Alongside the data, Federal Reserve communication will be closely watched. On Wednesday, the Fed will publish its Beige Book, offering anecdotal evidence on economic conditions across districts. Fed speak is scattered through the week but it's mostly from officials who have spoken recently so it shouldn't break new ground. Outside the US, Europe will see several important inflation releases. Today, the ECB publishes its consumer expectations survey, providing an update on household inflation views. Tomorrow, the Eurozone releases its flash CPI estimate for May, following national releases over recent days and today. Further inflation data are due on Thursday from Switzerland and Sweden, adding to the regional picture ahead of upcoming central bank meetings.Central bank speakers are also in focus outside of the Fed. ECB President Lagarde is scheduled to speak on Thursday, while Bank of England Governor Bailey appears multiple times through the week, including tomorrow, Thursday and Friday. In Asia, Bank of Japan Governor Ueda is due to speak on Wednesday.In China we've already had most of the PMIs over the weekend and this morning (see more above) but the private sector services PMI is out on Wednesday. In Japan, Friday brings labour cash earnings data. Our Chief Japan economist expects wage growth to slow to around 2.5% year on year, from 2.8% previously. Elsewhere in the region, Australia releases its Q1 GDP figures on Wednesday.Finally, the corporate earnings calendar is also busy, with several high-profile releases. In the technology sector, results are due from Broadcom, Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike during the week, while consumer-focused names reporting include Inditex, Dollar General and Lululemon Athletica. See the day-by-day calendar at the end as usual for a fuller week ahead preview. Recapping last week now and markets put in a strong performance overall, driven by mounting hopes for some kind of peace deal between the US and Iran. Several headlines pointed in that direction, with multiple outlets reporting that the two sides would agree a 60-day ceasefire extension. So that led to a sharp decline in oil prices, with Brent crude down -11.10% last week (-1.77% Friday) to $92.05/bbl. And investors moved to price out the chance of a protracted conflict as well, with the 6-month Brent future also down -4.64% to $84.18/bbl. That decline in oil prices meant fears about inflation continued to ease last week. For instance, the Euro 1yr inflation swap fell -38.1bps to 3.24%, and the US 1yr inflation swap fell -10.2bps to 3.01%. So investors also dialled back their expectations for rate hikes too, with a Fed hike by December down to 57% by the close on Friday, having been at 95% the previous week. Similarly at the ECB, the number of hikes priced by December fell from 65bps to 53bps by Friday’s close. And in turn, sovereign bonds rallied around the world, with the 10yr Treasury yield falling -12.2bps last week (-1.1bps Friday) to 4.44%, whilst the 10yr bund yield fell -10.0bps (-2.4bps Friday) to 2.94%. With optimism rising on the geopolitical situation, equities also put in a strong performance around the world. For instance, the S&P 500 rose +1.43% (+0.22% Friday), marking a 9th consecutive weekly gain for the index, which is the first time that’s happened since 2023. Tech stocks did particularly well, with the NASDAQ up +2.39% (+0.20% Friday). And the rally extended globally, with Japan’s Nikkei up +4.72% (+2.53% Friday), whilst Europe’s STOXX 600 saw a modest +0.14% gain last week (+0.14% Friday). Finally in credit, spreads tightened a bit last week, with Euro IG tightening -1bps, and Euro HY tightening -10bps. In the US, IG spreads were steady, while HY tightened by -3bps.