1. French Consumer Spending
2. Bank of England Meeting Minutes
3. CBI Industrial Trends Survey
4. Japanese Merchandise Trade Balance

French Consumer Spending (Jan) (07:50 GMT; 02:50 EST)
Consensus: 0.8%       
Previous: -1.0%       

Outlook:  Consumer spending is expected to have rebounded in January, as economists suspect that consumers had simply foregone December spending for winter sales, which have historically increased and attracted more consumption.  Attributing to the loss in consumer interest looks to be the specter of record unemployment and continually lofty prices of energy.  Spending more on heating homes in the winter, consumers remain skeptical of the current economic situation as more and more individuals find themselves out of work.  As a result, growth and expansion prospects remain thin and may confirm earlier reports on declining gross domestic product and industrial production.  This should leave central bankers hesitant of raising interest rates once again, in light of temporary inflationary pressures.

Previous:  Despite a drop in oil prices that left consumers with more money, spending dropped the largest amount in seven months in December, with month over month at -1.0% from the expected 0.3%, which was previously 1.1%.  Year over year the figure dropped to 1.4% from the expected 3.5%.  Clothing and leather goods sales dropped 4.1%, while purchases in cars increased 1.1% and furniture rose 1.7%.  Europeââ,¬â"¢s third largest economy has released some troubling December data, which suggests a slowdown in economic growth.  Industrial production, manufacturing production, the trade balance, and GDP all fell below expectations down to -0.3%, -0.7%, -3.1B, and 0.2% respectively.  With that said, the lower spending figures lends to further weakness in the Euro zone state, reflecting poorly on the current economy overall.

Bank of England Minutes (Feb 9 Meeting) (09:30 GMT; 05:30 EST)

Outlook:   At their February 9th meeting, the Bank of Englandââ,¬â"¢s Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the overnight lending rate at 4.50 percent for the sixth month as signs of growth reappear with the backdrop of inflation at the central bankââ,¬â"¢s target.  Since the bankââ,¬â"¢s last policy, indicators some key indicators have leveled off to justify the bankââ,¬â"¢s decision to postpone a change.  The main factor staving off a rate cut was the surprising acceleration in fourth quarter economic growth to 0.6 percent, the fastest pace since the final quarter of 2004.  Backing this number were positive reads in both manufacturing and service sectors.  Recent measures revealed an increase to a 51.1 read in production as well as a rise to 57.9 in services, both for December.  Additionally, a resurgence in housing prices providing inklings that the deflation in the sector could be at an end.  Nationwide housing prices rose 1.4 percent in January, the fastest pace in 18 months.  Despite this rise in the price of residences, consumer prices held to the central bankââ,¬â"¢s 2.0 percent target.  With inflation risks out of the immediate picture, policy markers will have more scope to concentrate on growth numbers.  However, a few indicators are feeding initial doubts that the economic recovery will be unable to sustain its recent pace.  Retail sales sank plunged at its fastest pace in over a year in January and the jobless level has steadily increased over the final months of last year.  Some speculate that these figures could have been enough to have pulled in a companion dissenter to the usually solo Stephen Nickell at the meeting.  According to recent comments, many believe Mervyn King may have voted for a second cut on fears that inflation will slow beyond the bankââ,¬â"¢s target.

UK CBI Industrial Trends (FEB) (11:00 GMT; 06:00 EST)
Consensus:      n/a
Previous:     -28

Outlook:   While no estimate has been compiled for industrial strength for the current month, business leaders are likely to report a slightly better figure as continuing week sales domestically and abroad are tempered by declines in input prices.  The most recent sales and trade figures have given little in the way of support for a significant pickup in UK industrials.   Demand from retailers will likely reflect the largest decline in sales in 13 months in January.   Also, with the drop in sales coming opposite an improvement to confidence; there may be little hope for a significant pick up in sales in the near future.  Recent export figures have also lent themselves little an improvement in foreign markets.  Decemberââ,¬â"¢s trade balance edged back towards the record high it set in August despite the holiday season.  However, with prices of crude oil falling quickly from recent highs, there is likely to be a palpable increase in demand for industrial producersââ,¬â"¢ goods for which they will better able to meet it with cheaper input costs.

Previous:  Industrial orders fell to a five month low in January suggesting that a lack of strength in UK businesses could further reduce economic output and put the Bank of England back on track for another rate cut.  The bulk of the reduction in orders came from domestic sources.  Orders from within the country fell for the fifth month according to the report as consumers and retails pared back on their spending habits.  Sales at retailers fell 1.2 percent , the most in over a year, after normally spendthrift shoppers closed their purse string after the holiday season.  Supply side woes were also factoring into the sentiment for the month.  For the month of January energy prices rebounded to near record highs adding an additional burden to already shaky output.  This decline in orders weighed on other areas of the industry.  Those surveyed reported their current employment was worse while expectations for three months in the future dropped to a yearly low on expectations that demand for their products will be slow to come back online.  Planned investment was another victim of the decline with reads of -24 for buildings and -14 for machinery.

Japanese Merchandise Trade Balance (Jan) (23:50 GMT; 18:50 EST)
Consensus: -Ã,Â¥89.8B
Previous: Ã,Â¥911.9B

Outlook:   In January, exports are expected to have declined, while import quantities are expected to have remained unchanged as manufacturers keep pace to supply demand.  Subsequently, the rebound in energy prices will have increased the valuation of imports.  The trade balance is extremely sensitive to these prices as the majority of Japanââ,¬â"¢s energy comes from overseas sources, with crude oil accounting for more than half of total consumption.  As a result, a narrower surplus may spark concerns of overall weakness in the worldââ,¬â"¢s second largest economy.  However, with the infrastructure relatively sound, the smaller balance maybe more reflective of currently higher energy price imports than a weakness in global demand.

Previous:  The merchandise trade balance rebounded in December to Ã,Â¥911.9B from Ã,Â¥595.9B, the largest gain in over a year as both domestic and overseas demand increased.  Imports accelerated 27.3% while exports grew 17.5%, both figures beat economistsââ,¬â"¢ estimates.  The trade surplus shrank 19.3% as manufacturers took advantage of the stronger Yen and increasing capital spending to expand production in attempts to supply the growing demand for Japanese goods.  For example, Sony Corp. bought more semiconductors and equipment to build more flat-panel screens and digital cameras.  Toyota, which had the largest gain in 2005 sales, expects demand for their automobiles to grow by 10% in 2006.  The reports coming from Japan have boosted optimism that the country will maintain its economic recovery from the three recessions seen in the past 15 years.

Richard Lee is a Currency Strategist at FXCM.