Hello and welcome to the working week.

You are going to hear a lot from the world’s leading central bankers over the coming few days. Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell’s rate-setting announcement is set to be the key economic moment of the week with most market observers expecting his Federal Open Market Committee to opt for a cut on Wednesday.

Markets are pricing in about an 85 per cent chance of a reduction. The unofficial private payrolls data released earlier last week was quite weak and, at the margin, will probably bolster the case for more easing. The thing to watch will be how many dissent during Wednesday’s vote and how many rate cuts the median rate setter will forecast over the next three years — the Fed is increasingly divided over whether elevated inflation or the weakening labour market should be the priority. Read the FT’s Monetary Policy Radar newsletter for more analysis.

Other central bankers will have their voices heard in the coming days thanks largely to the FT’s annual gathering of business and economic leaders, The Global Boardroom, which runs online from Tuesday to Thursday. Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda, his Bank of England counterpart Andrew Bailey and European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde will be sharing their thoughts alongside London Stock Exchange chief executive Dame Julia Hoggett and Chevron’s chief financial officer Eimear Bonner. Register here.

The Bank of England’s most recent interest rate decision, and the knife-edge vote by the Monetary Policy Committee, will be scrutinised in Westminster on Tuesday by members of the Treasury Committee. Deputy governors Clare Lombardelli and David Ramsden and MPC external members Swati Dhingra and Catherine Mann will be answering questions. The MPC will vote again, and might this time cut rates, on December 18. If you want to know why UK borrowing costs are so high, I recommend the award-winning FT newsletter Chris Giles on Central Banks.

Westminster politics will be returning to last month’s Budget speech on Wednesday as its author, chancellor Rachel Reeves, has her turn in front of the Treasury Committee. If you feel the need to catch up on the latest rows about the fiscal statement, the FT will help you out.

Australia begins its landmark social media ban for young people on Wednesday. Canberra passed legislation late last year aimed at preventing anyone under the age of 16 from registering to join social media platforms, including Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat. In the summer, YouTube was added to the list.

It seems an odd time of year to be talking about ice cream, but brace yourself for a brain freeze as shares in Unilever’s soft-serve spin-off begin trading (at last) first thing on Monday.

The Magnum Ice Cream Company will launch on the Amsterdam, New York and London stock exchanges as the sector leader, with more than a fifth of the global market and €8bn annual revenues. It is expected to perform better as a standalone company than as part of Unilever, which will retain a 19.9 per cent stake. But it will begin life with unresolved internal tensions between the management and the founders of a key brand, Ben & Jerry’s, as my colleague Madeleine Speed explains.

Returning to economic news, growth is going to be in the spotlight with Japan updating its third-quarter GDP estimate on Monday, then on Friday the UK’s Office for National Statistics giving a first guess of October’s GDP figure. We will also get updated inflation reports from China and Germany. Full details below about these and the smattering of earnings announcements also due over the coming days.

One more thing . . . 

With Advent in full swing, in which giving is at least part of the mix, can I recommend offering some support to FT FLIC, the Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign founded by the Financial Times. The aim is to give people the financial skills that lead to freedom, security and better choices at a time when many households are under real pressure. Knowledge is power, and donations are what allow us to reach more people and expand our support, so please consider supporting the FT’s seasonal appeal at ft.com/donate 

Thank you to all of you who have made suggestions about the best ways to prepare for Christmas in the spirit in which it should be done. Thank you also to those who have suggested the events that they are most interested in for my upcoming Year Ahead. Keep them coming. Email me at jonathan.moules@ft.com or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit reply. And have a good week.

Key economic and company reports

Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.

Monday

• The Magnum Ice Cream Company shares are due to start trading in Amsterdam, with secondary listings in London and New York, following the anticipated demerger of Unilever’s ice cream business. The move was delayed by the US federal shutdown

• Bank for International Settlements Quarterly Review

• Germany: October production index data

• Japan: updated Q3 GDP estimate

• UK: KPMG/REC Report on Jobs

Tuesday

• Members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to answer MPs’ questions on the Treasury Committee

• Anglo American and Teck Resources hold separate general meetings for shareholders to vote on their proposed merger to form the Anglo Teck group

• UK: British Retail Consortium November Retail Sales Monitor

• US: October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (Jolts). Also The Conference Board leading index

• Results: Ashtead Q2, AutoZone Q1, Begbies Traynor HY, British American Tobacco FY pre-close trading update, Campbell’s Q1, Chemring FY, Ferguson Enterprises Q1, GameStop Q3, Gateley HY, Moonpig HY, Thyssenkrupp FY

Wednesday

• Brazil: interest rate announcement

• Canada: interest rate announcement

• China: November consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) inflation rate data

• Norway: Q3 GDP estimate

• US: Federal Reserve rate-setting announcement

• Results: Adobe Q4/FY, Berkeley HY, Cohort HY, Fevara FY, Oracle Q2, ProCook HY, Redcentric HY, Tui FY

Thursday

• IEA Oil Market Report

• Opec Monthly Oil Market Report

• Australia: November Labour Force Survey

• Germany: Ifo institute publishes its winter economic forecast

• Turkey: interest rate announcement

• US: September state employment and unemployment figures

• Results: LPP Q3, Lululemon Athletica Q3, NCC FY, Nordson Q4/FY, RWS Holdings FY

Friday

• Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and CEO Austan Goolsbee speaks at the Chicago Fed Annual Economic Outlook Symposium

• Germany: November CPI and harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation rate data

• UK: October GDP estimate, plus Bank of England/Ipsos Inflation Attitudes Survey

• Results: Broadcom Q4, Costco Wholesale Q1, Taylor Maritime HY

World events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

Monday

• Italy: Pope Leo continues the tradition of celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception with an Act of Veneration for Mary Immaculate, praying on the Spanish Steps in Rome

• Kenya: the seventh session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) begins at the body’s headquarters in Nairobi, running until Friday

• US: the 45th anniversary of the murder of musician John Lennon outside his New York apartment building will be marked by fans gathering close to the site and at the nearby “Strawberry Fields” memorial in Central Park

Tuesday

• Thailand: 33rd Southeast Asian Games begin in the Bangkok metropolitan area, Chonburi and Songkhla, continuing until December 20

• UK: 2025 Turner Prize winner announced at a ceremony in Bradford, the UK City of Culture this year. The £25,000 prize is awarded to a British or British-based artist for outstanding presentations of their work in the preceding year

Wednesday

• UN Human Rights Day

• Australia: social media age ban for under-16s comes into force

• Sweden: Nobel Prize awards ceremony, involving a royal banquet at Stockholm City Hall

• UK: Chancellor Rachel Reeves appears before the Treasury Committee in Westminster to give evidence on her recent Budget speech

Thursday

• Portugal: the country’s two main trade unions, the CGTP and UGT, call a nationwide general strike against the centre-right government’s proposal to ease dismissals, expand outsourcing and cut certain compassionate leave entitlements, including bereavement leave for miscarriages

• Switzerland: Olympic Summit held in Lausanne

• UK: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey gives evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry in London

Friday

• Belgium: Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels

• Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations, where thousands of pilgrims flock to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City

• UK: Jane Austen’s Birthday Celebration, marking 250 years since her birth, takes place at her former home near Alton, Hampshire, until Tuesday

Saturday

Sunday

• Hanukkah, Jewish Festival of Lights, begins this evening

• Chile: presidential election run-off between José Antonio Kast and Jeannette Jara