The train stops at North Acton station in London. The dungeon is facing another staff departure © John Sibley / Reuters
What started with the misery of pumps due to rising fuel prices, and then the disruption of air transport due to staff shortages this week will spread to train problems – in the country that gave you this type of transport. A series of national rail strikes in London and another disruption of the subway system are likely to shut down the network.
The dispute focuses on demands for pay and the impact on jobs of efficiency savings, which have become more urgent due to declining revenues during the pandemic blockade. Government ministers, who, as noted in this article, are now effectively in control of all rail funding since the changes made during the pandemic, have refused to speak directly to RMT, the main union calling for action.
Whether this will have a big impact on Britain’s two by-elections on Thursday – the main news for this week’s election – is debatable, given that the poll already shows a double blow for the Conservatives – one “red wall” and one “blue” Wall “constituency – amid anger at their leader and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The aviation industry will also be in the spotlight this week, as the International Air Transport Association’s (Iata) annual general meeting is held in Doha. The news here is unlikely to be very positive. Last October, Iata estimated that 2.3 billion people would fly in 2021 and 3.4 billion in 2022, less than the 4.5 billion people who traveled in 2019.
Another international gathering this week will be the postponed meeting of the heads of state of the British Commonwealth in Rwanda. The place will provoke some embarrassing questions about Prince Charles, who will be present on behalf of the Queen, given the UK’s deal with the country to accept British asylum seekers, a policy the heir to the throne described as “appalling”, according to a Times report. .
The week will end with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcoming his G7 counterparts to a summit in Bavaria’s secluded castle Schloss Elmau, the same venue his predecessor Angela Merkel chose in 2015. The most notable moment here but there is a special guest, India’s Narendra Modi, and whether it will help Western powers – Australia will do something similar on a state visit to India earlier this week – in the battle for allies to counter growing proximity between Russia and China.
Economic data
The surveys are the topic for this week with a set of reports on purchasing managers’ indexes, Fed regional communications in the United States and data on Ifo’s business confidence in Germany.
The focus of the central bankers’ remarks – and there are several this week – will be Jay Powell’s six-month appearance before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to present his monetary policy report. And in case you don’t have enough data on the cost of living, we will also receive more updates on inflation from Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Companies
Speakers at the Consumer Goods Forum will include Alexander Bompard, CEO of Carrefour © Loïc Venance / AFP / Getty Images
The cost of living and shopping trends will be a hotspot among global trade groups gathering in Dublin this week for the Consumer Goods Forum. The CEOs of Unilever, Coca-Cola, Carrefour, Tesco and Walmart are among those on the list of speakers.
There aren’t many earnings reports in the diary this week. FedEx will report data for the fourth quarter on Thursday, but this was prevented last week as the US supply company dismissed concerns about the economy when it announced an increased dividend and two new board members.
Read the full calendar for the week ahead here
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