The main event this coming week and one that will be closely watched by
international observers will be the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy
Committee two day meeting that runs from Wednesday to Thursday. Governor
Mervyn King and his committee members will discuss whether to extend the
£175 billion quantitative easing programme, Gordon Brown desires, or
whether the UK economy is now stable enough for the Bank to start
tightening its policy.
“If pressed, we believe that the Bank will vote to extend QE by a
further £25 billion and as an outside bet, possibly by even more,”
Charles Stanley analysts wrote in a recent note. Meanwhile, the
committee is widely expected to keep interest rates at their current low
of 0.5%.
Among other news, the Federal Reserve is expected on Wednesday to keep
US interest rates at 0.25% and the European Central Bank will likely opt
to maintain the region’s interest rate at 1.0%.
Key among the economic data releases scheduled for this week will be the
US’s monthly labour report, which is expected to show on Friday that
non-farm payrolls fell by 166,000 in October as employment levels
continue to suffer, though the drop will mark an improvement compared to
the previous month’s 263,000 fall. As such, the unemployment rate is
seen edging ever higher to 9.9%, while average hourly earnings are seen
rising a marginal 0.1% over the month.
AB Foods' full-year results are expected to have benefited from the
higher sugar prices, while discount clothing store Primark is likely to
have continued its strong performance in the UK.
Marks & Spencer’s interim are likely to be something of a non-event
after the high street retailer’s Investor Day and second quarter trading
update a month previously. As such, focus will be on the group’s
margins, outlook comments and pension fund details.
Man Group, which is currently the highest yielding large cap stock in
the UK, last month reported funds under management (FUM) of $43.8
billion, up from $43.3 billion a year before. At the end of September,
the company stated that pretax profit for the interim period is expected
to be $280 million with diluted earnings per share on total operations
of 12.5 cents.
Ahead of its third quarter numbers, Unilever has compiled consensus
estimates which point to underlying operating profit of EUR 1.7 billion
on sales of EUR 10.4 billion. Focus will also be on the consumer-facing
group’s integration plans for its recently-purchased Personal Care
operations from Sara Lee.
Bringing up the rear, British Airways is expected to report an interim
loss of around £192 million as reduced premium traffic, pressure on
passenger yields and foreign exchange movements offset the airline’s
improved punctuality and market share gains.
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What to expect from the week ahead
Holly Cook, 01/11/09 19:37
The Bank of England's next move on Quantitative Easing and the US monthly labour report will be the most keenly eyed events this week
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The main event this coming week and one that will be closely watched by international observers will be the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee two day meeting that runs from Wednesday to Thursday. Governor Mervyn King and his committee members will discuss whether to extend the £175 billion quantitative easing programme, Gordon Brown desires, or whether the UK economy is now stable enough for the Bank to start tightening its policy.
“If pressed, we believe that the Bank will vote to extend QE by a further £25 billion and as an outside bet, possibly by even more,” Charles Stanley analysts wrote in a recent note. Meanwhile, the committee is widely expected to keep interest rates at their current low of 0.5%.
Among other news, the Federal Reserve is expected on Wednesday to keep US interest rates at 0.25% and the European Central Bank will likely opt to maintain the region’s interest rate at 1.0%.
Key among the economic data releases scheduled for this week will be the US’s monthly labour report, which is expected to show on Friday that non-farm payrolls fell by 166,000 in October as employment levels continue to suffer, though the drop will mark an improvement compared to the previous month’s 263,000 fall. As such, the unemployment rate is seen edging ever higher to 9.9%, while average hourly earnings are seen rising a marginal 0.1% over the month.
On the corporate earnings front, earnings are due from Associated British Foods (Tuesday), Marks & Spencer Group (Wednesday), Man Group and Unilever (Thursday) and British Airways (Friday), among others.
AB Foods' full-year results are expected to have benefited from the higher sugar prices, while discount clothing store Primark is likely to have continued its strong performance in the UK.
Marks & Spencer’s interim are likely to be something of a non-event after the high street retailer’s Investor Day and second quarter trading update a month previously. As such, focus will be on the group’s margins, outlook comments and pension fund details.
Man Group, which is currently the highest yielding large cap stock in the UK, last month reported funds under management (FUM) of $43.8 billion, up from $43.3 billion a year before. At the end of September, the company stated that pretax profit for the interim period is expected to be $280 million with diluted earnings per share on total operations of 12.5 cents.
Ahead of its third quarter numbers, Unilever has compiled consensus estimates which point to underlying operating profit of EUR 1.7 billion on sales of EUR 10.4 billion. Focus will also be on the consumer-facing group’s integration plans for its recently-purchased Personal Care operations from Sara Lee.
Bringing up the rear, British Airways is expected to report an interim loss of around £192 million as reduced premium traffic, pressure on passenger yields and foreign exchange movements offset the airline’s improved punctuality and market share gains.
Wednesday’s ex-dividend stocks include Royal Dutch Shell, GlaxoSmithKline, Ashmore Group, Provident Financial, BlueBay Asset Manegement and Go-Ahead Group.
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Prices displayed on Hemscott.com are delayed by at least 15 minutes unless otherwise stated.