- Very limited statistical schedule features overnight Australia CPI, Canada
Retail Sales & France Unemployment, Trump tax reform announcement and
further deluge of corporate earnings in focus; UK, US and Finland to
auction debt
- Trump tax reform: key question is how will Congress respond to package
that is not fiscally neutral
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** EVENTS PREVIEW **
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Outside of digesting the overnight Q1 Australian CPI data, which rose slightly less than expected at both headline and core levels, there is little on the statistical schedule that will distract markets from the unveiling of Trump's tax reforms, with Canada Retail Sales and French labour data likely to be the only items of any note. The deluge of corporate earnings continues, while the govt bond auction schedule sees the UK sell a further tranche of the 2046 I-L Gilt, while the US sells 2-yr FRN and a new 5-yr Treasury. Trump's tax proposals have been distinctly watered down, and it remains to be seen whether the slashing of corporate tax to 15% from 35%, for which there are no offsetting spending or other fiscal measures, will find sufficient support in Congress, given Mnuchin's suggestion that it will pay for itself in the medium-term by generating a faster pace of growth is both debatable, and al;so does not explain how the short to medium term drop in revenues will be financed. It is also EIA oil inventories day, with last night's API crude inventories turning out well above forecasts at +897K against an expected -1.7 Mln, with gasoline stocks also jumping sharply to 4.4 Mln vs. an expected -1.0 Mln.
from Marc Ostwald