BUSINESS DAY  | THE WEEK AHEAD 

Apple Watch Demonstration, Questions for HSBC and Greece’s Bailout

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Here are some of the top business stories to pay attention to in the coming week.
• Apple Watch Promotion
Looking ahead to the release of the highly anticipated Apple Watch, Apple executives will hold a media event on Monday to remind consumers about the best features of the product and share more details about it. At the event, in San Francisco, members of the news media are expected to be able to try the new smartwatch for the first time. The watch is expected to arrive in stores in April. —Brian X. Chen
• Bond Buying in Europe
The European Central Bank begins buying government bonds on Monday, beginning its quantitative easing program — in effect printing money to stimulate the eurozone economy and avert the threat of deflation. The central bank intervention in bond markets is expected to prompt investors to sell government bonds and buy riskier assets. Analysts will be watching closely to see if the central bank has trouble finding enough assets for sale. —Jack Ewing
• Questions for HSBC Chief
On Monday, Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of HSBC, will face another round of questioning about the activities of its Swiss private bank. Documents leaked to the news media a few weeks ago revealed bankers from HSBC Suisse helping prominent clients evade taxes from 2007 and earlier. Mr. Gulliver appeared before the British treasury select committee a few weeks ago for more than two hours, apologizing for the bank’s past misdeeds and arguing that it was a changed place, including a significantly smaller private bank. Neither he nor Douglas Flint, HSBC’s chairman, would take personal responsibility for the misconduct, so expect members of Parliament — this time from the Public Accounts Committee — to try to extract such statements. —Jenny Anderson
• Greece to Detail Reforms
Another standoff loomed between Greece and its European lenders before a meeting in Brussels on Monday afternoon of eurozone finance ministers. Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, was expected to outline a series of reforms aimed at unblocking sorely needed aid money to his 18 counterparts at the regular monthly gathering of the Eurogroup. But Mr. Varoufakis was already coming under renewed pressure from countries like Germany and Finland to do more to push through far-reaching reforms, such as creating an efficient system of tax collection. The Greek reforms must also be evaluated by Greece’s bailout monitors — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — making any decision on Monday to release funds for Athens highly unlikely. —James Kanter
• China to Unveil Data
China is to release a raft of economic data this week that is expected to show growth slowing further. Monthly inflation figures, expected on Tuesday, are likely to improve slightly from January’s five-year low, thanks to seasonal spending related to February’s weeklong Lunar New Year holiday. On Wednesday, China reports combined January-February figures for industrial production, retail sales and investment in fixed assets, all of which are forecast to reflect the economic slowdown. Also expected this week are February figures on money supply and new loans, with the date of release yet to be determined. —Neil Gough
• Bank Test Results
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will announce the results of the second and final stage of its stress tests for 2015. The tests are administered each year to assess whether the nation’s largest banks have the financial strength to withstand severe shocks. The first set of results, released on Thursday, showed that all banks were on a sufficiently strong financial footing after the tests, though some performed better than others. On Wednesday, the banks will find out whether the Fed, after surveying the test results, will approve their plans to pay out money to shareholders. Failure to obtain that approval can disappoint investors and dent the credibility of a bank’s senior management. —Peter Eavis
• Draghi to Speak
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, will be the keynote speaker at the annual “E.C.B. and Its Watchers” conference in Frankfurt on Wednesday. The event brings together central bankers and top economists who follow monetary policy. The debate this year is likely to focus on whether the European Central Bank’s latest monetary policy measures will revive eurozone growth. —Jack Ewing
• Retail Sales
The Commerce Department will report data Thursday morning on retail sales in February. Wall Street is expecting a 0.4 percent increase in retail sales for last month, following a 0.8 percent drop in January that was largely due to lower gasoline prices, which reduced the total sums spent by consumers. Gas prices rebounded in February, which didn’t help shoppers, but the increased total sales at gas stations might lift the headline number. One weak spot may be automobile sales, which were probably held back by wintry weather in many parts of the country last month. Energy prices remain much lower compared with a year ago, and economists will be watching to see how that savings is spent, or whether it is saved or used to pay down debt. —Nelson Schwartz