DailyFX Economic Release Alerts For 09-21-2006

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1.  Japanese BSI Large Manufacturing

2.  French Consumer Spending

3.  Euro-Zone Industrial New Orders

Japanese BSI (QoQ) (Q3) (23:50GMT; 19:50EST)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

                        Large All Industry      Large Manufacturing

Consensus:               2.0                               n/a

Previous:                   1.8                               1.4

Outlook:  The Japanese index of business sentiment for Q3 is anticipated to rise, as indicated by CAPEX spending, which surged 16.6 percent in Q2. Additionally, a quarterly government survey from Q2 indicated that manufacturers plan to increase investment 16.3 percent this year.  The spending plans indicate that companies are confident demand will increase in the coming months, allowing them to boost output and subsequently hire more workers. Additionally, capital spending plans are regarded as a key gauge for the Bank of Japan, as Governor Toshihiko Fukui said in June that the bank will need to raise rates if it sees that spending is excessive.

Previous:  Business sentiment in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Japan dropped for both the large all-industry index as well as the large manufacturing index, as a rising yen and falling stock prices created uncertainty over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average had fallen 17 percent since reaching a six-year high on April 7, and the yen had risen 2.2 percent against the dollar throughout Q2. However, the diminished optimism did not appear to deter companies from increasing spending, as manufacturers said they planned to boost spending 16.3 percent this year, revising their previous estimate of cutting spending by 7.1 percent.

French Consumer Spending (MoM) (AUG) (6:45GMT; 2:45EST)

Consensus: 0.5%

Previous:     1.7%

Outlook:  INSEE will report French consumer spending figures for the months of July and August this week, both of which are likely to gain upon release. There is no estimate available for July; however, the August reading is anticipated to rise 0.5 percent. The World Cup, in which France performed better than expected, may have continued to lend strength to the July measure. The number in August could also remain buoyant, in line with Bloomberg PMI for the same month. Furthermore, consumers are more likely to have felt confident as Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin pledged to increase a tax rebate for low-income earners and subsidies for employees to partly offset increased transport costs.

Previous:  Consumer spending, which has been a significant part of economic growth in recent months as businesses have lagged behind, continued its strong pace and rose 1.7 percent in the month of June. Accelerated economic growth of 1.1 percent in Q2 helped to improve the labor market, as payrolls data showed France created jobs at 0.3 percent in Q2, the fastest pace in five years. This surge in employment has given a boost to consumers who now have more disposable income, and, subsequently, have expended more in stores.

Euro-Zone Industrial New Orders s.a. (MoM) (JUL) (GMT;  EST)

Consensus: 1.0%

Previous:    -2.5%

Outlook:   Analysts predict that industrial orders rebounded in July after falling 2.5 percent the previous month. Given the volatile nature of orders growth, such a bounce seems probable, but the market impact of a 1.0 percent advance would be minimal at best. Indeed, recent data has shown that outlook for Euro Zone industries has progressively worsened, with the August German ZEW survey registering its lowest reading in nearly 14 years. Declining growth in the largest EMU economies have lead the broader indices lower. Junes Industrial Orders report showed that Germanys orders dropped 0.6 percent while French orders lost 2.3 percent. If recent downward trends are any sign of future performance, downside risks remain for consensus estimates of a rebound in EMU Industrial New Orders.

Previous:  The Euro Zone industrial new orders index fell 2.5 percent in the month of June. Leading the declines, Europes largest economies have seen deteriorating Industrial growth on lower demand for exports. On the flipside, the newer EU members have actually seen material improvements as their economies embrace the economic benefits of European Union membership. Regardless, it is obvious that broad declines in French, German, and Portuguese economies were more than enough to weigh on the regional outlook. It remains to be seen if industrial new orders can recover from short-term weakness, but lower business confidence readings suggests that the trend may lead the broad sector lower.