A preview of market action in London
A preview of market action in Asia Pacific
>> for a preview of tomorrow’s market action, we go to our london bureau.
>> time to look at what’s on the schedule in europe this coming week. first, the corporate agenda where the retail sector will be the center after tension. castle may say profit dropped in the first half. it―carrefour may say profit dropped in the first half. europe’s largest nonfood retailer may say first half profit dropped as it sold businesses as part of a shift into the luxury goods industry. laurel, the world’s biggest cosmetics company is expected to say first half profit increased as it expanded in china, russia and other emerging markets . in the u.k. the drinks industry dominates the corporate agenda. the world’s largest liquor maker diageo is expected to say earnings this year barely grew because of restructuring costs and the dollar’s decline against the pound. another maker may say slower demand outside the u.s. is continuing to hamper earnings. j.d. weatherspoon, which owns more than 640 british pubs, may say full-year earnings were hurt by a sales downturn during the you’re yore 2004 soccer tournament. group has a no television policy. but most―at most of its outlets. investors may have a clearer picture of the effect record oil prices having on the economy. august data for european manufacturing and services will probably show high energy costs are being felt across the board. investors expect the e.c.b. to leave rates unchanged to allow a recovery to take hold. the e.c.b. will release growth and inflation forecasts for the euro area on wednesday. consumer credit figures from the u.k. combined with the nationwide house price numbers.
>> for a preview now of next week’s market action for the tokyo and asian region, our tokyo bureau.
>> expect foigs show japanese industrial production rose in july as companies increased output to meet greater overseas and domestic demand. economists surveyed expect a rise of 1%. that report out on tuesday. also next week, japanese retail sales probably rose 0.7% year on year. those figures are out monday. the philippines releases g.d.p. figures this week. economic growth probably flow slowed in the second quarter. economists surveyed say g.d.p. probably rose .5% from the previous three months. two days later australia releases its g.d.p. results for the second quarter. economic growth probably accelerated as consumer spending surged due in part to more than $2 billion australian worth of government handouts.
and economists we surveyed say gross domestic product probably rose .9%. on the earnings front, taiwan’s may say profit rose. the biggest electronics company by sales will probably post net income of 6.2 billion. the company is expected to report early in the week. and finally, malaysia’s largest lender may post its biggest profit in seven years on expanding economy and record-low interest rates boost being credit demand and helping the lender cut bad loan costs. net income probably rose 26% to 2.4 billion ringet. and that’s what’s expected in the week ahead in the asia pacific region. now back to you.
>> well, the pace of g.d.b. growth has slowed. but many chief executives expect the economic expansion to continue. one of them is wayland hicks.
>> if you look at our market , the our principle in market is private and residential construction. over the last three and a half years that has been down 35%. during first six months of the year it’s been up 2%. we’re seeing a gradual recovery. i think that’s the direction the economy is moving in.
>> united rentals customers include construction and industrial firms, utilities as well as homeowners. mr. hicks says growth is fairly evenly divided across those groups. although demand for office construction in the bay area, he said, remains weak. and for the rise in oil prices, customers will have to bare some of that burden.
>> we spent about $25 million during the first half of the year on oil-related petroleum products. that’s been up about 12%. we absorb about half of that. and we pass through about half of that to our customers.
>> shares in the united rentals are up over 5% this year. they close just down one penny or finishing at the $20.39 for friday’s trade. when we come back after the break, golf’s most watched event will no longer be commercial-free. we’ll have more on that story when we return with our money and sports segments. it’s one of the most popular segments we do each week.
