The week ahead...

Banks are to continue their dominance of the headlines next week with the odd energy company and supermarket thrown in for good measure.

First up on Tuesday will be Barclays which this week announced a massive shake-up of its board and a restructuring of its business. Although not expected to announce any fundraising plans in its third-quarter results, it cannot be ruled out completely, according to analysts. 

Hot on its heels will be HSBC which has excelled where other banks have failed of late. Its £10 billion rights issue left it free from seeking government help and it's one of the only banks offering a dividend. However, despite its relatively strong position, all eyes will be on news of its plan to shift its focus to the Far East. HSBC is said to have expressed interest in the commercial assets of Royal Bank of Scotland spanning China, India and Malaysia. 

Tuesday is proving a busy day, with mobile phone giant Vodafone also set to release its interim results. Its competitor Orange will be selling the iPhone prior to Christmas, while Vodafone will be forced to wait until the New Year. In a bid to steal Orange's thunder, Vodafone could unleash a torrent of aggressive and expensive marketing campaigns. However, with the run-up to Christmas traditionally proving strong for mobile phone orders, a healthy dividend and strong sales are expected. 

Supermarket Sainsbury's will take centre stage on Wednesday and is expected to show a rise in sales. More interesting will be whether it touches upon rumours of a takeover by the Qatar Investment Authority, which already owns a 26% share. Sales data was reported with the pre-close trading update in early October. Like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT were up by 6.4% during H1. The rate of growth slowed through the period.

Sam Hart of Charles Stanley says: 'We forecast a small expansion in operating margin to 3.2% (first half 2008/9 3.13%), with the benefits of on-going efficiency savings and operational leverage partially offset by costs associated with accelerated growth in space.'

Energy companies also have their moment in the spotlight with Scottish & Southern Energy as well as Centrica stepping up. The former has been increasingly turning its attentions to renewable energy of late and with the spotlight firmly on ways to tackle climate change ahead of Copenhagen's December meeting, the company is expected to do well when it posts its interim results on Wednesday. 

Following its acquisition of Venture Production, Centrica is also expected to show signs of improvement when it posts its interim results on Thursday. 

Finally, BT Group will release its second quarter results on Thursday. The telecommunication's weak performance earlier this year is thought to be although concerns over its pension deficit persist. Investors will be keen to see if the results shed some light on measures being taken to tackle the problem. 

On an economic front, things will really start to hot up on Wednesday when the Bank of England releases its inflation report. Widely regarded as a major event in the economic calendar, the report follows a period of conflicting data. While the manufacturing sector finally indicated that a recovery had begun, data from the ONS found the UK to still be in recession. 

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, commented: 'We expect the Quarterly Inflation Report to reveal that the Bank of England believes that the economy is now starting to recover but still faces serious obstacles to healthy, sustainable growth. The survey is also likely to modestly raise the consumer price inflation profile.'

On Tuesday the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors releases its monthly housing survey with hopes for a further rise in buyer enquiries and instructions to sell properties. The British Retail Consortium will also release its October retail sales, while ONS will provide UK trade update for September and its producer prices indices for October. 

Monday 9 November

Results: 

(Finals) Lok'n Store Group
(Interims) G4S, Advanced Computer software, Latchways, Victoria
(Quarterly) Immarsat

Trading statement:
Dignity

AGMs:
Hargreaves Services

Dividend Payment Date:
(Final) ECO Animal Health Group, System C Healthcare
(Interim) Morrison Supermarkets, WPP Group

Tuesday 10 November

Results:
(Finals) Imperial Tobacco Group
(Interims) Babcock International Group, Kewill, Northern Foods, Printing.com, Vodafone
(Quarterly) Barclays, HSBC, 888 Holdings, European Goldfields Limited, First Quantam Minerals

AGMs:
A&J Mucklow, Northamber, Strategic Equity Capital, Trikona Trinity Capital, VietNam Holding Ltd.

Dividend Payment Date:
(Final) Allianz Dresdner, Endowment Policy Trust 2010, Savile Group

Wednesday 11 November

Results:
(Finals) Fenner
(Interims) Great Portland Estates, Sainsbury, Scottish & Southern Energy
(Quarterly) Smurfitt Kappa Group

Trading statement:
Zetar

AGMs:
Allied Gold, Cadogan Petroleum, Crown Place VCT, Eurovestech, Hays

Dividend Payment Date:
(Final Ex Dividend) Acorn Income Fund Ltd., Air Partner, Asian Citrus, CPL Resources, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Downing Protected VCT 1, Edge Performance VCT D Shares, Edinburgh Dragon Trust, F&C Commercial Property Trust, JPMorgan Smaller Companies Inv Trust, Jupiter Dividend & Growth Trust, Stavert Zigomala, Swallowfield, World Careers Network
(Interim Ex Dividend) 3i Infrastructure, Aberdeen Income & Growth VCT, Anglo Pacific, Bunzl, Charles Stanley, Chloride Group, Cobham, Ferrexpo, Home Retail Group, JZ Capital Partners, Marks & Spencer Group, Noble AIM VCT, Pace, Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust, Wynnstay Properties
(Interim) Carillion, Centrica
(Quarterly Ex Dividend) BP, ING UK Real Estate Income Trust Ltd., Prodesse Investment Ltd.

Thursday 12 November

Results:
(Interim) Centrica
(Quarterly) BT Group

Trading statement:
Reed Elsevier

AGMs:
Dunelm Group, Eleco, Genus, Henderson EuroTrust, Henderson EuroTrust, International Ferro Metals, Nighthawk Energy, Thorp

Dividend Payment Date:
(Interim) All Leisure Group, Ashley (Laura) Holding, British American Inv Trust, Edge Performance VCT, Kingfisher, Melrose
(Quarterly) Merchants Trust

Friday 13 November

Results:
(Final) SatCom Group
(Interim) Electrocomponents, Hornby
(Quarterly) Bankers Petroleum Ltd., Nautilus Minerals Inc.

Trading statement:
TUI Travel

Dividend Payment Date:
(Final) British Sky Broadcasting Group, Eaga, Galliford Try, Networkers International, Quayle Munro, Strategic Equity Capital, TR European Growth Trust, Wilmington Group
(Interim) Aberdeen Growth VCT 1, Amiad Filtration Systems, Corin Group, First Derivatives, Hargreave Hale AIM VCT 2, Northbridge Industrial Services, office2office, Public Service Properties Investments, Rightmove, Spectris
(Quarterly) British Land Co