Let´s get the boring but important thing over with first, the Spanish elections! The King last week did indeed meet the political parties, but then went along with the constitution by declaring Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the PP should try to form the Government, as he had the most votes. But, for now, we will probably not hear too much about it, other than infighting and no doubt Vox falling out with people again. Last week, by the way, they reported a picture depicting an attack on their leader as a hate crime, which is a little ironic for a party who claims violence against women doesn´t exist, and are actively persecuting the gay community, and stoking hatred of foreigners! However, I digress, the president of Congress, Francina Armengol, decided to hold the investiture debate by Feijóo on September 26 and 27, which allows her to give the term that the candidate had requested for negotiations, and, they hope, avoid the risk of voting at Christmas in the event of a repeat election. In other words, for the most part, things should be quiet for a coupe of weeks whilst they all get their ducks in a row.
Back to the more pressing point we teased you with last week, the weather, and the prediction models have seemingly come true, and it will be cooler this week, and getting more so, albeit with a bit of rain and storms. In fact, although we have to wait for the official figures, it looks like Friday was the last of the hottest days of the summer.
As summer is coming to an end, this weekend is a very important time, in fact, notably one of the busiest of the year on the roads, as “Operation Return” is launched from Thursday. In simple terms, the majority of remaining domestic holidaymakers start to head home to the inland towns and cities from the coast. The operation starts on Thursday, but Friday afternoon, and Sunday are usually the busiest times, so it´s worth planning around those days if you need to go anywhere. Oh, and if you´re a tourist reading this, it´s not that we´re glad to see the back of you or anything. It´s just…
Unfortunately, as anyone working in the emergency services will attest, we have the additional problem of a full moon on Thursday. It is actually full at 03:35 on Thursday morning, so with a little bit of luck, and it’s really not just superstition (really, ask ANYONE who works in the sector), it will not have too much of an impact. It is a super blue moon, the second full moon in a calendar month.
In the business and markets sector, the London Stock Exchange is closed on Monday for the bank holiday, but other than that, the week starts with few references at the macro level, with the figures for loans in the euro area to non-financial corporations for July, and Eurostat publishes the international merchandise trade figures for the second quarter.
Investors in the Eurozone will focus on the release of inflation data for August, likewise, the producer price indices (PPI) of France and Italy will be published. At the same time, the unemployment rate will be published, which will show the dynamics of the labour market, which could determine the ECB’s decision to continue with the monetary tightening process or start with a policy of easing.
Although in Spain many town halls are still ignoring the mandatory requirements to implement low emissions zones, in the UK, the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone comes into effect on Tuesday.
If you think back to the farce that was the withdrawal of refugees from Afghanistan, those who escaped the Taliban face another dilemma this week, as Thursday marks the deadline to leave temporary accommodation as part of government plans to clear the number of people living in hotels two years on from the fall of Kabul.
Thursday also marks the government’s own deadline to clear a backlog of applications for its much-criticised Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). With over 70,000 UK Government people awaiting a decision at the beginning of the year and only two applications processed between April and June.
Other notable events this week include the US Open, Harry and Megan’s Netflix documentary ‘Heart of Invictus’ is released, the Met Police stop attending mental health calls, Russia’s ‘LGBT propaganda’ ban comes into effect, as does the ban on e-scooter rentals in Paris, and CITV closes down, Aerosmith begins farewell tour, and the Thames Barrier will be closed for its annual event.
