Monday 1 February
– FCA investment pathways go live
Two years after the City watchdog published its proposed rules on investment pathways, the industry finally unveils its four “buy and forget” solutions for drawdown customers.
The project has received a fair amount of pushback from critics, including AJ Bell chief executive Andy Bell who called it “fundamentally flawed”, arguing the adviser-less solutions risk funnelling people into investments that do not suit their needs and are an excuse for “pension providers to line their pockets by peddling their own in-house funds with little or no control on fund charges”.
However, fellow platform Interactive Investor is more optimistic and says if the pathways can get more people engaged with their pension it will have been a success.
“In the past year, we have seen more people investing for the first time, so anything that encourages a long-term, balanced approach must be hugely welcome,” Moira O’Neill, head of personal finance says.
“After a week that saw speculative investors following the lead of ‘keyboard warriors’ in betting on high-risk stocks like Gamestop, the industry needs to do far more to get investors on a responsible path. This is a start.”
– Hargreaves Lansdown interim results
– Final manufacturing PMIs for Asia, Europe, UK and US
– UK money supply, mortgage lending and consumer borrowing data
– EU unemployment figures
– Quarterly results from Nintendo and Rohm in Japan
– Siemens Healthineers quarterly earnings
– NXP Semiconductors and Warner Music report in the US
Tuesday 2 February
– Trading statements from SSE, Glencore and Virgin Money UK
– Full-year results from gold miner Centamin
– BP Q4 results
BP halved its dividend after reporting a $6.7bn (£4.9bn) loss in the second quarter but just managed to break even the following quarter thanks to higher oil prices and fewer major writedowns, says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Shareholders will be looking for an update on BP’s net zero strategy, cost savings and how it is faring in its transition from an integrated oil firm to an integrated energy company with investments in wind, electric vehicles and solar.
It is expected to bring in a small profit of $375m in Q4, taking its pre-tax headline loss for the year to $25.6bn.
– Trillion-dollar companies Amazon and Alphabet release quarterly earnings, alongside Alibaba, Pfizer, ExxonMobil, UPS, ConocoPhillips, Electronic Arts, Ferrari and Harley Davidson
– Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing reports in Japan
– Quarterly results from Swedish bearings manufacturer SKF and couturier Christian Dior
– Interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia
– Monthly US car sales data
Wednesday 3 February
– Glaxosmithkline full year and Q4 results
Mould points out that Glaxosmithkline’s shares are down by a quarter over the past year, twice as bad as the FTSE 100’s 12% slide, which seems “odd” considering healthcare companies have been among the biggest winners during the Covid crisis and Glaxo is the world’s leading provider of vaccines with 30% of the global market share.
But the firm’s recent “pedestrian earnings and dividend growth”, a change in direction under new CEO Emma Walmsley and disappointing trial results for its Covid vaccine with Sanofi could explain why investors are feeling underwhelmed, Mould adds.
– Vodafone trading update
The Share Centre notes the coronavirus crisis is having “mixed results” on Vodafone. While the telecoms company is generating less income from roaming charges due to the lack of travelling, demand for its data usage remains high thanks to its expansion in emerging markets.
Investors will be on the lookout for updates on Vodafone’s M&A activity and the IPO of Vantage Towers, the stockbroker said.
– Financial services PMIs for Asia, Europe, UK and USA
– EU inflation figures
– ADP job losses or gains figures in USA
– US oil inventories data
– Sony quarterly results
– Trading updates from Danish pharma firm Novo Nordisk and energy company Orsted, as well as Siemens, Banco Santander and French advertiser Publicis
– Qualcomm, CostCo, Spotify and Royal Caribbean Cruises report in the US
Thursday 4 February
– Unilever full year results
Mould says Unilever’s Q3 sales came in way above expectations, increasing by 4.4% on an underlying basis, its fastest volume growth in five years.
Analysts are pencilling in slightly lower sales growth of 3.5% for the final quarter which would bring growth for the year to 1.9%.
The Share Centre notes that Unilever has been tapping into the ESG trend and has outlined plans to increase meat and dairy substitute sales to €1bn per year in five to seven years and achieve zero emissions from its operations by 2030.
– NAB Australian business sentiment survey
– Bank of England interest rate decision
– UK construction PMI
– Challenger, Gray and Christmas monthly US job losses survey
– US weekly jobless claims data
– Softbank and Singapore Airlines quarterly results
– In Europe, quarterly figures from Roche, ABB, Infineon, Nokia and Deutsche Bank
– In the US Merck, Philip Morris, Snap, Activision Blizzard, Ford, Yum Brands, Clorox and Hershey report
Friday 5 February
– German factory orders data
– US non-farm payrolls, unemployment and wage growth figures
– In Europe, quarterly figures from Sanofi, BNP Paribas and Carlsberg
– In the US, quarterly results from Linde and Estee Lauder
