LONDON REPORT
ALL eyes will be focused on the Treasury Select Committee hearing today, as deputy Bank of England governor Paul Tucker presents his side of the story in the Barclays/ Libor scandal.
His appearance will be followed tomorrow by one from Marcus Agius, the former Barclays chairman.
Today sees trading updates from housebuilder Bovis – expected to be positive – and recruitment group Michael Page.
Companies updating the market tomorrow include ASOS and Interserve, while Big Yellow Group, Intermediate Capital Group, Young & Co’s Brewery, Blackberry maker RIM and retail giant Marks and Spencer are all holding annual general meetings.
Hundreds of Marks and Spencer’s shareholders are likely to turn up for the ubiquitous free sandwich. But they are likely to also come away with bad news from chief executive Marc Bolland, with analysts predicting a fall in trading of general merchandise, including clothing.
In economic news, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to announce a marginal increase or decrease in May’s industrial production and manufacturing output as the market remains stagnant.
Wednesday will see trading updates from Barratt Developments, Bloomsbury Publishing, JD Wetherspoon and luxury retailer Burberry.
Meanwhile BT Group, FlyBe, ICAP, UK Mail Group and supermarket J Sainsbury will hold their annual meetings.
On Thursday, retailer SuperGroup is set to give full-year results, with investors keen to see if it can maintain the massive growth it had as a private company. Since floating, it has been plagued by problems including “arithmetical errors” in its profit and loss forecasts which resulted in a profit warning.
Trading updates are due from Associated British Foods, Centaur Media and Premier Oil.
Meanwhile, in economic news the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to publish its report on fiscal sustainability. The report is expected to contain the OBR’s long-term view of the UK’s public finances, including tax and spending pressures.
On Friday both Dell and British Land are due to hold their AGMS.