Hello and welcome to Workweek,

As TS Eliot wrote in his poem “The Waste Land”, “April is the cruelest month”.I say this not only because this week is the start of the UK tax year, but also because starting this Thursday, London’s financial centre will celebrate the centenary of one of the most important poems of the 20th century 22 city churches.

It is difficult to remain optimistic about world events at the moment. What will happen to Ukraine? This is unpredictable. But there will be more meetings, first among the foreign ministers of NATO members, which coincidentally marks its 73rd birthday on Monday. The Ecofin meeting will also convene a meeting of EU finance ministers, whose agenda includes an attempt to assess the economic impact of the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues his (virtual) visit to Western parliaments to rally support – speaking this week in elected chambers in Dublin and Athens.Another coincidental anniversary: ??This Thursday marks the seventh anniversary of the Manifesto Donetsk People’s Republic as a breakaway region of Ukraine.

Is there any reason to be happy? Well, there will be some firsts in space travel this week. On Monday, NASA will hold a news conference to discuss the final testing phase — called “Wet rehearsal“—for its Artemis 1 rocket. The Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon and Build a long-term lunar colony As a pioneer in human exploration of Mars.

Then on Wednesday, Axiom (or Ax-1), the first all-private astronaut rocket mission to the International Space Station, will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

As the week draws to a close, democracy in Western Europe will be in the spotlight with the first round of voting in France’s presidential election on Sunday.

Not long ago, arguably none of the 11 challengers looked close to overthrowing incumbent Emmanuel Macron, but he now warns that he can lose the election to the far right.There are fears Macron’s overwhelming success in the polls will fuel voter apathy and disillusionment with centrist politicians as This excellent big read explain.

You will be able to get the latest developments in French public opinion polls Click here. You can also send an email to [email protected] — I’m still open to suggestions on what to include and omit. Thanks for your opinion.

Economic data

Central bankers’ views on the inflation conundrum will become clearer this week with the release of the minutes of the Fed’s last meeting.

IHS/Markit will provide some international comparisons on productivity, services and manufacturing by publishing its PMI data for Europe, Asia and the US.

company

We’re in the middle of earnings season, so the main company diary event this week is the annual general meeting, especially Nokia –recent restore its dividend – Tuesday, UBS Wednesday and Rio Tinto on Friday.

Major Economic and Company Reports

Below is a more complete list of company reports and economic data this week.

on Monday

• Canada, Bank of Canada release business outlook survey

• European Union, industrial producer prices

• Germany, trade balance data for February

• UK, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks at the Stop Scams conference, Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe speaks at the European Economic and Financial Centre

• U.S. factory orders data in February

Tuesday

• Australia, Reserve Bank of Australia’s monthly monetary policy meeting

• Eurozone, France, Germany, Italy, UK, US: IHS/Markit Services and Composite (Manufacturing and Services) Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data

• Nokia Annual General Meeting

• South Korea’s March Inflation Data

Wednesday

• Asia, China, EU, France, Germany, Global, UK: IHS/Markit Productivity, Services and Construction PMI Data

• EU, European Central Bank (ECB) publish quarterly financial statements

• Germany’s February factory orders and consumer goods statistics

• Russia, Consumer Price Index (CPI) data

• Sweden’s GDP data for February

• Tria Sonella Annual General Meeting

• UBS Annual General Meeting

• UK, UK Retail Federation NielsenIQ March Store Price Index

• FOMC releases March meeting minutes

Thursday

• EU, ECB monetary policy accounts plus Eurozone February retail sales data

• German industrial production data for February

• Office for National Statistics quarterly productivity figures, plus the Halifax house price index for March.Bank of England Chief Economist Hugh Peele delivers opening remarks at the Bank’s 8th International Conference on Sovereign Bond Markets

Friday

• Canada, March Unemployment Data

• CMC Market Full year update before the close

• France, Industrial Production Data

• Italian retail sales data for February

• Japan, trade balance data for February

• Norway February GDP data

• Rio Tinto Annual General Meeting

Saturday

world events

Finally, here’s a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

on Monday

• 73rd Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Sign the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington

• U.S., NASA hold media conference call to discuss final major test of its supermoon rocket and spacecraft Artemis 1

Tuesday

• EU, Ecofin Economic and Finance Ministers Council meeting in Luxembourg.The agenda includes a general approach to a global minimum tax level of no less than 15% for large multinational corporations, in addition to discussions on the economic and financial aspects of the war in Ukraine

• Japan bans luxury goods such as luxury cars to Russia

Wednesday

• Belgium, NATO foreign ministers will gather in Brussels for a meeting of the North Atlantic Council chaired by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

  The foreign ministers of Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Sweden and Ukraine, as well as the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, will meet them on Thursday

• Irish and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak virtually at joint session of Dublin parliament

• United Kingdom, start of the 2022/23 tax year.The threshold for people to start paying income tax was set by Chancellor Rishi Sunak at £12,570, £50,270 in April 2021, and will be frozen for five years

• UK, Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 comes into force, allowing married couples to divorce without accountability

• America’s Axiom (or Ax-1), the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Thursday

• World Health Day when the World Health Organization publishes its annual World Health Report

• Ukraine, the seventh anniversary of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

• Greece, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks online at Athens parliament

• UK, England and Wales Championship cricket season begins

• US Golf Masters Start Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia

Friday

• UK, Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) members vote close on settlement of pensions, wages and conditions avoid further strike action in the year-end exam season

Saturday

• Georgia, National Unity Day commemorating the 1989 Tbilisi tragedy when at least 20 people were killed when Soviet troops tried to disperse demonstrators

• United Kingdom, 174th National Held at Liverpool Aintree Racecourse

Sunday

• France, national team first round President election

• Israel, Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

• South Caucasus, South Ossetia presidential election

Finally, this week launched Working It, a new newsletter from work and career editor Isabel Berwick about the big ideas shaping today’s workplace, from the future of hybrid work to the impact of the big shake-up. register here.