NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Following is the view from editors in the Americas on the top stories for the week ahead:
HIGHLIGHTS:
* ECONOMIC DATA: U.S Jan. payrolls seen up 150,000
* MARKETS: Jitters on Egypt unrest
* EARNINGS: Oil, pharma, media reports
Watch the Weekahead on Reuters Insider: http://bit.ly/ekIvJ5
ECONOMIC DATA
The U.S. Labor Department has made a habit of disappointing Wall Street lately. In three of the last four monthly employment reports, the jobs tally fell short of economists' expectations. Friday's data for January offers an opportunity for redemption. A preliminary Reuters poll of economists shows they are looking for a gain of 150,000 jobs in January, which would be an improvement over the 103,000 reported in December. As for that December number, watch for any revisions. The Labor Department revised up its job count for five consecutive months starting in July. ADP's private payrolls data comes two days earlier. This is its first monthly report since wrong-footing markets by reporting a huge December jobs gain that looked nothing like the Labor Department's. Also on tap are personal income data on Monday, which includes the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge. Tuesday brings January manufacturing sector data, followed by the much-larger services sector on Thursday.
MARKETS
Turmoil in Egypt is unlikely to be quelled quickly, so markets will open Monday with fresh reaction to events over the weekend. Equities, particularly energy shares, may face pressure again while safe havens, including Treasuries and the dollar, could see renewed vigor. Emerging markets currencies, commodity currencies and the euro will still be under pressure. The stock market will wade through a further slew of earnings and Friday's payroll report, if solid, should help stocks. In the municipal market,
eyes will be on New York's budget to see how lawmakers plan to close an approximate $10 billion gap.
OIL/ENERGY RESULTS
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest listed company, leads the quarterly updates from the energy sector, following news of stronger profits from the likes of Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental. (See story at). Exxon is expected to say it scored massive quarterly profits lifted by the strength in oil prices, but it will have to convince investors that its big bet on North American natural gas will pay off in the years to come. Other energy giants including Marathon Oil Corp, Anadarko Petroleum and coal producer Massey Energy will also report, as will the largest U.S. maker of chemicals, Dow Chemical.
BERNANKE FACES REPORTERS
U.S. Federal Reserve officials hit the speech circuit after their latest decision to stay the course with their $600 billion bond-buying plan. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stages a rare question and answer session with journalists after a speech on Thursday, which will be closely parsed for clues on how patient the central bank will be as the economy builds its strength. The Fed has been mulling holding regular news conferences: could this be a warm up? On Friday, Dallas Fed chief Richard Fisher, an inflation hawk who rotated into a voting seat on the Fed's policy panel this year, will explain why he defied type and backed QE2. Minneapolis Fed's Narayana Kocherlakota, a centrist, speaks on Thursday.
MEDIA/PHARMA EARNINGS
The media sector reporting season cranks up with News Corp and Time Warner on Wednesday and Viacom on Thursday. All face questions about advertising's fate as video streaming grows. Merck on Tuesday and Pfizer a day later top the list of 'Big Pharma' names detailing quarterly results. For them, the big issue is likely to be price pressure as it was in Johnson & Johnson's results this past week. In finance, Visa and MasterCard - both furiously lobbying for an easing in the Fed rules on interchange fees - will report on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Finally, United Parcel Service, the world's largest package delivery company, will provide a snapshot on Tuesday of fourth-quarter economic activity.
LATIN AMERICA
In Mexico, the central bank will begin publishing minutes from its monetary policy meetings on Friday, raising conscerns that the more transparent approach will cause volatility in Mexican assets. Investors will watch for any comments about the strength of the peso although President Felipe Calderon has said no intervention is planned, setting Mexico apart from many other countries in Latin America which are trying an array of measures to curb their currencies.
In Argentina, exporters could declare force majeure if the strike at its grains ports drags on. So far the strike has had little impact on soy prices, however.
In Haiti, definitive results are due Monday from a contested first round of presidential elections and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was headed there. The results could help end an impasse and clear the path for a runoff that may pit popular singer Michel Martelly against opposition matriarchal figure Mirlande Manigat.
CANADA
Friday's employment data is expected to show the economy added just 16,000 jobs in January, down from a revised 30,400 in December. Further confirmation the recovery is intact but sluggish should also be found in Monday's monthly GDP data for November, which is forecast to rise 0.3 percent from a month earlier. Elsewhere, the Bank of Canada will offer fresh clues on its thinking in two speeches by Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem.
TAKE A LOOK-Five world markets themes next week Weekahead Europe Weekahead Asia Economic events Company news For all diaries
(Compiled by Lindsay Dunsmuir, Martin Howell, +1 646 223-6252))
Keywords: WEEKAHEAD/AMERICAS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* ECONOMIC DATA: U.S Jan. payrolls seen up 150,000
* MARKETS: Jitters on Egypt unrest
* EARNINGS: Oil, pharma, media reports
Watch the Weekahead on Reuters Insider: http://bit.ly/ekIvJ5
ECONOMIC DATA
The U.S. Labor Department has made a habit of disappointing Wall Street lately. In three of the last four monthly employment reports, the jobs tally fell short of economists' expectations. Friday's data for January offers an opportunity for redemption. A preliminary Reuters poll of economists shows they are looking for a gain of 150,000 jobs in January, which would be an improvement over the 103,000 reported in December. As for that December number, watch for any revisions. The Labor Department revised up its job count for five consecutive months starting in July. ADP's private payrolls data comes two days earlier. This is its first monthly report since wrong-footing markets by reporting a huge December jobs gain that looked nothing like the Labor Department's. Also on tap are personal income data on Monday, which includes the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge. Tuesday brings January manufacturing sector data, followed by the much-larger services sector on Thursday.
MARKETS
Turmoil in Egypt is unlikely to be quelled quickly, so markets will open Monday with fresh reaction to events over the weekend. Equities, particularly energy shares, may face pressure again while safe havens, including Treasuries and the dollar, could see renewed vigor. Emerging markets currencies, commodity currencies and the euro will still be under pressure. The stock market will wade through a further slew of earnings and Friday's payroll report, if solid, should help stocks. In the municipal market,
eyes will be on New York's budget to see how lawmakers plan to close an approximate $10 billion gap.
OIL/ENERGY RESULTS
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest listed company, leads the quarterly updates from the energy sector, following news of stronger profits from the likes of Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental. (See story at). Exxon is expected to say it scored massive quarterly profits lifted by the strength in oil prices, but it will have to convince investors that its big bet on North American natural gas will pay off in the years to come. Other energy giants including Marathon Oil Corp, Anadarko Petroleum and coal producer Massey Energy will also report, as will the largest U.S. maker of chemicals, Dow Chemical.
BERNANKE FACES REPORTERS
U.S. Federal Reserve officials hit the speech circuit after their latest decision to stay the course with their $600 billion bond-buying plan. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stages a rare question and answer session with journalists after a speech on Thursday, which will be closely parsed for clues on how patient the central bank will be as the economy builds its strength. The Fed has been mulling holding regular news conferences: could this be a warm up? On Friday, Dallas Fed chief Richard Fisher, an inflation hawk who rotated into a voting seat on the Fed's policy panel this year, will explain why he defied type and backed QE2. Minneapolis Fed's Narayana Kocherlakota, a centrist, speaks on Thursday.
MEDIA/PHARMA EARNINGS
The media sector reporting season cranks up with News Corp and Time Warner on Wednesday and Viacom on Thursday. All face questions about advertising's fate as video streaming grows. Merck on Tuesday and Pfizer a day later top the list of 'Big Pharma' names detailing quarterly results. For them, the big issue is likely to be price pressure as it was in Johnson & Johnson's results this past week. In finance, Visa and MasterCard - both furiously lobbying for an easing in the Fed rules on interchange fees - will report on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Finally, United Parcel Service, the world's largest package delivery company, will provide a snapshot on Tuesday of fourth-quarter economic activity.
LATIN AMERICA
In Mexico, the central bank will begin publishing minutes from its monetary policy meetings on Friday, raising conscerns that the more transparent approach will cause volatility in Mexican assets. Investors will watch for any comments about the strength of the peso although President Felipe Calderon has said no intervention is planned, setting Mexico apart from many other countries in Latin America which are trying an array of measures to curb their currencies.
In Argentina, exporters could declare force majeure if the strike at its grains ports drags on. So far the strike has had little impact on soy prices, however.
In Haiti, definitive results are due Monday from a contested first round of presidential elections and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was headed there. The results could help end an impasse and clear the path for a runoff that may pit popular singer Michel Martelly against opposition matriarchal figure Mirlande Manigat.
CANADA
Friday's employment data is expected to show the economy added just 16,000 jobs in January, down from a revised 30,400 in December. Further confirmation the recovery is intact but sluggish should also be found in Monday's monthly GDP data for November, which is forecast to rise 0.3 percent from a month earlier. Elsewhere, the Bank of Canada will offer fresh clues on its thinking in two speeches by Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem.
TAKE A LOOK-Five world markets themes next week Weekahead Europe Weekahead Asia Economic events Company news For all diaries
(Compiled by Lindsay Dunsmuir, Martin Howell, +1 646 223-6252))
Keywords: WEEKAHEAD/AMERICAS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.