Economics
GDP The final estimate of GDP growth in the second quarter will be
published on Wednesday. Analysts expect no change from the previous reading
of 0.8 per cent growth and a rise of 3 per cent year on year. Data on the
current account balance will be published at the same time.
Public finances data for August will be published today by the Office
for National Statistics. The public sector net cash requirement is expected
to be £3.5 billion, from a £13.1 billion repayment in July.
House prices Nationwide will publish its monthly estimate of house
price inflation for September on Thursday. Prices are expected to be
unchanged after a 0.6 per cent increase in August.
Consumer confidence as measured by GfK is expected to worsen slightly
in figures for September which are due out on Friday.
German business confidence Germany’s Ifo institute will publish its
assessment of business confidence during September tomorrow. The main
business climate gauge is expected to be 105.1, from 105.8 in August.
European economy Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central
Bank, is due to give a speech on Wednesday which will address current
conditions in the economy.
Eurozone inflation The flash estimate of consumer price index inflation
in the eurozone for September is expected to be 2.1 per cent, up from the
1.7 per cent reported in August, in figures due out on Friday.
US GDP The final estimate of US GDP growth in the second quarter, due
out on Thursday, is expected to show that the economy expanded at an
annualised pace of 3.9 per cent, from the 4 per cent previously estimated.
US house prices The US Case-Shiller housing index will be published
tomorrow and is expected to show a 4 per cent decline in house prices in
July, compared with last year, down from a 3.5 per cent drop in the year to
June.
US housebuilding Sales of new homes in the United States in August are
tipped to be 830,000 in data due out on Thursday, down from 870,000 in July,
a further sign of the slowdown in America’s housing market.
US inflation The US core personal consumption expenditure deflator, a
measure of inflation, is expected to soften to 1.8 per cent in the year to
August in figures due out on Friday, from 1.9 per cent in the year to July.
Japanese inflation on the consumer price index is expected to come in
at minus 0.2 per cent in August data due out on Thursday, compared with zero
inflation in July, suggesting that the world’s second-largest economy has
returned to deflation.
Banking
& finance
Permira, the private equity group, has begun to prepare its first
annual review ahead of demands by Sir David Walker, the former banker, for
the industry to open up and become more transparent.
Northern Rock Disgruntled shareholders in Northern Rock, the troubled
mortgage lender, looking to pin the blame on senior management will receive
a boost next month with the introduction of new laws making it far easier to
sue individual company directors.
Barclaycard Half a million Barclaycard customers have seen their credit
limits reduced in a continuing review by Barclays of its customers’ spending
behaviour. The bank is rejecting half of all applications for cards and
monitoring card-users closely for signs of trouble.
Construction
& property
Savills, the property agency, said that the prices of
multimillion-pound homes in Central London are likely to fall during the
coming months as weaker financial markets and fears over patchy City bonuses
and job security take their toll. The agency added that it is braced for
prices to fall by up to 5 per cent between the end of this month and the new
year.
Land Securities, which has seen its shares fall by 30 per cent since it
became a real estate investment trust in January, is facing pressure from
Laxey Partners, the activist investor, to sell its £1 billion Trillium
outsourcing business.
Knight Frank, the estate agent and property service group is planning
to launch a $350 million (£173.8 million) commercial property fund for
Central and East Africa, the first of its kind to buy into offices and shops
on that continent.
Consumer
goods
James Halstead, the floorcoverings maker, is expected to report
first-half pre-tax profits of £23 million today, an improvement on the £17.7
million profits reported last time.
Engineering
Manganese Bronze Holdings, the Coventry-based company which
makes the distinctive London black taxis, should update the market on the
progress of its Chinese joint venture with Geely Automobile Holdings when it
reports its full-year figures on Wednesday. Analysts expect the company to
report pre-tax profits of £4 million.
Airbus, the European plane maker, is hoping to take advantage of the
special relationship between Britain and the US as it seeks to win a $100
billion (£49.6 billion) order to supply refuelling tankers to the US Air
Force. The defence order could be worth more than $6 billion in export
earnings to the UK if Airbus and its partners win.
Angel Trains Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed that it was considering
options for Angel Trains in a move that is seen as a precursor to a £4
billion sale of the train leasing business.
Health
Sareum Holdings, the AIM- listed drugs discovery group, is expected to
report a first-half profit of £190,000 tomorrow, compared with a first-half
loss of £624,000 last year.
Industrials
Polyfuel, the Californian fuel cell developer, will release its interim
results tomorrow. Earlier this year it agreed a deal to supply Johnson
Matthey, the industrial chemicalss group, with membranes for fuel cells that
power portable devices.
Leisure
Gaming VC, the internet gambling operator, will report its interim
results tomorrow. The group, which focuses on German-speaking countries,
recorded a full-year operating loss of €28.9 million (£20.2 million) for
2006.
Clapham House Group, the AIM-listed restaurant operator, has signed a
franchise deal to develop its fast-growing Gourmet Burger Kitchen brand in
Turkey.
Media
Trinity MIrror, the newspaper publisher, is expected to announce the
sale of the Racing Post this week, but has cancelled the sell-off of its
Birmingham titles. (The Sunday Times)
Natural
resources
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company The United Arab Emirates will cut
oil output by about 600,000 barrels per day during November because of
maintenance work at three oilfields, the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company said. It did not specify how long the work will last but said that
it had taken measures to meet its commitments for oil provision.
Retailing
Waitrose, the supermarket chain, is understood to be finalising an
ambitious programme that could result in it investing about £800 million in
store openings. (The Sunday Times)
J Sainsbury Delta Two, the Qatari-backed consortium which is bidding
for J Sainsbury, the supermarket group, could be forced to inject at least
£1 billion into its pension scheme to appease trustees. (The Sunday Times)
Marks & Spencer, the high street retailer, saw its shares drop to
their lowest level for 15 months last week amid cncerns that the credit
crunch in global markets may wreak havoc with cnsumer confidence. (The Mail
on Sunday)
Virgin Megastore The new owners of struggling Virgin Megastore have
convinced some landlords to let them pay rent monthly as they move to
rebrand the music store chain. (The Mail on Sunday)
Support
services
Remploy Labour faces an embarrassing showdown with thousands of
disabled workers at its party conference this week over plans to close
dozens of government-owned Remploy factories, which are dedicated to workers
with disabilities. Workers are expected to deliver a strike vote on
Wednesday over the plans to close 42 factories.
Compass Group’s Eurest division is part of a consortium that has
paid about £240 million to acquire 80 per cent of Saudi Arabian Airlines’
catering division.
Erinaceous, the troubled property services group, is in emergency talks
with lenders after coming close to breaching its banking covenants.
Investors in the AIM-listed company, whose share price has fallen by 72 per
cent in four months, are prepared for a poor set of results this week. (The
Sunday Times)
Technology
SCi Entertainment, the computer games company, has received two other
bid approaches since disclosing that there had been a “possible offer” for
it at the beginning of the month. The additional interest raises the
possibility of a bid battle for Britain’s only significant quoted computer
games company.
Telecoms
Blyk, the first mobile phone service to offer users “free” calls in
return for them being sent advertisements on their handsets, will be
launched in Britain today. Blyk plans to expand across Europe in the new
year.
Transport
Royal Mail plans to close its final-salary pension scheme to all
employees in a move that could plunge the business further into industrial
turmoil. The decision is expected to trigger strikes by thousands of postal
managers, in addition to unrest among its 130,000 employees who are in
dispute over pay and working arrangements.
China Eastern Airlines The Hong Kong-based airline Cathay
Pacific and its ally Air China are expected to make a combined offer for a
major stake in China Eastern Airlines. The Cathay bid will be made as an
aggressive blocking gambit against a similar £500 million stake-building
exercise launched earlier this month by Singapore Airlines, Cathay’s
arch-rival in the region.
Utilities
Pelamis Wave Power, the Edinburgh-based producer of marine power
equipment, will play the leading role in the start-up of the world’s first
commercial wave farm this week, which is situated off Póvoa de Varzim,
northern Portugal.
Share tips
The Sunday Telegraph: buy Lloyds TSB (banking & finance), Aviva (banking &
finance)
The Mail on Sunday: buy Homeserve (support services), Corin (health)
