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Advance US News Diary

January 30-February 5: Biden on the move, Fed interest rate rise, EU-Ukraine Summit and Blinken in China

Joe Biden
January 27, 2023
  • Slice 1

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.

Leading the week 

President Joe Biden has a busy schedule next week ahead of his February 7 State of the Union address, visiting Baltimore on Monday (January 30) and then New York City on Tuesday (January 31) to tout projects funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. While in New York, he’s also slated to attend a DNC fundraiser ahead of his visit to Philadelphia on Friday (February 3) to speak at the DNC Winter Meeting, which concludes on Saturday (February 4) with what could be a historic vote on the 2024 presidential nominating calendar. In December, Biden made headlines by announcing his support for a radical shake up that would see South Carolina become the first state to hold its primary next February. The proposals, which would also see the primaries in Georgia and Michigan brought forward, have prompted a backlash from Iowa and New Hampshire. 

Federal Reserve building

It’s also an important week for economic news, with the Federal Reserve due to announce its rate decision on Wednesday (February 1) ahead of the release on Friday (February 3) of the latest employment figures. Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to announce a 0.25 percentage-point hike next week following recent inflation data and retail sales figures as the Fed continues its effort to engineer a ‘soft-landing’ and avert a recession. Whatever decision the Fed takes will be closely watched by central bankers, notably in Frankfurt and London with rate decisions due from the European Central Bank and Bank of England on Thursday (February 2).


Looking abroad 

Following a week where the focus was very much on Ukraine’s military needs, there will be a shift in emphasis when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosts European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel next Friday (February 3) for the first EU-Ukraine summit since the start of the conflict, and the first since Ukraine was granted candidate country status last June. Ukrainian authorities, keen to show progress towards achieving the so-called seven recommendations laid out by the European Commission, will likely point to the recent departure of a series of top officials amid an anti-corruption drive as evidence of Ukraine’s commitment to its bid for membership, though any decision is not expected until October when the EU’s annual enlargement package is unveiled. 

The summit comes just days before the G7, EU, and Australia are due to enact import bans and price caps on Russian oil products, which come into effect on Sunday (February 5) following on from the crude cap agreed in December. It is thought this latest effort may come in the form of two price caps, given additional complications associated with the range of refined products. 

Antony Blinken speaks at a podium beside a US flag

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pays a two-day visit to Israel and Palestine on Monday and Tuesday (January 30-31), his first since Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government took office last month. The trip, which includes stops in Jerusalem and Ramallah, comes amid heightened tensions in the region, notably following a deadly Israeli raid in Jenin on Thursday. Blinken is then expected in Beijing on Sunday (February 5) for high-level talks with his new counterpart Qin Gang, a former Chinese Ambassador to the US. The visit, which was first announced by President Biden when he met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the margins of the G20 summit in Indonesia last year, is the latest meeting of senior officials from the geopolitical rivals following on from talks earlier this month between US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. 

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is on the agenda for talks, it’s difficult to imagine China significantly altering its position on the conflict. The pair will likely also aim to put tensions behind them over Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year, though again this may prove difficult amid news that Pelosi’s Republican successor Kevin McCarthy is apparently planning a trip to Taipei. Nevertheless, Blinken is likely to push for the resumption of US-China discussions on issues such as climate change and military matters, perhaps even referencing a line from his China policy speech last year when he said, ‘No country should withhold progress on existential transnational issues because of bilateral differences.’


 

Also look out for...

January 30

Peter Navarro goes on trial for contempt of Congress 

New House Oversight Chair James Comer speaks at The National Press Club 

IMF releases World Economic Outlook (January 31 in Singapore) 

Jens Stoltenberg visits Japan 

Olaf Scholz visits Brazil 

Sergey Lavrov hosts Pakistani counterpart 

January 31

Ohio state of the state address 

Hearing in case of Highland Park shooting suspect Robert Crimo III 

Lloyd Austin meets South Korean counterpart in Seoul 

Pope Francis begins four-day visit to DRC 

Further protests in France over pension reforms 

February 1

House Judiciary Committee hearing on the border 

Boris Johnson discusses Ukraine at Atlantic Council 

Education, rail and public sector strikes in the UK 

OPEC+ JMMC meets 

20 years ago: Space shuttle Columbia disaster 

February 2

National Prayer Breakfast 

Groundhog Day 

European Commissioners visit Ukraine 

Olaf Scholz holds town hall event 

February 3

Pope Francis begins three-day visit to South Sudan 

Olaf Scholz hosts Italian Prime Minister 

ASEAN foreign ministers hold retreat in Indonesia 

February 4

Pedro Pascal hosts SNL 

NHL All-Star Game 

February 5

GRAMMY Awards  

Elections in Cyprus and Monaco 

Referendum in Ecuador 

Statistics, reports and results

January 30

Germany Q4 GDP 

IFRC World Disasters Report 

January 31

Consumer Confidence Index 

Euro area Q4 GDP 

Results from: Spotify, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, McDonald’s, Samsung, General Motors, Mondelez, UPS, UBS

February 1

ADP National Employment Report 

Construction Put in Place 

ISM Manufacturing Report on Business 

Euro area flash inflation figures 

Brazil interest rate decision 

Hong Kong Q4 GDP 

Results from: Meta (Facebook), Vodafone, GlaxoSmithKline, Altria Group, Nomura 

February 2

Results from: Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Starbucks, Shell, Ford, Deutsche Bank, Sony, Panasonic, Santander 

Anniversaries and Awareness Days

January 30

World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 

51 years ago: Bloody Sunday 

90 years ago: Adolf Hitler named German Chancellor 

January 31

Three years ago: Brexit Day 

February 1

Black History Month begins 

World Hijab Day 

Iran Ten-Day Dawn 

February 2

World Wetlands Day 

100 days ago: Rishi Sunak appointed UK Prime Minister 

80 years ago: Battle of Stalingrad ended 

February 4

World Cancer Day 

February 5

Kashmir Solidarity Day 


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