ep 165 | The week ahead - how healthy is the US consumer?

The S&P 500 in the US was up 1.9% last week, while the UK and Europe were stronger still, rising 2.7% and 3.2% respectively. In contrast, it was a tough week for the local market. The NZX 50 fell 1.5% in the wake of a string of recent profit warnings and poor trading updates from the likes of Air New Zealand, Spark, Tourism Holdings and The Warehouse. In the US, the latest CPI and retail sales reports will be in focus on Wednesday, while monthly activity indicators are due in China and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is speaking on Tuesday. Here in New Zealand, the latest RBNZ survey of expectations and a housing market report will be of interest.