THE WEEK AHEAD
COMPANY NEWS
● Tomorrow, BG and BP announce third-quarter results. The tide might just be turning for BP – its run of bad news is dissipating somewhat on the news of new North Sea investments. Royal Dutch Shell announces on Thursday.
● Reckitt Benckiser announces tomorrow. The world’s largest producer of household products, which is headquartered in Slough, will be hoping results show it is still cleaning up.
● On Wednesday, Arm Holdings announces third-quarter results. The successful Cambridge based semiconductor company has good reason to be chipper. Autonomy also announces on Thursday. Both are a product of the Cambridge Fen cluster phenomenon.
● GlaxoSmithKline announces on Wednesday, AstraZeneca on Thursday and Shire on Friday. All three pharmaceutical companies will be hoping results point to healthy profits.
ECONOMIC NEWS
● Traders’ eyes will be on the central banks of the Pacific Rim. Tomorrow, the Bank of Canada will deliver its decision on interest rates. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will do the same on Wednesday and the Bank of Japan on Thursday.
● On Thursday, US third quarter GDP statistics will be released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Hold onto your hats.
POLITICAL NEWS
● Today, parliament will vote on whether to hold a referendum on UK membership of the EU. The leaderships of all three political parties are against a renegotiation and are prepared to quash rebellions with a three-line whip if needed. One reason some MPs want out is because they don’t want to be tied to Europe’s economic crisis. On Wednesday, prime ministers and presidents will have to produce a convincing solution, if Europe’s assets aren’t to be ravaged by the markets.