The week ahead in business: ECB to cut rates, CSO figures and a roadshow
This would be the eighth rate cut in a year, as the ECB evidently decides that the battle against inflation is largely won. The latest consumer price figures from France, Italy and Spain probably sealed the deal. French inflation dropped to 0.6pc in May, while prices in Spain were 1.9pc higher, down from the 2.2pc seen in April.
Investors are expecting one more rate reduction this year, which would mean the ECB's deposit rate would stabilise at about 1.75pc.
The announcement from the ECB will be followed, within a few hours, by the latest Irish exchequer returns. These will give us an indication as to whether the economic uncertainty being caused by US president Donald Trump's trade war are showing up in tax returns.
The last Exchequer returns, in April, showed tax receipts in the first quarter were 17.5pc up on the same period last year.
Some of that is down to the Apple settlement, which was ordered by the European Court of Justice. By now, almost all of that has been paid, and will no longer give corporation tax figures an artificial boost.
Creating something of a statistical overload on Thursday, the CSO will produce monthly unemployment figures. These may show a slight loosening in the labour market, again due to the uncertainty over on-again off-again US tariffs. The CSO will have quarterly national accounts that day too.
Research Ireland will host a forum in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday. The funding agency, established last year, says it will be a hybrid full-day event bringing together government, academia and enterprise to discuss areas of strategic important for research. Speakers will include Professor Aoife McLysaght, a government science adviser, journalist Mark Little and minister James Lawless.
ISME, the representative body for small and medium-sized companies, is having a roadshow at the Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan on Friday, with the guest speaker being entrepreneur Brian Keegan.
Finally, there will be financial results from FD Technologies, and from Wizz Air.
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