Monday, May 29, 2017

A Monday Holiday Around the World, and May Hiring Data Is Due



Photo


Sales of new cars declined in the first four months of 2017.

Credit
Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Here’s a look at what’s coming up this week.

FINANCE

Britain, China and Taiwan join the U.S. with a day off.

Many global financial markets will be closed on Monday for national holidays. In the United States, it’s Memorial Day, summer’s unofficial kickoff. Britain will observe its Spring Bank Holiday. And China and Taiwan are celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival holidays; markets there will reopen on Wednesday. Zach Wichter

ECONOMY

Income and consumption data for April are on the way.

On Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., the Commerce Department is set to release data on personal income and consumption in April. Economists on Wall Street are looking for a 0.4 percent increase in both measures, which would be in line with a steadily growing economy. If the figures turn out to be weaker than expected, it may be a sign that the expected rebound in overall growth in the second quarter of 2017 is faltering. Nelson D. Schwartz

OIL INDUSTRY

ExxonMobil shareholders will weigh in on climate change.

The annual shareholders meeting for ExxonMobil is scheduled for Wednesday. Watch for the result of a vote on a shareholder resolution calling for the company to “stress test” its business in line with the two degrees Celsius warming target (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) laid out in the Paris climate agreement. ExxonMobil supports the Paris deal. A similar measure gained 38 percent support last year. This year, institutional investors like BlackRock and Vanguard are considering throwing their support to the proposal, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The vote is not binding, but could put pressure on the company to take a harder look at climate issues. John Schwartz

AUTO INDUSTRY

Economists look for signs of erosion in new-car sales.

When automakers report new-car sales for May on Thursday, investors and economists will watch closely for signs of further erosion in the market. Sales had been on the rise since 2010, but declined in the first four months of this year. Edmunds.com is predicting a flat month, with sales of about 1.53 million cars and light trucks, but notes that manufacturers have been pumping sales with incentives. Other major indicators, like rising dealer inventories and declining prices for used cars, provide reasons to believe that a seven-year streak has run out of gas. Neal E. Boudette


TECHNOLOGY

Facebook’s yearly stockholders meeting is set for Thursday.

Facebook will hold its annual stockholders meeting on Thursday in Redwood City, Calif. The company will ask attendees to vote on a series of measures, including re-electing the company’s board of directors. As has always been the case, the meeting is generally pageantry, since Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, maintains majority control of his company. Mike Isaac



ECONOMY

Analysts expect an increase in construction spending for April.

On Thursday at 10 a.m., the Commerce Department is set to report on April data for construction spending, with analysts expecting a 0.5 percent increase. Construction is a good barometer for total economic growth, so as with other data this week, economists will look to see what the new figures say about the economy’s larger trajectory in the second quarter. Nelson D. Schwartz

TECHNOLOGY

Coming soon: a review of how tech companies censor hate speech.

European officials on Friday plan to publish a review on how Facebook, Google and Twitter remove hate speech from their social networks. The report follows a study in late 2016, and comes as policy makers across Europe and the United States put pressure on Silicon Valley giants to do more in tackling extremist and hate speech online. The findings are likely to show that the companies are still removing a only minority of reported content. Mark Scott

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