Interim figures from the Republic's second-largest bank on Thursday should do little to dent the feeling that banks are riding high on a wave of consumer borrowing, encouraged by artificially low interest rates, despite the fear of inflation. Analysts are pencilling in figures anywhere between £290 million and £325 million for half-year pre-tax profits, leaving aside exceptional profits from the sale of its US stake in Citizens. That would reflect earnings per share of anywhere from 38.5p to 42.5p. A solid performance is expected from the bancassurance side of the business but there will be much interest in any statement about ongoing trading in the light of the recent swingeing cuts in interest rates.
Interest rates: Following last Friday's dramatic cut of 1.25 percentage points in the key Irish lending rate, attention will now switch to how this impacts on retail lending and, more importantly savings rates at the banks and building societies. With the squeeze on margins growing all the time, banks are finding it hard to pass on the benefit of this, the second 1.25 per cent cut in two months, to customers. Irish Permanent led the way with a second 0.75 per cent cut in lending on Friday. In a competitive market, rivals will have little alternative but to follow.
Monday
Results: British Airways (H1), DCC Hill Hire (H1), Dragons Health Clubs, Nff (H1), Robert Wiseman Dairies (H1).
Meetings: EU foreign ministers meet (Brussels); EU internal market ministers meet (Brussels); Group of 10 central bankers holds regular monthly meeting at Bank for International Settlements (Basle)
Indicators: Irish industrial stocks (Q2) and total external trade (Jul); British producer prices (Oct); German industrial production (Sep).
Tuesday
Results: BASF (Q3), Business Post Group (H1), Cable & Wireless (H1), Chamberlain and Hill (H1), Dairy Crest (Q3), Esat Telecom (Q3), Sedgwick (Q3).
A.G.M.: Brierley Invs, A&J Mucklow.
Indicators: British CBI regional trends survey (Nov), retail sales (Oct); US productivity (Q3) unit labour costs (Q3) and wholesale trade (Sep); Japanese machinery orders (Sep); French consumer prices (Oct).
Others: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development issues its annual report on foreign direct investment (Geneva).
Wednesday
Results: Associated British Foods, British Energy (H1), BTG (H1), Burtonwood Brewery (H1), Business Post Group (H1), Cadcentre Group (H1), CGU (Q3), Electrocomponents (H1), Express Dairies (H1), Fenner (H1), GWR Group (H1), Helicon Publishing Group (H1), Partners Holdings (H1), Shire Phamaceuticals (Q4), Silk Industries (H1), Volex Group (H1), WH Smith.
A.G.M.: Beazer Group, Bula Resources (e.g.m.), Domestic & General, European Leisure, Wm Sinclair, Towry Law.
Meetings: Marketing Institute/`The Irish Times' marketing breakfast on "Staying in Front with Business Intelligence" (Dome Restaurant, St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Dublin); Ms Anne Maher, chief executive of The Pensions Board addresses the Securities Institute of Ireland on "The Changing Face of Irish Pensions" (Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin).
Indicators: Bank of England quarterly inflation report (Q3) and change in claimant count (Oct).
Others: Coca-Cola National Enterprise Award (Conrad Hotel, Dublin); Excellence Ireland gala dinner and showcase of Irish quality (Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin).
Thursday
Results: Bandt (H1), Bank of Ireland (H1), BT (H1), Cantab Pharmaceuticals (Q3) Capital Radio, ED&F Mann Group (H1), Ladbroke (Q3), Man Group (H1), Oxford Instruments (H1), Powergen (H1), Telewest (Q3), Torotrak (H1), Warner Howard (H1), Veba (Q3), Young & Co (H1).
A.G.M.: Hays, S Lyles, Tor Investment Group.
Meetings: IBEC's annual employee relations conference (Burlington Hotel, Dublin); IAPF conference on pension fund investment and the euro (University Industry Centre, UCD Belfield); IBEC conference on EU funding and public/private partnerships (Slieve Russell Hotel, Cavan to Fri); First European Forum for Innovative Companies (Vienna - to Fri).
Indicators: US Chicago Federal Index (Sep).
Others: World Bank presents report on Eastern Asia.
Friday
Results: Aegon (Q3), British Biotech (H1).
Meetings: Taoiseach Mr Ahern addresses European movement conference on "Agenda 2000 Choices and Challenges for Ireland in the new Millennium" (Dublin).
