THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT
COMPANY NEWS
● Today, energy company Centrica delivers a trading statement and holds its AGM.
● Also today, HSBC delivers its first quarter trading update. The update includes more financial details than previous quarterly updates. Pre-tax profits are expected to rise.
● Serco also holds its AGM today. The FTSE 100 company was founded in 1929 as a division of the Radio Corporation of America, providing services to the cinema industry.
● On Tuesday, Aegis, Informa, National Express and United Business Media hold their AGMs.
● On Tuesday, Barratt Developments will release its trading update. Margaret Thatcher famously bought a Barratt home.
● On Wednesday, fellow FTSE 250 housebuilding company Bovis Homes, will release a trading update and hold its AGM.
● ITV also holds its AGM on Wednesday. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch turned off investors after it voiced concerns about a downturn in advertising.
● On Thursday, ARM Holdings, Balfour Beatty, BG, Cookson, Inchcape, Ladbrokes, Old Mutual, St James’s Place, Trinity Mirror, Tullow Oil and William Hill hold their AGMs.
● Also on Thursday, Dixons Retail will release its trading update. DataExplorers say it is the most shorted stock on the market.
● On Friday, Kazakhmys, Petrofac and Phoenix Group Holdings host their AGMs.
ECONOMICS NEWS
● On Tuesday, the ONS releases the Economic and Labour Market Review (ELMR), which draws together research and analysis to build a statistical picture of the UK economy and labour market.
● Also on Tuesday, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) releases its survey for April. It is calculated by taking the percentage difference between those who said house prices were up and those who said down.
● On Wednesday, the Bank of England will deliver its inflation report. Inflation has been persistently over target for a long time without the MPC taking action.
● Also on Wednesday, the ONS will release UK Overseas Trade Statistics for March, a detailed dataset covering the UK’s trade in goods.
POLITICAL NEWS
● Today and tomorrow, the US will attempt to push China to broaden financial reforms and open up its capital market to foreign firms in the third Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Also on Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans will try again to hammer out a deal on lowering debt.
● On Wednesday, elected Police Commissioners will be discussed as part of the Policing and Social Responsibility Bill. On the same day, staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission plan to strike over the cuts. One wonders how the public will know the difference.
● Next Thursday, EU interior ministers will discuss EU governments across the passport-free Schengen zone imposing border controls in times of extraordinary flows of immigrants.