The FT’s Daniel Garrahan previews some of the big stories the Financial Times will be watching in the week ahead, including US midterm elections, and earnings reports from Japan’s leading carmakers and UK high-street retailers.
Here are some of the big stories the financial times will be watching in the week ahead a referendum on donald trump’s presidency as the u.s. votes in midterm elections japan’s big car makers report second quarter results and it’s a big week for uk retailers with all eyes on m&s first to the u.s. which this week holds its first major set of elections as
Donald trump came to power control of the house of representatives the senate and numerous state capitals are up for grabs and it’ll be a serious blow for the democrats if they don’t seize back the house where they need 23 seats to pick up control their brightest prospects we’re gaining seats are in better-off suburban areas where mr. trump can be an electoral
Liability a rule of thumb is that the democrats will need a lead of at least 7 points in the national popular vote to clinch the house that’s according to the cook political report data from real clear politics suggest the average of national polls has been hovering around that level but on the other hand they’re out looking the stem it isn’t more precarious
Most of the seats being contested in the senate this time around are held by democrats putting them on the defensive in recent days and weeks the president has been on a series of rallies trying to fire up his core supporters he’s also pushing hardline immigration policies which similarly he expects to bring more of his supporters to the polls for their part
The democrats are hoping they can regain control of the house of representatives where they need to gain 23 seats in order to do that they’re hoping to capitalize on unpopularity about the president in numerous suburban and more prosperous districts the senate however is a much tougher proposition for the democrats where they’re defending numerous seats and
Where the republicans are hoping to retain control now japan’s major car makers toyota and nissan and mitsubishi motors report fiscal second quarter results this week investor’s will be watching toyota in particular which has adopted an aggressive new strategy in china to expand market share it’s expected to build on a record first quarter to increase both
Revenue and profits on the back of steep cost cuts and solid sales in asia mitsubishi motors is also likely to deliver robust results boosted by the release of new car models while benefiting from its a with nissan renault investor focus will be on how japanese carmakers will address challenges and their two biggest markets facing declining profit margins in
The us slowing vehicle sales in china that’s partly the reason why analysts are cautious on nissen which has struggled to boost profitability in the us while it also comeback to rising war material prices so far toyota and other japanese carmakers have offset slowing growth in the us and china with cost cuts and sales in other asian markets but that hasn’t helped
East investor concerns one reason is the uncertainty over the global trade war in september prime minister shinzo abe a and president donald trump agreed to negotiate a new trade agreement on goods japan clinched a promise from the us that it would not increase carteris while the talks were in progress but investors are worried whether japan has really awarded
Additional tariffs another concern is a trade tensions between china and the us if the chinese economy slows down it would weigh heavily on japanese carmakers looking to boost sales in the world’s largest car market and finally to the uk high street the most straightforward of this week’s retail reports is likely to be morrison’s the uk’s fourth largest grocer
Has been gaining market share in recent weeks whether it’s a value focused approach analysts expect same store sales growth of 1.6 percent in the supermarkets down from 2.5 percent in the second quarter when the football world cup boosted sales and booze and burgers then there’s sainsbury’s investors will be watching the supermarket group for any loss of focus
On the shop floor senior executives are busy steering its takeover as they’re through the regulatory approval process but several sector watchers have grumbled that store standards are slipping after a previous round of cost-cutting expect vigorous denials and a half year profit of 286 million pounds perhaps the most interesting of this week’s uk retail earnings
Is marks and spencers which reports half-year results on wednesday this stalwart of the british high street is in the midst of a five-year transformation programme driven by archie norman its chairman and renowned retail troubleshooter but there are some signs that not everything is going to plan one or two analysts have speculated that the launch of autumn and
Winter clothing has been disrupted by all the management changes and that there are as a result gaps on the shelves and gaps on the rails normally what happens at marks and spencers is the food division saves the day but food has problems of its own too shoppers have reacted adversely to its premium pricing they figure they can get the same quality at lower cost
Elsewhere in response marx’s overhauled the management team in its food division but many of you the new appointees have probably not been there long enough to make a big difference so watch carefully for any potential finessing of full-year profit targets and that’s what the week ahead looks like from the financial times in london
Transcribed from video
US midterm elections, results from Japan’s big carmakers By Financial Times
