MMB | Financial Market Events

FEB08

UK Results FY: Amino Technologies, ST Modwen Properties; 6M: Fiske, Kofax
Selected US Q2: Harman International Industries; Q3: Electronic Arts; Q4: CVS Caremark Corp, Hartford Financial Services, Hasbro, Lincoln National, Loews Corp, Lorillard, NASDAQ OMX Group, Principal Financial Group, Vulcan Materials
Economic Indicators No major announcements scheduled

FEB09

UK Results FY: 888 Holdings, Alphameric, Beazley, Wolfson Microelectronics
Selected US Q1: BJ Services Co, Walt Disney; Q2: CareFusion; Q4: Biogen Idec, Cameron, Coca-Cola Co, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Coventry Health Care, EOG Resources, International Flavors & Fragrances, Molson Coors Brewing Co, NYSE Euronext, Pulte Homes, XL Capital Ltd
Economic Indicators UK:  February BRC retail sales monitor (0001 GMT), December trade balance/non-EU trade balance (0930 GMT); US: December wholesale inventories (1500 GMT); Germany: December current account (0700 GMT), December trade balance (0700 GMT), January final CPI (0700 GMT), December import/export prices (0700 GMT); Japan: January machine tool orders (0600 GMT), January CGPI (2350 GMT)

FEB10

UK Results FY: CSR, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Telecity Group; 6M: BHP Billiton, Hargreaves Lansdown, Morse, Pan African Resources
Selected US Q3: Computer Sciences Corp; Q4: Allstate Corp, Boston Scientific Corp; Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dean Foods, DENTSPLY International, IntercontinentalExchange, Marsh & McLennan Cos, Masco, New York Times Co, Omnicom Group, Prudential Financial, Scripps Networks Interactive, Sigma-Aldrich Corp, Sprint Nextel Corp, Torchmark, Wyndham Worldwide
Economic Indicators UK: December manufacturing/industrial production (0930 GMT), January NIESR GDP estimate (0930 GMT); US: January Treasury budget (1900 GMT); France:  December manufacturing/industrial production (0745 GMT); Italy: December industrial production (0900 GMT)

FEB11

UK Results FY: Rio Tinto, Rolls-Royce Group, Smith & Nephew; 6M: Diageo, Halma, Thomas Cook Group
Selected US Q1:Agilent Technologies; Q4: AutoNation, Cephalon, DaVita, Ecolab, Expedia, FLIR Systems, Laboratory Corporation of America, Marriott International, McAfee, PepsiCo, Philip Morris International, Progress Energy, ProLogis, Republic Services, SCANA Corp, Teradata, VF Corp, Viacom
Economic Indicators US:  W/e 06/02 initial jobless claims (1330 GMT), January retail sales (1330 GMT), December business inventories (1500 GMT); Spain: Q4 preliminary GDP (0800 GMT) 

FEB12

UK Results FY: Petropavlovsk
Selected US Q4: Duke Energy Corp, HCP
Economic Indicators US:  February preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey (1455 GMT); EU: December industrial production (1000 GMT), Q4 final annualised GDP (1000 GMT); France: Q4 preliminary GDP (0745 GMT), Q4 preliminary non-farm unemployment (0745 GMT); Germany: Q4 preliminary GDP (0700 GMT); Italy: Q4 preliminary GDP (0900 GMT); Japan: January consumer confidence (0500 GMT); Spain:  January CPI (0800 GMT) 

Highlights of the past week

Last week proved something of a false dawn for the FTSE 100, with the promise of a rebound dashed by a drop in the second half of the week to levels not seen since early November 2009. Both the FTSE and Dow plummeted more than 2% on Thursday, in the wake of higher-than-expected US weekly jobless claims and concerns about the state of European debts. Poor performance from the energy sector throughout the week didn’t help matters, with Exxon Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group all seeing profits hurt by falling energy prices.

The week was bookended by reports from Ryanair and BA, whose respective yearly and quarterly losses each shrank more than expected. After the UK’s recent crawl clear of recession, Monday's manufacturing PMI revealed more positive indicators of an economy on the rise. Factory activity for January grew at its fastest rate for 15 years, while car sales for the month were also up (+29.8% year-on-year) for the month. House prices rose too – Thursday's Halifax figures showed a 0.6% monthly increase on December's level. The Bank of England decided on Thursday to discontinue its quantitative easing programme, but held interest rates at 0.5% against fears of a double-dip recession.

Vodafone was upbeat on Thursday, with the world's biggest mobile phone company showing a 10% revenue increase in Q4 2009 from the previous quarter. GlaxoSmithKline also saw a rise in profit, but future restructuring plans and an emphasis on the need to cut costs raised fears of job losses. Across the Atlantic, US drugs giant Pfizer's midweek quarterly report missed estimates, dragging the Dow lower. On Tuesday, meanwhile, Swiss pharmaceutical Roche revealed similarly poor results for the year, with a 22% drop in profit despite positive sales of swine flu shot Tamiflu.

The Week Ahead

It’s an important week at home, with industrial and manufacturing data midweek preceded by Tuesday’s trade balance. Look out also for the NIESR’s GDP estimate on Wednesday, and the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report the following day. In the US, all eyes will be trained on the Fed’s Treasury budget report and trade balance data on Wednesday, and January’s initial retail figures.

The week sees yet another busy roster of firms reporting. Look out for half-year figures from mining giant BHP Billiton on Wednesday, while fellow blue-chip miner Rio Tinto, along with Rolls-Royce, announce annual results on Thursday. Over the Atlantic, soft drink heavyweights Coca-Cola and PepsiCo announce quarterlies, along with Walt Disney on Tuesday and McAfee on Wednesday, respectively.