Hello and welcome to the working week.
It is the time of year that the media refer to as silly season. And things do not get much odder than this week’s main British political event, the Clacton by-election.
The vote, which takes place on Thursday, was initiated by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who resigned his seat before parliamentary authorities could determine whether he should have declared a £5mn gift from a cryptocurrency billionaire received ahead of his election as an MP, and asked the people of Clacton to decide.
What was no doubt intended to make a serious point and draw a line under the matter quickly turned to farce after the main UK parties boycotted the by-election. Polls last week suggested novelty candidate Count Binface would get one-fifth of the vote.
Though this would still hand Farage a landslide victory, the result expected in the early hours of Friday is unlikely to bring an end to the matter. If the parliamentary standards commissioner reopens his suspended probe into Farage and finds against him, a fresh by-election — in which the big parties would field candidates — could be called in weeks.
Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their A-level results on Thursday. These are the exam grades that enable school leavers to progress to the next stage of their education which, in many cases, means university. However, with rising tuition fees and diminished graduate job prospects, many will this week question whether matriculating is the right choice or whether a better option might be a degree apprenticeship, as my colleague Jo Cumbo and I reported recently.
Over large expanses of Europe, the biggest event of the coming days will be the solar eclipse on Wednesday. The chance to witness the first total solar eclipse since 1999 across the continent is providing an economic boon to cruise operators and hoteliers, from the Icelandic capital Reykjavík to A Coruña in northern Spain. However, there is concern about how already under-pressure electricity networks will cope with the resulting solar power squeeze.
Earnings season will continue to generate news in the FT’s pages over the coming days, though with markedly fewer companies reporting than last week. Ones to watch include shipping group AP Moller-Maersk on Thursday for how the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz and recent Houthi action in the Red Sea have affected global trade, and Rocket Lab on Monday, whose billionaire founder Sir Peter Beck was recently profiled by my colleague Nic Fildes.
Also, look out for an update on Wednesday from Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. The majority of its portfolio is invested in equities, so the results themselves will mirror markets in the second quarter. The fund’s managers will also disclose their holdings, which will be interesting if they reveal decisions to buy or sell notable companies, such as SpaceX and other Big Tech groups.
The big themes of the economic data run this week are growth and inflation, with the first second-quarter GDP estimates from the UK (can it maintain its momentum?) while cost of living is the focus for the US, France and Germany. More details on these and other items below.
One more thing . . .
Thank you for the many and varied recommendations for my trip to Scotland this summer, particularly the person who reminded me about HMS Unicorn, one of the world’s oldest ships and now a fantastic visitor attraction in Dundee. The Moules family is holidaying this year at the other end of the country, on the south Devon coast, so I’ve been reading up on this FT guide. Any suggestions to add to our itinerary? Email me at [email protected] or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit reply. And have a very good week.
Key economic and company reports
Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.
Monday
Japan: summary of opinion from July rate-setting meeting
UK: KPMG/REC Report on Jobs
US: The Conference Board employment index
Earnings calls: Axsome Therapeutics Q2, Barrick Q2, Caledonia Mining Q2, Ferguson Q2, GEA HY, Marshalls HY, Rakuten Q2, Rocket Lab Q2, Simon Property Group Q2, Sumitomo Metal Mining Q1
Tuesday
Japan: Mountain Day. Financial markets closed
Australia: interest rate announcement
UK: British Retail Consortium July retail sales monitor
Earnings calls: Alcon Q2, Aramark Q3, Cardinal Health Q4/FY, CEZ Q2, Elbit Systems Q2, Genuit HY, Grupo Cibest/Bancolombia Q2, InterContinental Hotels Group HY, JBS Q2, Lumentum Q4/FY, Merafe Resources HY, On Holding Q2, Quantinuum Q2, Salzgitter HY, Smithfield Foods Q2, Uniper HY, Venture Global Q2, WH Group HY
Wednesday
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, presents its half-year reporting for 2026 and its updated list of total holdings
IEA Oil Market Report
Opec Monthly Oil Market Report
Germany: July consumer price index (CPI) and harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation rate data
US: July CPI inflation rate data, plus July real earnings figures
Earnings calls: Amcor FY, Balfour Beatty HY, Brenntag HY, Cerebras Q2, Cisco Systems Q4/FY, Commonwealth Bank Australia FY, Computershare FY, Constellation Software Q2, Eon HY, Foxconn Q2, Franco-Nevada Q2, Hill & Smith HY, K+S HY, Metro Q3, Performance Food Group Q4, Power Assets Holdings HY, Tencent Q2, TKMS Q3, Tokio Marine Q1, Tui Group Q3/9M, Vestas Q2
Thursday
Extended deadline for Hugo Boss shareholders to accept Frasers Group public takeover offer of €38 a share
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Beth Hammack participates in a moderated question-and-answer session as part of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Breakfast Series in Kettering, Ohio
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Thomas Barkin speaks at a Greenville Chamber of Commerce event in Greenville, South Carolina.
Norway: interest rate announcement
UK: June and Q1 GDP estimate
US: July producer price index (PPI) inflation rate data
Earnings calls: Adyen HY, Antofagasta HY, Applied Materials Q3, CCL Industries Q2, China Mobile HY, CK Hutchison HY, Hapag-Lloyd HY, HHLA HY, Hua Hong Q2, Insurance Australia Group FY, JD.com Q2/HY, Maersk Q2, Nexon Q2, Nu Holdings Q2, Origin Energy FY, Ørsted HY, Pan American Silver Q2, PensionBee HY, Pershing Square Q2, PKO Bank Polski HY, Rank Group FY, RWE HY, Savills HY, Standard Bank HY, Tapestry Q4, Tata Motors Q1, Thyssenkrupp Q3/9M, Transurban FY
Friday
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock gives evidence to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics
EU: flash Q2 GDP and employment estimate
France: July CPI inflation rate data
Switzerland: flash Q2 GDP estimate
Earnings calls: Asics Q2, Aviva HY, Ebara HY, MS&AD Q1, Sompo Q1, Talanx HY
World events
Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.
Monday
UK: 27th European Athletics Championships begins in Birmingham, continuing until Sunday
US: American Meteorological Society publishes The State of the Climate in 2025, its annual peer-reviewed report on global warming
Tuesday
Wednesday
Total solar eclipse visible in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, Russia and Spain. Partial in most European countries, parts of Canada and northern Africa
Cook Islands: parliamentary elections
UK: Glorious Twelfth, the opening day of the grouse-shooting season
Thursday
Cuba: Havana holds commemorative events to mark what would have been Fidel Castro’s 100th birthday
UK: A-level exam results day for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
US: The Democratic National Committee holds its summer meeting in Austin, where both a vote on the party’s 2028 presidential nominating calendar and a decision on which state will hold the first Democratic primary contest in that election cycle are expected
Zambia: presidential elections, widely expected to give Hakainde Hichilema a second term
Friday
UK: Result of yesterday’s by-election in Clacton expected in the early hours of the morning local time
US: D23 Expo, the world’s largest Disney exposition, begins in Anaheim, California, with special screenings and Hollywood celebrity appearances
Saturday
Belgium: the Bathtub Regatta, an annual flotilla of decorated craft, takes place on the Meuse River in the Walloon city of Dinant
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech to mark the anniversary of the country’s independence from British rule in 1947
Sunday
Brazil: 2026 election campaign officially begins. Voters go to the polls in October
South Africa: 46th Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit of heads of state and government in Durban
