Fast Europe Open: UK and Germany trade data, France industrial production
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
For those just waking up: South Korea has ousted its president.
Park Geun-hye was stripped of her presidency on Friday in a landmark unanimous decision by the country’s constitutional court, making her the first South Korean leader to be thrown out of office.
The verdict puts the country at a historic juncture, with many hoping it will be a harbinger of reform in a nation plagued by graft and cronyism. Protesters are dancing – as well as clashing – in the streets of Seoul.
Asia Pacific equities were set to end the week on a high note, with the S&P/ASX 200 index in Sydney up 0.6 per cent and Tokyo’s Topix rising 1.2 per cent, while both South Korea’s Kospi and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong were 0.2 per cent higher.
Futures tip the FTSE 100 to rise 0.3 per cent at the open in London, while the S&P 500 is expected to rise by the same amount when trading begins in New York.
Corporate earnings reports out on Friday include JD Wetherspoon and esure.
The economic calendar for Friday is working for the weekend (all times London):
- 07.00: Norway consumer price inflation
- 07.00: Germany imports, exports and trade balance
- 07.45: France industrial production
- 08.00: Denmark consumer price inflation
- 08.00: Spain retail sales
- 09.30: UK industrial and manufacturing production, imports, exports and trade balance
- 15.00: UK NIESR GDP estimate
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