower prices have translated into strong sales. The electric-car maker has already reported that it has shipped a record number of new vehicles in 2023.

Key economic and company reports

Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.

Monday

• Deloitte publishes its annual survey of chief financial officers

• UK, regional PMI data published by S&P Global

• US, former Amazon executive David Risher is appointed the new boss of ride-hailing app Lyft, replacing the founders of the app Logan Green and John Zimmer. Risher takes over at a low point for the company as it loses market share to it main competitor Uber

• Results: State Street Q1, PageGroup Q1 trading update

Tuesday

• China, quarterly GDP data

• UK, Monthly unemployment figures

• Results: EasyJet trading update, Netflix Q1, Bank of America Q1, Goldman Sachs Q1, Lockheed Martin Q1, Silvergate Capital Q1, Johnson & Johnson Q1, Ericsson Q1

Wednesday

• Eurozone, harmonised CPI data for March

• US, Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book

• UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for March

• UK, house price index update for March

• Results: Tesla Q1, IBM Q1, Morgan Stanley Q1, Equifax Q1, Heineken NV Q1, Just Eat Q1, Las Vegas Sands Corp Q1, L’Oréal Q1 sales, United Airlines Q1, Rio Tinto Q1 operations review just before midnight in London

Thursday

• The CBI and PwC publish their quarterly survey of financial services. It tracks optimism, profits and employment for the first quarter of 2023 and looks ahead to the year’s halfway point

• The European Central Bank publishes its monetary policy discussions about its outlook for the eurozone’s financial market

• Results: WHSmith interim results, Snap Q1, Renault Q1 sales, AT&T Q1, B&M European Value Retail Q4, American Express Q1, China Mobile Q1, Philip Morris International Q1, Ipsos Q1 sales

Friday

• UK, the Office for National Statistics publishes monthly retail sales figures. Data from Barclays last week suggested consumers were spending more, but spending was still being outpaced by the rate of inflation

• US, Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes jobs data for March

• Results: China XD Electric Q1, ZTE Corp Q1, SAP SE Q1, BB Biotech Q1

World events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

Monday

• Sweden, Spring mini budget, which will include a rise in defence spending as it prepares to join Nato

• UK, House of Commons returns from its Easter break

• US, Dominion against Fox News defamation trial begins in Delaware. A judge ruled that Rupert Murdoch and other executives could be called as witnesses

• US, the Boston Marathon starts

Tuesday

• Estonia, exercise Locked Shields, a cyber war game led by Nato, starts. More than 38 nations will take part in a host of cyber attacks to improve their response to assaults on critical infrastructure

• India, Apple opens its first retail store in Mumbai

• Israel, Holocaust remembrance day

• Russia, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is set to appeal against his detention in Russia on charges of espionage. The trial will be held away from the public

• UK, Shortlist for the Booker Prize announced

• Switzerland, Trinity, a 67mn-year-old skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex goes up for auction in Zurich. It is only the third full T-Rex skeleton to be sold and the first in Europe

Wednesday

• For FT subscribers, the Inside Politics newsletter is holding an event charting the road to the UK’s expected 2024 general election and asks if a victory for the Labour party is no longer assured. Sign up here

• UK, Chatham House exhibition “In conversation with the future” is aimed at fostering ideas for sustainability

• US, 30th anniversary of the Waco siege, a stand-off between federal agents and members of the Branch Davidian cult that lasted for 51 days and ended with the deaths of four federal agents and 82 group members

Thursday

• Solar eclipse in the southern hemisphere

• Unicef publishes its yearly The State of the World’s Children report

• Belgium, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg will meet Czech president Petr Pavel at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels

Friday

• The Muslim festival of Eid marks the end of Ramadan. Financial markets are closed in several countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan

• UK, Extinction Rebellion along with several other climate groups plans to hold a rally that it hopes will bring 100,000 attendees to central London to push for action on climate change

• Ukraine, fourth anniversary of Volodymyr Zelenskyy winning the country’s presidential election

Saturday

• Events to make the 53rd Earth Day are held around the world. This year’s theme is “invest in our planet” and is geared towards pushing governments and businesses to take action on climate change

• UK, 30th anniversary of the murder of 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence in a racially motivated attack. The Metropolitan Police’s handling of the case led to accusations of racism in the force

Sunday

• UK, the London Marathon. About 40,000 people are set to line up

• UK, all UK phones are scheduled to receive a test emergency alert. The system is planned to be used to issue warnings about life-threatening event such as floods and wildfires