Business calendar: watching for a UK U-turn

STORY: From a UK finance minister under pressure to change course, to a landmark election in Brazil, here are the business and finance stories to watch out for in the days ahead.

All eyes will be on UK finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng when he speaks at the Conservative party conference.

His plan for huge unfunded tax cuts has given markets the jitters.

That means the speech will be scoured for any signs of a U-turn.

U.S. jobs data will show whether the Fed’s barrage of rate hikes is having an impact.

Strong job creation numbers will fuel bets on more big increases; weak ones may suggest the Fed is overdoing it.

Freefalling currencies are piling on the pressure for more rate hikes down under.

Market bets lean towards a half-point hike in Australia on Tuesday.

Another half-point hike is also fully expected in New Zealand.

Leftist Lula da Silva appears on track to oust Brazil’s right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro in Sunday’s election.

Markets seem unfazed by the prospect, with investors confident Latin America’s largest economy can remain a relative safe haven in the region.

And traders will watch for signs of relief for markets battered by inflation, an energy crunch, tumbling currencies and war in Ukraine.

Geopolitical risks remains high on the agenda though.

October sees China’s Communist Party congress get under way, while Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory takes the war there into a new and perilous phase.