(From Reuters)
By William Schomberg
Investors worried about the risk of a new global recession are hoping that data over the coming week will show that some momentum remains in the world economy, eight years into its slow recovery from the financial crisis.
The Group of 20 economies were unable to agree on a joint push for new stimulus measures at a meeting which ended on Saturday, turning attention instead to upcoming business surveys from China, Japan, Europe the United States.
Central banks in Europe and Japan may inject a little more stimulus into their economies later in March. But the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England look likely to sit tight for now, meaning hopes for a period of calm in the world’s volatile financial markets lie largely with the indicators.
“It seems economic data will have to bear the burden of stabilizing sentiment,” economists at Barclays said in a note to clients on Friday.
A first reading of inflation in February for the euro zone on Monday will help shape expectations of how much further below zero the European Central Bank is likely to push its deposit rate the following week. Read more