US GDP growth figure from Friday was a worrying sign for the US recovery

UK markets (and us) were closed yesterday for the UK Bank Holiday so we'll begin with a quick summary of Friday's data.

The US GDP figure for Q2 growth was revised down from 2.4% to 1.6% on an annualized basis in a worrying sign for the US recovery. The University of Michigan consumer confidence number for August was also revised down to 68.9 as US consumers remain subdued.

Friday also saw US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke state that the Federal Reserve stands ready to act to provide additional stimulus if necessary, especially if the outlook weakens significantly. The statement though doesn't really change anything from the markets perspective as did impact the "risk on" to "risk off" trade.

Yesterday, Eurozone industrial confidence was released and held steady at -4 in August, in line with forecasts and at the highest level since May 2008 as consumers' expectations about the economic situation in the next 12 months seem to have improved.

This week the data calendar is loaded with monetary policy communication from the US Federal Reserve, Eurozone Central Bank and Bank of Japan and market-moving economic data releases, with major focus on the August producer activity surveys across major markets and Friday's all-important US employment report for August. There is also the small matter of the ECB interest rate meeting on Thursday.