Keir Starmer set for tough week of questions on Peter Mandelson scandal

Hello and welcome to the working week.

Concerned about your day in the office on Monday? It could be worse. You could be the British prime minister. Sir Keir Starmer is squaring up for another gruelling week, beginning with a humiliating appearance before MPs on Monday to explain how he did not know security officials had raised objections during the vetting process before Lord Peter Mandelson was appointed US ambassador.

Sir Olly Robbins, the top Foreign Office civil servant sacked on Thursday night after Starmer “lost confidence” in him, will give his own account of events before the Commons foreign affairs committee on Tuesday, in what is likely to make for tense viewing in Downing Street.

In the Middle East the clock is ticking down on the uneasy US-Iran ceasefire, which expires on Wednesday. Donald Trump is sending a delegation, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, for talks with Iran in Pakistan on Tuesday, even as he threatens to resume the US bombing campaign if Tehran fails to reach a peace deal.

In a Truth Social post, the president accused Iran of violating the two-week ceasefire between the countries by firing on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has said it will not reopen access to the strategic waterway at the centre of the conflict until the US lifts its naval blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports.

A separate ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon runs out this coming Sunday.

Presumably Trump would like to have peace in time for the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington on Saturday. This will be the first time he has attended as sitting president, having boycotted the dinner since his first term began in 2017. Back in 2011, Trump was in the audience when then-president Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers mocked him over his “birther” conspiracy theory, which questioned Obama’s US citizenship. Being the butt of the jokes that night has been cited as the moment Trump decided to run for the White House.

Another set piece in the US capital this week will be the Senate banking committee’s grilling of Trump’s Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh on Tuesday. Democratic senators have been piling pressure on Warsh over more than $100mn of “undisclosed” financial assets. Expect some tough questioning and fiery exchanges.

Inflation will be a closely watched feature of the economic data run this week, while on the corporate side earnings season gets into its stride. UK retail and consumer goods will be in focus, with investors watching for signs of any impact from increases in the cost of living. Defence companies Lockheed Martin, Thales and Northrop Grumman are due to report figures that show an improvement in sales. Such is the state of the world. Finally, BP holds its annual meeting on Thursday, the first public outing for new chief executive Meg O’Neill.

One more thing . . . 

It’s peak marathon week. First up, in Boston on Monday, is the world’s longest-running version of this street-pounding test of stamina, and then on Sunday, it’s London’s turn. I have a personal interest in the latter contest because the race route passes within feet of Glamis Adventure Playground, a tiny charity providing an oasis of fun for London’s East End kids where I am the chair of trustees. If you want to know more about the joy of London’s adventurous play sites, including Glamis, read this piece I wrote for the FT’s Globetrotter section.

What are your priorities for the week ahead? Are you running a marathon? Email me at [email protected] or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit reply.

Key economic and company reports

Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.

Monday

• FT Live Commodities Summit begins in the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne and online. Register here.

• Adobe Summit begins in Las Vegas with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang among the keynote speakers.

• Canada: March consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate data

• China: interest rate announcement

• EU: updated Q4 GDP estimate

• Germany: March producer price index (PPI) inflation rate data

• UK: S&P Global Consumer Sentiment Index, plus Rightmove April House Price Index

• Earnings calls: Auction Technology Group trading update, Diagnostyka FY, M&C Saatchi FY

Tuesday

• UK: April labour market figures

• US: March advance monthly sales for retail and food services

• Earnings calls: ASM International Q1, Associated British Foods HY, Beiersdorf Q1, British Land Q4 trading update, Capital One Financial Q1, Danaher Q1, Equifax Q1, Getinge Q1, Halliburton Q1, HCL Technologies Q4, Jupiter Fund Management Q1 trading update, Moncler Q1 revenues, Northrop Grumman Q1, OP Mobility Q1 revenues, Rio Tinto Q1 operational review (8.30am in Sydney), SKF Q1, Temenos Q1, Thales Q1 sales, 3M Q1, UnitedHealth Q1, WR Berkley Q1

Wednesday

• IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde and World Trade Organization director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speak at the London School of Economics.

• France: INSEE February retail sales figures

• UK: March CPI and PPI inflation rate data. Also, April Price Index of Private Rents, measuring private sector rent inflation.

• US: February state employment figures

• Earnings calls: ABB Q1, Aberdeen Q1 assets under management and flows trading update, Alfa Laval Q1, AT&T Q1, Boeing Q1, Boston Scientific Q1, Bunzl Q1 trading statement at AGM, Carrefour Q1 revenues, Chubb Q1, CME Group Q1, Crown Castle Q1, GBG trading update, CSX Q1, Danone Q1 sales, IBM Q1, L’Oreal Q1 sales, Moody’s Q1, Nordea Bank Q1, PensionBee Q1 trading update, Philip Morris Q1, Quilter Q1 trading update, Randstad Q1, Raymond James Q2, Reckitt Benckiser Q1 trading update, Sandvik Q1, Tesla Q1, Texas Instruments Q1

Thursday

• Warner Bros Discovery holds a special meeting of shareholders to vote on the proposed acquisition of the company by Paramount Skydance for $31 a share. If approved, the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

• Australia: March labour force data

• Eurozone, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK, US: S&P Global flash manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data

• UK: March public sector finances data, including HMRC tax receipts. Also British Retail Consortium Consumer Sentiment Monitor statistics.

• Earnings calls: American Express Q1, Asos HY, Blackstone Q1, BP AGM, Comcast Q1, Dassault Systèmes Q1, Freeport-McMoRan Q1, Heineken Q1 trading update, Honeywell Q1, Intel Q1, Keurig Dr Pepper Q1, Lockheed Martin Q1, London Stock Exchange Group Q1 trading statement (revenues only), Nasdaq Q1, Nestlé Q1 sales, Nokia Q1, Orange Q1, Renault Q1 revenues, Roper Technologies Q1, Sainsbury’s FY, Sanofi Q1, SAP Q1, Southwest Airlines Q1, STMicroelectronics Q1, Union Pacific Q1, Verisign Q1, WHSmith HY

Friday

• Japan: March CPI and PPI inflation rate data

• UK: March retail sales figures for Great Britain, plus GfK Consumer Confidence Survey

• Earnings calls: Electrolux Q1, Hartford Financial Services Q1, Kuehne+Nagel Q1, Mondi Q1 trading update, Nomura Q4/FY, Procter & Gamble Q3, Schlumberger Q1, Telia Q1

World events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

Monday

• 2026 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development begins at the UN headquarters in New York

• India: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung holds discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on strengthening bilateral co-operation across various areas, including shipbuilding, semiconductors and AI

• Israel: Yom Hazikaron, or Memorial Day, a commemoration for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks, begins

• Philippines: annual large-scale joint military exercises known as Balikatan to be held on the south-east Asian islands. Japan will send its own combat troops for the first time on Philippine soil since 1945.

• US: 130th Boston marathon, the world’s oldest annual organisation of the race

• UK: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to update parliament on the vetting failure of former British ambassador to Washington Lord Peter Mandelson

Tuesday

• Japan: the annual Spring Rites purification ceremonies begin at Yasukuni Jinja, ending on Thursday with a closing banquet

• South Korea: UN Climate Week event kicks off in the coastal city of Yeosu, running until Saturday

• Vietnam: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung begins a four-day visit, expected to include the heads of South Korea’s four largest conglomerates, Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group

• UK: Foreign Affairs Committee has invited Sir Olly Robbins, the top Foreign Office civil servant who was sacked last week, to give evidence at its meeting today. Also, the RMT union is due to begin the first of two 24-hour strikes on Tube lines over four-day working week proposals

• US: Kevin Warsh’s Senate nomination hearing for the Federal Reserve chair position

Wednesday

• Greece: Delphi Economic Forum XI begins in the central Greek city. Speakers include president of the European Council António Costa

• Middle East: expiry date for the original US-Iran ceasefire agreement

Thursday

• Cyprus: a two-day informal heads of state meeting for EU members of the European Council begins.

• UK: St George’s Day celebrations, commemorating England’s patron saint

Friday

Saturday

• Australia, New Zealand: Anzac Day national holiday, remembering the sacrifices of the two countries’ armed forces. The day is also commemorated in a service in London’s Westminster Abbey

• Italy: Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally begins a four-day visit to Rome, which will include a meeting with Pope Leo XIV

• Palestine: local elections

• UK: Python On The Prom statue commemorating Monty Python’s Terry Jones is unveiled in the Welsh town of Colwyn Bay, where the comedian was born

• US: White House correspondents’ annual dinner

Sunday

• China: Center for China & Globalization holds the 12th China Global Think Tank Innovation Forum in Beijing

• UK: 46th London marathon held in the British capital