Money, Markets and Marvels: Understanding the Year Ahead
Money, Markets and Marvels: Understanding the Year Ahead
(Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg News reporters in more than 100 cities will cover the stories that matter most in 2017. Here's a selection of key events for the year, plus links to related QuickTake guides. QuickTakes highlight the underpinnings of complicated subjects, providing a concise, fun-to-read entry point to current debates.
January
Donald Trump will be sworn in as U.S. president on Jan. 20.
QuickTakes: Immigration Reform, Free Trade and Its Foes, Supreme Court, Oil Sands, Confronting Coal, Climate Change, Budget Deficit
The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 17-20.
QuickTake: Sustainable Investing
Davos, Switzerland.
Finland begins a test of a universal basic income by offering 2,000 unemployed adults 560 euros a month.
QuickTake: Universal Basic Income
U.S. companies will be required to disclose pay ratios comparing the compensation of their CEO to the median pay of employees, in the year starting Jan. 1.
QuickTake: Executive pay
Cigarette plain-packaging law comes into effect in France.
QuickTake: War on Smoking
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision aims to complete an overhaul of capital standards by Jan. 8.
QuickTake Q&A: What Global Bank Regulators Are Fighting About
France is gathering dozens of foreign ministers in Paris Jan. 15 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
QuickTake: Israeli Settlements
February
Judges may rule as early as February in a U.S. patent dispute determining who invented the gene-editing technique known as Crispr-Cas9.
QuickTake: Gene Editing
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gives the first of her twice-yearly reports to Congress.
QuickTake: The Fed Lifts Off, Barely
Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which runs the daily London gold auction, will start trading a futures contract for the metal in the U.S., part of a battle for control of the world gold market.
QuickTake: Gold's Ups and Downs
The number of influenza cases typically peaks this month in the U.S.
QuickTake: The Flu
March
ChemChina aims to complete its $43 billion purchase of Syngenta, a record acquisition by a Chinese company, by the end of the first quarter.
QuickTake: China Inc.'s Spending Spree
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger the legal process for Britain’s exit from the European Union, starting a two-year countdown for Brexit.
QuickTake: Brexit
Hong Kong’s Election Committee chooses the city's next chief executive.
QuickTake: Hong Kong’s Autonomy
SpaceX plans to launch the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V moon rocket program ended in 1973.
QuickTake: Elon Musk
Launch of an earlier Falcon SpaceX rocket.
A general election in the Netherlands will be held March 15.
Samsung is expected to unveil its Galaxy S8 smartphone.
QuickTake: Samsung
India Post is expected to start operations of its postal banking system.
QuickTake: Postal Banking
April
The European Central Bank is scheduled to begin scaling back its quantitative easing program, reducing monthly bond buying to 60 billion euros.
QuickTake: Europe’s QE Quandary
The French presidential election’s first round is April 23, with the second and final round two weeks later.
QuickTake Q&A: Why France’s Surprise Primary Winner Is No Trump
India will introduce its first national sales tax.
QuickTake Q&A: How India’s New Tax Might Help Business, Not Hurt
Golf’s Masters Tournament takes place April 6-9 in Augusta, Georgia.
QuickTake: Golf in the Rough
May
G-7 meets in Sicily. First meeting for U.S. President Trump.
Iran’s presidential election is May 19.
QuickTake: Iran’s Oil
Pope Francis visits Fatima, Portugal, May 13 for the 100th anniversary of the day on which three children said the Virgin Mary first appeared to them.
QuickTake: Pope Francis
The Eurovision song contest will be held in Kiev after Ukraine's Susana Jamaladinova, who uses the stage name Jamala, won the contest in 2016.
Ukraine's Jamala reacts on winning the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.
College graduates say farewell to school and, in the U.S., hello to an average of more than $30,000 in debt.
QuickTake: Student Debt
June
Deadline for South Korea's constitutional court to rule whether to remove President Park Geun-hye from power, triggering a presidential election within 60 days.
QuickTake Q&A: Why South Korea's President Faced Impeachment Vote
Roaming charges for mobile phones will be abolished in the European Union on June 15.
The U.S. Federal Reserve typically releases results of its annual bank stress tests.
QuickTake: Stress Tests
The 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War.
QuickTake: Two-State Solution
The Confederations Cup, a practice run for hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup, is held June 17 to July 2 in Russia.
QuickTake: The World Cup
Spotify plans to sell shares in an initial public offering by mid-year.
QuickTake: The Streaming Revolution
July
Canada Day, July 1, marks 150 years since the British colonies were federally united into the Dominion of Canada.
QuickTake: Canada
The Group of 20 nations meets in Hamburg, July 7-8.
QuickTake: Neutral Interest Rates
U.S. banks face a July 21 deadline for divesting their investments in private equity and hedge funds.
QuickTake: The Volcker Rule
August
Kenya holds an election Aug. 8.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak Aug. 12 or 13.
Earliest date possible for the German federal election is Aug. 27. In recent years, elections have taken place in September.
QuickTake: Angela Merkel
September
Russia will hold its annual strategic military exercises in its western regions.
QuickTake: Cool War
Russian officers march during the Victory Day military parade.
Catalonia’s regional president, Carles Puigdemont, has vowed to hold a referendum this month on splitting from Spain.
QuickTake: Catalonia
Bloomberg will open its new European headquarters in London before the end of the year. The site includes a museum for the archaeological remains of a temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras.
London trial opens for six traders accused of manipulating Euribor.
QuickTake: Broken Benchmarks
Norway will hold a parliamentary election Sept. 11.
Apple typically unveils new technologies for its iPhones in September.
QuickTake: Apple
U.S. meat producer Tyson Foods pledged to end the use of antibiotics in its chickens this month.
QuickTake: Antibiotic Resistance
October
Nobel Peace Prize is announced. Colombia’s president won in 2016.
QuickTake: Colombia’s Peace Plan
Annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, Oct. 13-15.
QuickTake: GDP
Chinese President Xi Jinping may narrow the field of potential successors at the party congress, expected in October or November.
QuickTake: China’s Pain Points
November
If the U.S. Affordable Care Act is still in place, its open enrollment period will run from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, 2018.
QuickTake: Health Insurance Exchanges
China celebrates Singles' Day Nov. 11. It’s the largest online shopping day.
QuickTake: Alibaba
Singles' Day is a Chinese annual online shopping spree that has been held every Nov. 11 since 2009.
New Zealand’s general election must be held by Nov. 18.
Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meet in Vietnam.
December
Deadline to hold South Korean presidential election is Dec. 20.
South Africa's ruling African National Congress will choose a new leader at its party conference to replace President Jacob Zuma.
QuickTake: South Africa
Thailand’s junta promises that a new, elected government will be able to assume power this month.
QuickTake: Thailand’s Troubled Democracy
A loophole that’s allowed U.S. hedge fund managers to avoid taxes on performance fees parked offshore expires Dec. 31.
New Year’s Eve brings the usual resolutions to lose weight.
QuickTake: Obesity
To subscribe to the free monthly QuickTake newsletter or to receive the free QuickTake compilation publication by mail, sign up at
bloombergbriefs.com/quicktake
To contact the author of this story: Anne Cronin in New York at acronin14@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Leah Harrison at lharrison@bloomberg.net.