Business Lookahead: Feeling the heat

STORY: From make-or-break U.S. inflation data, to reports from Europe’s biggest banks, these are the stories to watch in business and finance in the coming week.

:: Look Ahead

:: Give PCE a chance

U.S. inflation data is due on Friday.

The reading comes after the consumer price index fell in June for the first time in four years.

The cooler-than-expected report set off a rotation in equities and cemented market expectations that the Fed is ready to cut rates in September.

:: War worries

Donald Trump's selection of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate reverberated particularly sharply through emerging markets... nowhere more so than Ukraine.

Trump has long-promised to broker an end to the conflict and Vance has publicly questioned whether supporting Kyiv is necessarily in the U.S.’ interests.

For markets, that's something to watch.

:: Tokyo’s inflation test

Tokyo’s inflation report on Friday will be the final check-in on consumer prices before the Bank of Japan meets the following week.

July’s accelerated inflation figures could feed expectations for further monetary policy tightening.

Prospects of a rate hike remain a toss-up.

:: Bank on it

On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, BNP Paribas, Santander and UniCredit will update investors.

European banks have seen net interest income surge thanks to higher rates... which the European Central Bank is looking to cut further.

Investors will also want to see how lenders are faring as political uncertainty intensifies.