THIS WEEK sees the release of the new Finance Bill for 2009, but commentators do not expect much improvement on the budgetary front.
On Thursday the European Central Bank meets amid speculation that interest rates will be cut by a further quarter point to a new low of 1.0 per cent.
MONDAY
Market holiday in Ireland and UK.
Results: Qiagen; Estée Lauder.
Meetings: BAE Systems and National Express agms; Eurogroup finance ministers' meeting (Brussels); ECB governing council member Axel Weber gives speech on "Prospects for the German Financial Market" at congress of German tax advisers (Hamburg).
Indicators: EU Commission publishes economic forecasts; US construction spending (Mar) and pending home sales (Mar); Italian PPI (Mar).
Others: Trading updates from British American Tobacco, JD Wetherspoon and Next; stress tests on US banks due to be published.
TUESDAY
Results: Alcatel-Lucent; Archer Daniels Midland; Avon: BAA; Beiersdorf; Deutsche Postbank; Hewitt; Hypo Real Estate; Kenneth Cole; Kraft Foods: Tesco; UBS: Virgin Media; Walt Disney; Weyerhaeuser.
Meetings: Speed Networking Lunch (Hotel Isaacs, D1); "Investing in Food Security in a Global Economy" OECD meeting.
Indicators: EU PPI (Mar); Irish exchequer returns (end-Apr); US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (Apr).
WEDNESDAY
Japanese market holiday
Results: Adecco; Avis Budget; BNP Paribas; Cisco Systems; Easyjet; Garmin; JCDecaux; Lafarge; Minorplanet; Orient-Express Hotels; Pirelli; Prudential Financial; Sage; Sunoco; Symantec; Blackstone; United Drug; Wells-Gardner.
Meetings: CRH agm (Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire); Lafarge agm; Public panel discussion on "Pensions in Ireland: Prospects and Challenges" (Science Gallery, TCD).
Indicators: EU services PMI (Apr) and retail sales (Mar); US ADP employment (Apr); UK CIPS services PMI (Apr); Nationwide consumer confidence (Apr).
Others: Ulster Bank publishes quarterly Focus on Markets report; launch of new ESRI report on discrimination in recruitment.
THURSDAY
Results: Anheuser-Busch; Citizens; Crocs; Elizabeth Arden; Genworth Financial; Imax; K-Swiss; Lundin Mining; Sara Lee; Societe Generale; Sotheby's; Unilever; Vedanta Resources; Warner Music; Watson Wyatt; Weight Watchers.
Meetings: Leadership seminar with Robin Sharma; "Sustainability : From Strategy through to Communication" event (PwC, D1); Sustainable Transport Future conference (Dublin Castle); Bovis Homes agm.
Indicators: ECB interest rate announcement; US initial jobless claims (w/e May 2nd), labour costs (Q1) and consumer credit (Mar); Bank of England interest rate announcement; German industrial orders (Mar).
Others: Finance Bill published; trading updates from Barclays, Diageo, Old Mutual and RSA Insurance; "The Contribution of Longitudinal Studies on Ageing: An International Perspective", a lecture by US expert Dr Richard Suzman (Science Gallery, TCD); Financial Services Ombudsman will launch 2008 annual report.
FRIDAY
Results: Gartner; Inmarsat; Puma; Smurfit Kappa; Toyota; Westar Energy.
Meetings: Smurfit Kappa agm (Westbury Hotel); Cobh Harbour Chamber annual dinner with guest speaker Bertie Ahern (Commodore Hotel, Cobh); Aga Rangemaster agm;
Indicators: Overseas travel (Mar); US non-farm payrolls (Apr) and wholesale inventories (Mar); UK PPI Input (Apr); German industrial production (Mar).
