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The Week Ahead - Deal or No Deal?

nomura-week-ahead-podcast economics-business-work Mar 27, 2026 source →
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economics-business-work
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The Week Ahead - Deal or No Deal?

Claims from this story

Every atomic assertion extracted from the underlying record, ranked by evidence strength.

The Middle East conflict remains a critical focus for markets, with headlines waxing and waning.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Economically, the US still looks relatively insulated from the current shock.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The magnitude of the current energy shock in Europe is smaller, especially on the gas front, than in 2022.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Beijing has many buffers to cushion the flow of energy price shocks, including strategic reserves and export controls.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

If current price levels persist, reserve funds for gasoline subsidies could be exhausted by summer, potentially requiring a supplemental budget.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

President Trump said he was postponing strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure due to constructive discussions.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The US was discussing and negotiating with a senior Iranian official who was not the supreme leader.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Iranian media and the speaker of the parliament pushed back against President Trump's claims of constructive discussions.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

President Trump later turned aggressive, casting doubts on a deal and threatening intensified military actions.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Oil prices have remained elevated due to the Middle East conflict.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Concerns exist about supply choke points, especially fertilizers and shipping routes, due to the conflict.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Reports suggest Yemen's Iran-aligned group could join the war, raising the risk of disruption to the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The US administration has recognized the price pressure building up.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Treasury Secretary Besant discussed Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SBR) release and easing on Russian energy and Iranian oil already on water.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The US removed some sanctions on Potash companies this week.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Treasury Secretary Besant stated that a US insurance program to support shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is likely to begin soon.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Higher energy prices could support more investment in energy-related infrastructure if producers believe prices will stay elevated for some time.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

A direct spillover into core inflation in the US is pretty limited.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The Federal Reserve would be concerned about how energy price shocks impact longer-term inflation expectations.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

US consumers are looking pretty solid.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

February retail sales are expected to rise 0.5% month-on-month, driven by broad-based spending.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Tax refunds and President's Day deals in February were a tailwind for consumption.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Another strong print is expected for March vehicle sales.

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High-frequency data points to steady sales in the first couple of weeks of March.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Strong payroll income and elevated tax refunds will help cushion consumer spending against higher energy prices in March.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Consumption has remained robust across all income levels, not just high-income consumers.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The underlying trend of job growth in the US is fairly steady.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

March payrolls are likely to rebound modestly to around 55,000.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The end of a nurses' strike will provide some support to March payroll numbers.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The unemployment rate is expected to hold broadly steady, effectively rounding down to 4.4%.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Layoffs are still running near cycle lows.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Measures of job finding (labor demand) have been more mixed.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

There is a slight risk the unemployment rate rounds up to 4.5% due to a partial government shutdown affecting Department of Homeland Security employees.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Average Hourly Earnings (AHE) are expected to rise 0.3%, a modest step down after two strong months of 0.4%.

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Wage growth is slowing but has stabilized.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Payroll income strength will be supportive for consumers.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The oil shock in Europe is slightly more acute than the gas shock.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Monetary policy in the Euro area is neutral, and in the UK, it is marginally restricted to neutral.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The Bank of England was expected to cut rates twice prior to the current energy shock.

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Central banks are focused on preventing second-round effects, such as inflation expectations de-anchoring and a wage-price spiral.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The risk of second-round effects in both the Euro area and the UK is less likely this time compared to 2022.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Euro area risks of second-round effects are slightly higher than in the UK.

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Markets are pricing both the ECB and the Bank of England to raise rates by about three times by December of this year.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The market pricing for ECB and Bank of England rate hikes is considered wrong.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The ECB is much more likely to raise rates than the Bank of England if one of them does.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

PMI data and an IFO report in Germany generally looked softer.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Activity side weakened, and output fell in Europe.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Services indices fell by more than manufacturing indices in Europe.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Some European firms are trying to get ahead of the curve by increasing output and new orders due to the risk of longer disruptions.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Input price indices rose markedly for both manufacturing and services firms in Europe.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Output price indices in Europe were much more contained.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The key focus for central banks and market participants is whether input price indices rise further and if output price indices begin to rise meaningfully in Europe.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

March HICP inflation data for the Euro area aggregated will be released on Tuesday.

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Weekly pump price data shows a meaningful rise in the Euro area.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Nomura forecasts March HICP inflation for the Euro area to be 3% year-on-year, up from 1.9% in February.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Prior to the Iran conflict, the forecast for March HICP inflation was an unchanged print of 1.9%.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The direct impact of pump prices and household energy bills effectively raised the Euro area's HICP inflation forecast from 1.9% to 3%.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

China, as the world's largest energy importer, could theoretically be hurt by the conflict.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

Oil and gas only account for around 27% of China's total energy consumption, with rich alternative sources like coal and renewables.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026

The Middle East conflict could, in the short term, make Beijing's task of inflation and growth easier.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workMar 27, 2026