Take Five: World market themes for the week ahead

Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Another week closer to the date Britain leaves the European Union. Or are we? Given how crushingly Prime Minister Theresa May`s Brexit divorce deal was defeated by lawmakers, there is little chance her Plan B -- to be presented in coming days -- will get away with just minor amendments. So markets now reckon the March 29 deadline will be extended to give parliament more time to negotiate the manner of exit or even to organise a second referendum. 

The optimism has driven sterling to two-month highs against the dollar, with 4 percent-plus gains from Jan 3 lows. Options markets too imply further pound strength over the three-month period that encompasses the deadline.

Of course, markets` glee could be misplaced. If May fails to forge consensus within her party and with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and if parliament fails to agree an extension, Britain will crash out the EU without a deal. Corbyn wants a pledge from May to block no-deal Brexit before joining cross-party talks but May describes this as impossible. Her Plan B will be unveiled on Monday and voted on by parliament on Jan. 29. Sterling looks set for another volatile week.

MOUNTAINS CAN`T TURN 

Coming days will show whether China`s run of weak economic data continues as it releases fourth quarter growth numbers as well as investment and retail sales for December. But if anything, markets could be surprised on the upside after shockingly bad figures on exports and factory output. Growth is expected to print at 6.4 percent for the fourth quarter, the weakest since the global financial crisis. But that would be in line with rates Chinese policymakers may be targeting - sources tell us some have proposed lowering growth targets to between 6.0 and 6.5 percent. 

Beijing has unveiled a series of fiscal and monetary support measures. Yet, unlike in 2015 or during prior slowdowns, the government has been careful to avoid simply throwing state money at the problem. As the Chinese proverb goes, mountains cannot turn, only rivers can.

Be it household spending sops, tax cuts, infrastructure projects funded by local governments or money market operations, China seems determined not to turn its back on a commitment to deleveraging and market reform and that makes it difficult to say when the economy will rebound. 

3/DRAGHI-ING ON

ECB bond-buying is officially over but with economic data and inflation both continuing to underwhelm, the central bank has little time to relax. Policymakers have acknowledged the euro zone slowdown could last longer than anticipated but will be hoping nonetheless that upcoming data might bring some relief. 

In particular, they will monitor the snapshot of business activity in the bloc in the shape of flash PMIs for January. They are out on Thursday, hours before the ECB meeting, and Reuters polls indicate some stabilisation is likely after recent dire readings. Powerhouse Germany, which barely skirted recession in the latter part of 2018, releases its ZEW sentiment survey on Tuesday.

ECB President Draghi is as yet unlikely to change his assessment of the balance of risks facing the economy, but that may be just a question of time. After all, China`s economic slowdown and the U.S. government shutdown are weighing on global growth and the euro zone still needs to weather the fallout from Brexit. 

4/SHUTDOWN SLOWDOWN?

Last year at Davos, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sent the dollar plunging by saying a weak currency was good for the United States. This year though, with a government in shutdown, President Donald Trump has cancelled Mnuchin`s Switzerland trip. 

Trump is also economising in other ways, including buying MacDonalds` burgers for White House visitors. But anxiety is growing over how much the shutdown could hit U.S. growth and to what extent it will filter to already stuttering world growth. So far, damage looks limited -- jobless claims have continued to fall and the Philly Fed business outlook survey was above-forecast. 

But the longer it continues, the worse it gets. Not only are 800,000 government workers going without pay, a delay to tax refunds for other citizens will hit companies reliant on consumer spending.

The government has until early March before the debt ceiling kicks in. It could then also miss some social security payments. But the Democrat-controlled House shows no sign of agreeing Trump`s demands for $5.7 billion to fund a border wall. And a House vote to fund the government through Feb 28 was postponed to the coming week.

Mnuchin meanwhile has declined to testify to the House about how the shutdown may impact the upcoming tax filing season.

5/IT`S COLD OUT THERE...

Yes, it is that time of year again! Movers and shakers from politics, central banks, industry and finance descend onto the Swiss Alpine town of Davos to brainstorm, chinwag, network, ski, party and figure out how to deal with some of the world`s most pressing problem. 

Japan`s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and South Africa`s Cyril Ramaphosa, among others. Of course no Davos would be complete without International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, while Britain`s Prince William will add a splash of royal glamour. And then there are the new(ish) kids on the block: Brazil`s far-right President Jair Bolsanero, Italy`s Giuseppe Conte and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez. 

But more noteworthy may be the list of those who won`t come: U.S. President Donald Trump and his cabinet, Brexit-bound British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will stay at home to deal with the "yellow vest" protests. 

This year`s theme at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum? "Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution".