HOWZAT

US new housing starts: Figures out on Wednesday are tipped to show that 783,000 properties were started in October, against 817,000 in September. The number of building permits granted is forecast to have dropped to 775,000, from 805,000.

Banking & finance

Lloyds TSB: Shareholders in the banking group will have a chance on Wednesday to vote on its tie-up with HBOS, its troubled rival, as well as a £5.5 billion share sale backed by the Government.

Royal Bank of Scotland: A vote will be taken at the bank’ s extraordinary meeting on Thursday on whether its capital-raising plans should go ahead.

HSBC: The bank is reviewing the future of its HFC consumer finance business in America after losing $40 billion (£26.8 billion) on US mortgage and credit card write-downs since 2006.

Icap: Michael Spencer, chief executive of Icap, will tomorrow try to reassure shareholders that interdealer bond brokers such as his are not running out of steam. A series of negative analyst notes have sent share prices in the sector into freefall.

Construction & property

Candy & Candy: The luxury property developer has defied the property market gloom, reporting full-year pretax profits of £7.8 million, up from £2.6 million last time. Turnover rose by 115 per cent to about £20.6 million.

Taylor Wimpey: The race is on to secure the future of Taylor Wimpey, Britain’s biggest housebuilder, after a gloomy trading statement caused its share price to plummet by a third at the end of last week, wiping £60 million off its value. The group must renegotiate debt terms by the new year to avoid breaching its banking covenants.

British Land: The commercial property group is to report its half-year figures this week, when it is expected to say that the net value of its assets has declined by as much as a quarter in only six months.

Consumer goods

United Biscuits: The maker of the McVitie’s biscuits brand has made a secret £250 million offer to prise Mr Kipling from the arms of Premier Foods, its embattled rival. United Biscuits, one of Britain’s largest food companies, approached Premier recently to gauge its appetite for a deal.

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