Looking Ahead: January 21 through January 25, 2013

Markets were mixed last week as economic and earnings data vied for attention. Investors tried to anticipate what the Bank of Japan will do at its meeting at the beginning of the week. Most economic data were positive in the U.S. and China while those in Europe tended to disappoint. The Bank of Japan meets the first two days of the week. As noted elsewhere, the monetary policy board is expected to add additional stimulus to shake the economy out of deflation and get it growing again. The BoJ and the Government reached a basic agreement Thursday on the substance of an upcoming joint statement on fighting deflation. The document will call for the BoJ to adopt a 2.0 percent inflation target, and charge the central bank's governor with reporting regularly on progress toward this objective. Elsewhere, the Bank of Canada is expected to leave its policy interest rate at 0.5 percent. Flash January purchasing managers’ indexes will be released for China, U.S., Eurozone, France and Germany and will give us our first look at January manufacturing data. The UK reports its initial fourth quarter GDP data.