Week Ahead: Rate decisions, US jobs, Halfords, Booker

30th Mar 2012 13:17

Easter week sees a welcome slackening of expected corporate newsflow, with trading updates on Thursday from Halfords and Booker the biggest things currently in the company diary.Economic releases tend to stick to a schedule, however, and so the first Wednesday of the month will see the European Central Bank (ECB) announce its interest rate decision and, more importantly, the ECB President Mario Draghi will give the rune readers some exercise in his afternoon press conference.On Thursday, the Bank of England (BoE) will make its decision on interest rates and its asset purchase programme. Look out for flying pigs if the BoE changes its key interest rate, which has been at its historically lowest ever level since March 2009.Most economists expect the BoE to stand pat on its asset purchase programme (quantitative easing). Economists at Barclays Capital believe that "the current asset purchase programme will take another two months to complete, and in the absence of a major shift in the economic outlook we think it unlikely that the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] will adjust its stance before it meets in May. At that point, we expect a halt in asset purchases, but given the patchiness of the recovery, there remains a reasonable chance that quantitative easing (QE) will be extended further.Whether the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) pronouncing this week that the UK has slipped back into recession counts as "a major shift in the economic outlook" of the kind Barclays Capital is referring to is unknown, but so far as the OECD's chief economist, Pier Carlo Padoan, is concerned, Britain should embark on more quantitative easing "sooner rather than later".The smart money still remains on the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee disagreeing with the France-based think tank, and leaving things as they are.A reminder that Good Friday is not a public holiday for all government workers in the USA, which means some poor souls will have to turn up for work to release US non-farm payrolls data for March. Payrolls are expected to have fattened up by 211,000, after rising 227,000 in February. The unemployment rate is tipped to stay at 8.3%.On the corporate front, car and bike parts retailer Halfords will update on trading in the final quarter of its financial year, and shareholders will hope that the alarming acceleration in the rate of sales decline seen in the third quarter has been arrested.The main Halfords Retail division saw the fall in revenue speed up in the third quarter to 4.4% from the 1.6% decrease in the first half, with the car maintenance and enhancement ranges losing popularity.Margins were also under pressure, with the group forecasting gross margin in the UK and the Republic of Ireland for the full year would be 1.3 to 1.5 percentage points lower than the year before.By contrast, cash and carry operator Booker has been bringing home the bacon of late.Booker's like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 6.7% in the 16 weeks to December 30th from the corresponding period of 2010, with customer numbers and average spend per customer both up year-on-year. Non-tobacco LFL sales rose by 5.8% and tobacco LFL sales by 7.6%. Total sales in the quarter were up 7.0% on the same quarter of 2010, with fruit and vegetable sales up 17%.Investors will be looking for more details on the firm's expansion into India, and updates on its new Chef Direct service aimed at the catering trade.Monday April 02INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEKesa Electricals, PZ Cussons, Stewart & WightINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSConstruction Spending (US) (15:00)ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)PMI Manufacturing (GER) (08:55)PMI Manufacturing  (09:00)FINALSInternetQ, JSC Halyk Bank GDR (Reg S), Nationwide Accident Repair Services, Toumaz LimitedAGMSXP Power Ltd. (DI)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Manufacturing  (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEGreencore GroupTuesday April 03INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEPennon GroupQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEJP Morgan Chase & Co, Torchmark Corp.INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSAuto Sales (US) (15:00)Factory Orders (US) (15:00)FOMC Interest Rate Minutes (US) (19:00)Goods Orders (US) (15:00)FINALSBond International Software, Gulfsands Petroleum, Huntsworth, Johnston Press, VernalisUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Construction (09:30)Wednesday April 04INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAshmore Group, Waterman GroupINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEAnimalcare Group, Begbies Traynor Group, GETECH Group, Octopus Eclipse VCT 1, Octopus Eclipse VCT 3, Octopus Eclipse VCT 4, Plexus Holdings, St Ives, WolseleyQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEXP Power Ltd. (DI)QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEMarsh & Mclennan Cos Inc., Mercantile Investment Trust (The), Schroder Income Growth FundINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSCrude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)ISM Non-Manufacturing (US) (15:00)ISM Services (US) (15:00)MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)PMI Composite (GER) (08:55)PMI Services (EU) (09:00)PMI Services (GER) (08:55)GMSRock Solid ImagesFINALSBurford Capital Ltd.ANNUAL REPORTSt James's PlaceSPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEDP World Limited, Octopus Eclipse VCT 1, Octopus Eclipse VCT 3, Octopus Eclipse VCT 4, SavillsAGMSManroy, RCM Technology Trust, Telecity Group, Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS GDR (Reg S)TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSPrinting.comUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBoE Interest Rate Decision (00:00)BRC Shop Price Index (00:00)ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45)PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)PMI Services (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATESt. Modwen PropertiesFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE4Imprint Group, Acencia Debt Strategies Ltd., All Leisure Group, Amino Technologies, Amlin, Bodycote, Dialight, DP World Limited, Herald Inv Trust, HGCapital Trust, Interserve, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, JPMorgan American Inv Trust, Mam Funds, Motivcom, Pearson, Phoenix Group Holdings (DI), Promethean World, Rentokil Initial, Savills, Stanley Gibbons GroupThursday April 05INTERIMSVictrexINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEJPMorgan Mid Cap Inv Trust, Mid Wynd International Inv TrustQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEBritish Assets TrustQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEVerizon CommunicationsINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)Industrial Production (GER) (11:00)Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)PMI Construction (GER) (08:55)AGMSOJSC LSR Group GDR (Reg S)TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSBooker Group, Halfords GroupUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBoE Interest Rate Decision (00:00)New Car Registrations (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEThrogmorton TrustQ1Sandvine Corp.Friday April 06INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSConsumer Credit (US) (20:00)Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)ANNUAL REPORTTravis PerkinsJH