Overview of important macro events next week: The Federal Reserve interest rate decision is imminent, with Apple, Microsoft, Google, and others densely releasing earnings reports

April 26 News: Next week features a super central bank week and earnings season. The Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, European Central Bank, and Bank of Canada will sequentially announce their interest rate decisions, with the Federal Reserve releasing its rate decision at 2 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday. The market generally expects all five major central banks to hold steady, but the Bank of Japan may signal a hawkish stance to raise rates in June due to Middle East conflicts and inflation pressures, which is the biggest highlight. JPMorgan predicts the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged throughout 2026, with the next adjustment possibly in Q3 2027. The seven giants of the US stock market—Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Meta—will also release their quarterly earnings reports. The key macro data and events next week are as follows: Monday: According to New Delhi Television, Iran-US negotiations are scheduled for April 27 (Monday local time). Tuesday: The Bank of Japan announces its interest rate decision; BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo holds a press conference on monetary policy. Wednesday: The Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate decision; Iran announces a large national strength parade on the 29th (Wednesday local time); Robinhood releases earnings. Thursday: Federal Reserve FOMC interest rate decision (2 a.m. Beijing time); Fed Chair Powell holds a press conference on monetary policy (2:30 a.m. Beijing time); after US stock markets close, Meta, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, and Amazon release earnings and hold conference calls; Bank of England policy interest rate decision; US Q1 real GDP annualized quarterly initial estimate; US initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 25 ( thousand ); US March core PCE price index month-over-month. Friday: After US stock markets close, Apple holds a conference call to discuss Q2 earnings and business updates; Google raises prices for Cloud, CDN, AI infrastructure, and other services. Saturday: Berkshire Hathaway’s first shareholder meeting in the post-Warren Buffett era (8 p.m. Beijing time Saturday).