THE WEEK AHEAD
COMPANY NEWS
● Mitie Group announces its half-year results today. The facilities management company offers a range of building and support services, from industrial painting and engineering, to catering and cleaning.
● Mitchells & Butlers announces its final results and De La Rue announces its interim results tomorrow. M&B runs about 2,000 pubs and restaurants in the UK, and De La Rue is in the less appetising business of printing, cash handling systems and security products.
● Halma also announces its interim results tomorrow. Halma is a health and safety technology group that develops gizmos and gadgets to improve personal and public health, the environment and, a somewhat important resource, water.
● More companies set to announce tomorrow include Homeserve, and Intermediate Capital Group.
ECONOMIC NEWS
● Tomorrow, the Office for National Statistics will make its monthly public finance release. The announcement will show just how much the economic slowdown has affected government borrowing. The data released today and the subsequent report will go some way to mapping out the direction of UK borrowing.
● On Wednesday, we will see the release of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee minutes. Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King, elected to hold rates earlier in the month. The minutes should show whether quantitative easing was discussed as a serious option at the meeting, and if so, who dissented on the issue.
● On Thursday, US markets will be closed for thanksgiving. They will re-open on Friday when traders will be hoping that they won’t follow up eating turkeys by buying them.
POLITICAL NEWS
● Today, President Obama will speak with the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, at an EU-US Summit. Both European representatives will be keen to ask Obama what it is like to face an electorate.
● The EU-Armenian Cooperation Council will take place this week in Brussels. Topics on the table will include the free trade zone and visa regime facilitation, as well as further developments to their bilateral relations in accordance with the Association Agreement.
● South Korea’s unification minister Yu Woo-ik travels to Beijing this week to discuss Soeul’s position on North Korea’s denuclearisation and the current state of inter-Korean affairs. Earlier this month the minister visited the United States to discuss the same issues.