Key Events This Week: 1. May Industrial Production data - Monday 2. May Housing Starts data - Tuesday 3. May Retail Sales data - Wednesday 4. Fed Interest Rate Decision and Kevin Warsh's First Meeting as Fed Chair - Wednesday 5. June Philly Fed Manufacturing Index - Thursday 6. US Markets Closed for Juneteenth - Friday All eyes are on the Fed this week.

Good Morning from Germany, where industrial production unexpectedly fell for a second straight month, down 0.7% in March, led by weakness in energy and machinery. Despite a small uptick in Q1 GDP, the data point to ongoing stagnation and raise doubts about Chancellor Merz’s promise to make 2026 a “year of growth,” as geopolitical risks and trade tensions rise and economic reforms fail to gain traction.

China’s economic performance likely remained uneven in July, with industrial production and fixed-asset investment expected to have weakened while retail sales and exports maintained growth, a Caixin survey showed.

A robust & flexible defence industry is essential to strengthening our deterrence and defence NATO and Allies are working closely with industry partners to rapidly scale up defence industrial production on both sides of the Atlantic Tap to learn more ↓

Yesterday, I welcomed Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto to the Pentagon. We reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral defense relationship between the United States and Italy and agreed on the urgent need for NATO allies to increase defense spending, expand defense industrial production, and field combat-credible military forces.