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France’s economic growth has accelerated in the first quarter of this year, beating expectations.
In an encouraging start to eurozone GDP day, French GDP expanded by 0.2% in January-March, a pick-up on the 0.1% growth recorded in October-December.
Economists expected growth of 0.1%, so this may bolster hopes that the eurozone has returned to growth.
Household spending helped drive the French economy, statistics body INSEE says, with final domestic demand bouncing back and contributing 0.4 percentage points to growth.
But foreign trade’s contribution to GDP growth fell to zero, with imports rising by 0.2% and exports up by 0.5%.
There’s big news in the banking sector this morning: HSBC’s chief executive officer Noel Quinn is unexpectedly stepping down after nearly five years in the job.
The board has begun a formal process to find a successor, firing the starting gun to find a replacement at Europe’s largest bank.
Quinn is stepping back after leading a series of strategic reviews, boosting HSBC’s investment in its Asian business while cutting back on other markets such as France and the US.
Looking ahead, Quinn explains why he’s stepping down: “After an intense five years, it is now the right time for me to get a better balance between my personal and business life. I intend to pursue a portfolio career going forward.”
Quinn was appointed CEO in March 2020, after a stint as interim chief executive, and steered the bank through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, new post-Brexit charges on imports of EU food and plant products into Britain begin today. Fees of up to £145 will apply to small imports of animal products and plants, such as sausages, cheese and yoghurt, entering the UK from the EU through the port of Dover and through Eurotunnel at Folkestone.
A flurry of big name companies are reporting financial results today; we’ll hear from Whitbread, Glencore, Prudential, St James’s Place and Howdens, while HSBC has just reported a small (1.5%) dip in profits for the last quarter, to $12.7bn.
Over in Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Adidas and Lufthansa are reporting, while on Wall Street McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Amazon will update the markets.
Mining giant Anglo American is holding its annual general meeting, days after fending off a takeover proposal from rival BHP Group, which is now considering whether to improve their offer.
And in parliament, MPs on the Treasury committee are holding an inquiry into financial sanctions on Russia this morning, while the environment, food and rural affairs committee will question supermarket bosses about food price inflation, profits and relationships with producers this afternoon.
The agenda
• 6.30am BST: French GDP for Q1 2024
• 7am BST: German retail sales for March
• 7.30am BST: Hungarian GDP for Q1 2024
• 7.45am BST: French inflation report for April
• 8am BST: Austria’s GDP report for Q1 2024
• 8am BST: Czech Republic GDP report for Q1 2024
• 8am BST: Spain’s GDP report for Q1 2024
• 9am BST: Germany’s GDP report for Q1 2024
• 9am BST: Italy’s GDP report for Q1 2024
• 9.30am BST: Portugal’s GDP report for Q1 2024
• 9.30am BST: UK mortgage approvals and consumer credit data for March
• 10am BST: Eurozone GDP report for Q1 2024
• 10am BST: Eurozone inflation report for April
• 10.15am BST: UK Treasury committee holds opening session of inquiry into Russian financial sanctions
• 1pm BST: Mexico’s GDP report for Q1 2024
• 1.30pm BST: Canada’s GDP report for February
• 2pm BST: US house price index for February
• 2.30pm BST: Supermarket bosses appear at a Efra select committee hearing on food supply chains
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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Risks of Thames Water crisis contagion look overdone 
