Hello, welcome to work week.

This was a decision in many ways over the next seven days. I will start with South Korea, which will elect a new president on Tuesday, a critical moment for Asia's fourth largest economy.

South Korea is fighting at a slowdown in growth, while being hit by global trade tensions. According to the poll, the obvious leader is Lee Jae-Myung, 61, of the South Korean Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the Central People's Power Party's right to ruling has fallen into chaos, mainly due to its reluctance to stand out from the shameful former PPP President Yoon Suk Yeol, a tough former prosecutor who was impeached during his five-year term and was removed after the announcement of martial arts that failed to reach last year.

Whoever wins on Tuesday will have to fight the slowdown under the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policy and North Korea, who is timid due to its growing nuclear arsenal and its thriving relations with Vladimir Putin Russia. For more information on this, read this.

The eurozone will make economic and political choices this week. On Wednesday, the European Commission is expected to release a long-awaited view on whether Bulgaria is ready to adopt the euro. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov is confident of getting the green light and issuing the currency fiat on January 1, 2026.

Another euro news this week will come from Frankfurt, with the European Central Bank setting a decision to make the decision. According to Reuters, the Hawks have been lined up to urge caution, but the price is close to 100% chance of price based on a given 25 basis points cut. Want to know the latest information on global interest rates (and inflation)? FT has a tracker.

In British politics, when we await the government’s strategic defense review on Monday, the choice is more between guns and butter, which will outline new threats, the capabilities needed to deal with them, the status of the British armed forces, and the resources available. There may not be many answers to the last question. The overall solution, like the answer to so many modern questions it seems, is digital.

Some decisions have been made but support is needed. With that in mind, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Saskatoon on Monday to hope to develop love among Canadian province’s first ministers and promote his ambition to “the strongest economy in the G7”.

The main goal of this effort (led by Canadian Minister of Transport and Internal Trade and former FT Deputy Editor Chrystia Freeland) is to drive out federal trade barriers, with an estimated economic cost of $200 billion per year on July 1 (Canada Day) (Canada Day). Carney is also expected to outline “a Canadian economy” legislation to quickly track projects such as ports, critical minerals and trade corridors.

The company's results drip again, expanding in the middle of the week. This is a similar story for economic reports, most notably the comparison between the U.S. job numbers, the OECD’s economic outlook and the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) among larger economies. More details below.

There is one more thing. . .

Sinclair's ZX Spectrum turns some of us to computer games. For my Gen Z kids, it's the Nintendo switch. It will be a big week for them (I think the gap in this generation is yawning), with Nintendo launching the highly anticipated next-generation Switch 2 Games Console and forecasting the company's 15 million unit sales this fiscal year. The new machine promises a larger screen, an upgraded magnetic controller called Joy-Cons and a new chat feature. The only feature I want them to keep is the app, which allows me to see how much time the descendants spend on the device when they may be learning.

Are you excited about the new console? Can Nintendo be at the Public Scream Festival Super Smash Brothers? Email me jonathan.moules@ft.com or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit the reply.

Major Economy and Company Reports

Here is a more complete list of expectations for company reports and economic data this week.

on Monday

• US Federal Reserve Board member Christopher Waller talks about the economic outlook for the 2025 Korean Bank International Conference: Structural Changes and Monetary Policy in Seoul

• Catherine Mann, member of the Monetary Policy Committee Bank of Englandif the 75th anniversary meeting is held in Washington, hold a fireside chat at the Fed's Council

• Canada, Eurozone, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States: S&P Global/HCOB/HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) Data

• China: Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen ng). Financial markets are closed.

• UK: UK retail alliance May economic monitoring report and home price index nationwide

• result: this Campbell's company Q3, Sirius Real Estate FY

Tuesday

• Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks at the Naigai Josei Chosa Kai conference in Japan.

• Sarah Hunter, Assistant Governor (Economic) Reserve Bank of Australia Keynote address at Queensland Business Lunch, Australia Economic Association, Brisbane

• street Shareholders voted at the shareholders' meeting on Atlas' proposal to acquire the company. If approved, the transaction will take effect on July 2

• The economic outlook of the OECD

• China: Caixin can make PMI data

• EU: Flash's possible inflation estimates and April unemployment data

• United States: April job openings and labor mobility (vibration) data

• result: British American Tobacco Transaction statement, Chemical hy, Crowdstrike Q1, US dollar general Q1, FD Technology fy, Ferguson Q3, HP Packard Enterprise Q2, Pennon FY

Wednesday

• Australia: Q1 GDP Estimates

• Canada: Interest rate announcement

• Canada, Eurozone, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States: S&P Global/HCOB/HSBC May Serviss PMI data

• UK: International reserve data

• United States: Beige Book Publishing

• result: B&M European Value Retail Price fy, Cartesian system Q1, Discoverie fy, Dollar Tree Q1, Experienced student property AGM and Q1 transaction statement, Ninety-one fy, Paragon Bank Group hy, Seraphim Space Investment Trust Q3, WHSMW Transaction Statement

Thursday

• Nintendo Released its new Switch 2 console, with a larger screen and better graphics than its very popular predecessor. Despite U.S. tariffs

• Econdat's two-day spring meeting at King's College London, where central bankers and researchers will gather to discuss economics related to non-traditional data and analytical tools.

• CBI National Business Dinner is held in London and is traditionally delivered by senior government members

• China: Caixin May provides services for PMI data

• Eurozone, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom: S&P Global/HCOB Construction PMI Data

• EU: European Central Bank's interest rate announcement

• Germany: April manufacturing order data

• UK: May policymakers group study

• United States: International Trade in Goods and Services in April

• result: Broadcom Q2, Brown form Q4, respect Q2, CMC Market fy, Dr. Martens fy, Lululemon Track and Field Q1, Mitty fy, PVH Q1, Samsung Q1, Victoria's Secret Q1, Wise fy, Air fy, Workspace FY

Friday

• Me: Q1 GDP Estimated

• Japan: Consumer Activity Index

• South Korea: Memorial Day. Financial markets closed

• United Kingdom: Halifax Home Price Index

• United States: May employment report

• result: ABM Q2

World Activities

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

on Monday

• Canada: Prime Minister Mark Carney joins elected head of North American provinces at Saskatoon's First Ministerial Meeting

• Poland: Two-day EU Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Interior begins in Warsaw

• UK: Government releases its strategic defense review

Tuesday

• Austria: Vienna hosts the Austrian World Summit. The event is in its ninth year organized by the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, an institution founded by Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger

• South Korea: Presidential election

Wednesday

Thursday

• The UK voted to join the Common Market for the 50th anniversary and later became a national referendum for the EU. It voted to leave the EU in 2016

• Naksa Day, observed by Palestinians, recognizes "setback day" when Israel won a six-day war in 1967, controlling the West Bank and Gaza Strip, causing thousands of Palestinians to be displaced

• Belgium: NATO Defense Minister meets in Brussels

• Burundi: Parliamentary and local elections

• UK: The beginning of the fifth London Design Biennale, showing the role of design in solving challenges. This year's theme is superficial reflection

Friday

• Eid al-Adha is the second of two major festivals in Islam, starting tonight. Celebrations and commemorations are usually carried over to the next three days, namely, Tashreeq Days.

Saturday

• France: Roland Garross French Open 2025 tennis women's singles in Paris. The men's final will be held on Sunday

• UK: The 13th Liverpool Biennale, the largest contemporary visual arts festival in the UK, begins. The event will be held in public places, galleries and museums throughout the city until September 14 under the themed bedrock

Sunday

• Germany: European League final, ending the fourth edition of the international men's football match

• United States: The 78th Tony Awards of the American Drama Industry, held at Radio City Concert Hall in New York