Following all the hints and pointers by the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Mr Alan Greenspan, on the prospects for lower interest rates in his testimony to Congress in the last two weeks, the Fed's Open Market Committee (FOMC) now has to decide whether to act in bringing rates down when it meets tomorrow.
Sentiment has changed dramatically in recent days to a point where markets are now factoring in a minimum fall of 25 basis points, with some analysts expecting a 50-point cut.
What the FOMC does remains to be seen but any move, or indeed a decision to leave rates alone until next month, is likely to be the key determinant in how markets perform during the week.
Monday
Results: Allied London Props, Bisichi Mining (H1), Capital & Regional Props (H1), Close Brothers, Core Group (H1), London Assoc Properties (H1), Magnum Power (H1), Manchester United, Premium Trust, Proudfoot (H1), Ricardo Group (H1), Seafield (H1), United Energy (H1), World Telecom (H1).
A.G.M.: Delancey Estates (e.g.m.), GT Japan, NRP, Railtrack (e.g.m.).
Meetings: European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies Congress on theme of "Success in Portfolio Management" (Brussels to Wed); Montgomery Oppenheim investment conference (Dublin Castle); Merrill Lynch equity strategy conference (Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin).
Indicators: British world trade in goods (Jul); Japanese retail sales (Aug).
Others: Report "Towards a Vision for North Dublin" published at DCU.
Tuesday
Results: AG Barr (H1), Brent International (H1), Cobham (H1), Coca-Cola Beverages (H1), Hepworth (H1), Intermediate Capital Group (H1), Lamont Holdings (H1), S Lyles, Minerva, Northern Leisure, Ottakar's (H1), QS Group (H1), United Assurance Group (H1).
A.G.M.: Christie Group, Esat Telecom, Jupiter Primadona Gwth, Pic Group, Ryanair, Stoves Group.
Meetings: US Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee meets.
Indicators: British consumer credit (Aug) and M4 data (Aug); US consumer confidence (Sep); Japanese industrial production (Aug).
Others: Final date for First Active free shares claim and additional shares; Publication of The Irish Times/Business 2000 2nd Edition by Minister for Education, Mr Martin (Dublin Castle).
Wednesday
Results: Ball AH, Bank of Scotland (H1), Brands Hatch (H1), Brooks Service Group (H1), House of Fraser (H1), Inch Kenneth Kajang Rubber (H1), Lambert Smith Hampton (H1), Selfridges (H1).
A.G.M.: Fairfield Enterprise (e.g.m.), Govett Oriental (e.g.m.), Plantation & General (e.g.m.), Scottish National Trust (e.g.m.), Xavier Computing, Xenova (e.g.m.).
Meetings: Financial Services Industry Association annual meeting and dinner (Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin); Business management forum seminar on Capturing the Benefits of Combined Heat and Power in Ireland (Great Southern Hotel, Dublin Airport)
Indicators: US leading indicators (Aug), new home sales (Aug) and Chicago purchasing managers' index (Sep).
Others: Kildare County Enterprise Board presentation on Women in Business "Breaking the Boundaries" (Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge).
Thursday
Results: Alpha Airports (H1), Andrews Sykes (H1), Laura Ashley Holdings (H1), Black Arrow (H1), Brunel Holdings, Martin International (H1), Renishaw.
A.G.M.: Black Arrow Group, Hercules Property (also e.g.m.), IAF Group, Lex Service (e.g.m.), Media Business Group, Mulberry Group, Peterhead, WF Electrical.
Meetings: Bundesbank Council meets; Dublin Chamber of Commerce conference on "The Business of Policing - Businesses and the Crime Problem" (Davenport Hotel, Dublin).
Indicators: Irish credit figures (Aug); US national association of purchasing managers (Sep).
Others: HSBC Global Investment Survey: "Is West Still Best" published in London.
Friday
A.G.M.: Abbey, Game, Hillsdown Holdings (e.g.m.), Hydro-Dynamic Products, Sodra Petroleum (e.g.m.), Stavert Zigomala.
Meetings: IBEC conference on "Toward a Liberalised Telecommunications Environment" (Burlington Hotel, Dublin); Foundation for Fiscal Studies annual conference discusses the fiscal treatment of housing (Jurys Hotel, Dublin); Forum on Consumer Policy and the Amsterdam Treaty (Dublin Writers' Museum to Sat).
Indicators: Irish Exchequer borrowing (Sep), industrial production (Jun) and Live Register statement (Sep); US employment (Sep); Japanese employment (Aug).
Others: First Active institutional offer closes.
