Thursday preview: Lots of interest in the BoE meeting

1st Aug 2012 17:22

On Thursday, the Bank of England announces its interest rate decision and for the first time in years, we cannot blithely assume that the rate will be kept the same.The terrible second quarter gross domestic product number has raised the prospect of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) countenancing a halving of the current rate, to 0.25%. However, most pundits expect the MPC to stand pat, to see what effect the recent topping up of the asset purchase pot will have.On the corporate side, two companies currently in a pickle will be reporting.Bookie Ladbrokes is set to reveal details of a new management structure along with its interim results after it confirmed earlier this week that Richard Ames, the director in charge of the firm's digital strategy, has been relieved of executive duties.Travel firm Thomas Cook has been selling off the family silver to bring down interest payments on its huge pile of debt, but what will really help the company is a late surge of summer bookings from Brits desperate to find a part of the world where the sun still shines. Thursday's trading update will reveal whether the travel pioneer has enjoyed just such a late surge.Medical devices maker Smith & Nephew is tipped to announce an operating profit of $223m for the second quarter of 2012, down just a dash from the corresponding period of 2011.Earnings per share are forecast to slide to 15.8 cents from 18.1 cents the year before, while the divi could be bumped up to 7.3 cents from 6.6 cents, the market thinks.The group has now been restructured to report along two divisional lines, Advanced Surgical Devices (ASD) and Advanced Wound Management (AWM).INTERIMS4Imprint Group, Aggreko, Alliance Trust, BAE Systems, Ladbrokes, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Robert Walters, RPS Group, RSA Insurance Group, Schroders, Schroders (Non-Voting), SEGRO, Smith & Nephew, Spirent Communications, Trinity MirrorINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45)Factory Orders (US) (15:00)Goods Orders (US) (15:00)Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)Q2Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Smith & NephewTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSHyder ConsultingGMSForte Energy NLIMSSThomas Cook GroupAGMSAFI Development, African Minerals Ltd., Federal Bank Ltd (The) GDR (REGS), Hyder Consulting, InvestecUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBoE Interest Rate Decision (12:00)PMI Construction (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBurberry Group, Dairy Crest Group, De La Rue, Dee Valley Group, Dee Valley Group (Non-Voting), Mckay Securities, UBC Media Group