Irish retail sales and euro-zone inflation due

Monday

Indicators: UK industrial trends orders (Sep); German current conditions, expectations and business climate (Sep).

Tuesday

Results: Close Brothers Group, Nike.

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Indicators: US house price index (Jul), consumer confidence (Sep).

Meetings: Banking & Payments Federation Ireland conference on SME innovation (Royal College of Physicians, Kildare Street, Dublin 2).

Wednesday

Results: Origin Enterprises.

Indicators: UK finance mortgage approvals (Aug); US home sales (Aug).

Meetings: US Fed interest rate decision; ECB non-monetary policy meeting; Dublin BIC's Funding & Scaling Series (Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2); Small Firms Association Business Employment Law conference (Rochestown Park Hotel, Douglas, Co Cork).

Thursday

Results: Accenture.

Indicators: Irish overseas travel (Aug); Euro-zone money supply and loan growth (Aug); industrial, services and economic sentiment (Sep), consumer and business confidence (Sep), consumer inflation expectations (Sep); UK house prices (Sep); German consumer confidence (Oct), inflation (Sep); US GDP growth rate (Q2), corporate profits (Q2), goods and trade balance (Aug).

Meetings: Ormonde Mining agm (Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15); Zamano agm (Conrad Hotel, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2); CIMA business breakfast "Women in the Board Room" (CIMA Ireland office, Harcourt Road, Dublin 2); Irish Management Institute annual conference (IMI Conference Centre, Sandyford Road, Dublin); People Summit on HR (Guinness Storehouse, St James's Gate, Dublin); ECB general council meeting.

Gender imbalance

In spite of significant, legislatively driven inroads on the boards of State companies, Irish women are very much in the minority at the higher levels of corporate life.

Today, they constitute just over 18 per cent of boards in leading Irish companies in a modern world that is increasingly looking to rebalance gender inequalities. The EU average is 26.2 per cent for large publicly-listed firms.

On Thursday, Brid Horan will address the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants on the progress of the Better Balance for Better Business review group, of which she is co-chair, established to examine gender imbalance in governance and senior management.

More than one-third of all companies listed on Euronext Dublin (the Irish Stock Exchange) have no woman on their board, organisers of the event say.

The Better Balance for Better Business review group will focus on those companies listed on Euronext Dublin as well as a number of other leading companies and will report back with recommended actions for Government and business in March 2019.

Friday

Indicators: Irish retail sales (Aug); Euro-zone inflation (Sep); UK consumer confidence (Sep), business investment (Q2), GDP growth rate (Q2); German wholesale prices (Aug), unemployment (Sep); US personal income and spending (Aug).

Meetings: Irish Franchise Awards Final (Clontarf Castle, Dublin 3).