London pre-open: Small dip expected on FTSE ahead of Bernanke speech

31st Aug 2012 07:31

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down two points from yesterday's close of 5,719 ahead of today's eagerly awaited speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the Jackson Hole central bankers' economic symposium. There is a general agreement amongst analysts that Bernanke, who is giving a speech titled "Monetary Policy Since the Crisis", won't be giving the market any miracles and is unlikely to make an announcement over a third round of quantitative easing. The concerns knocked stocks in the US lower, while poor data from Japan and Korea sent Asian markets further into decline as well. There was an unexpected fall in Japan's industrial output during July while manufacturers' confidence continues to be stuck at the low levels seen since the crisis. Compulsive deal-maker WPP is at it again, this time with a joint venture in Indonesia. The global advertising and marketing conglomerate's wholly-owned global digital and relationship marketing network, Wunderman, has lanched PT Wunderman Pamungkas Indonesia in partnership with industry veterans Rahadian Nugraha Agung and Tommy Prastowo. Both Rahadian Agung and Prastowo have extensive digital marketing experience from a range of digital agencies in Indonesia and join the joint venture as Head of Planning & Strategy and General Manager respectively.Information technology solutions provider Computacenter said additional start-up costs in the first half of the year meant profits were down slightly year-on-year. Group adjusted profit before tax in the six months ended June 30th fell to £24.0m from £26.6m the year before. Statutory profit before tax tumbled to £20.8m from £26.2m in the corresponding period of 2011. Group revenue rose 4.2% to £1.42bn from £1.37bn in the first half of last year. First-half profits at restaurant and pub operator Restaurant Group came in slightly ahead of expectations, helping the firm to raise its interim dividend by an eighth. The company, whose principal trading brands are Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and Garfunkel's, said that adjusted pre-tax profit came in at £26.1m, 7% up from the £24.4m registered in the same period the year before and a little above the £25.9m expected by Peel Hunt. Revenue increased by 7.5% from £234m to £252m in the six months to July 1st, while like-for-like sales increased by 3.25%.