Soft landing narratives have remained in vogue in financial markets in recent weeks, partly due to weaker-than-expected US inflation data. In contrast, this week’s stronger-than-expected UK service sector CPI inflation data unsettled investors and probably played a role in the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. In our charts this week we home in on:

·       US inflation surprises

·       Wage growth in the US and Europe

·       European political uncertainty

·       China’s property market

·       Japan’s trade

·       Global equity sector returns