A good showing is expected from GSK, boosted by the current bird flu scares, although AstraZeneca is not expected to do as well as it did in the second quarter.Still in the medical world, Smith & Nephew will post third- quarter figures. Shares in the company suffered their biggest fall in a year last month when it cut its full-year revenue forecasts, saying it had been hurt by Hurricane Katrina and new products from competitors.Despite the hurricanes, undiminished confidence remains in the oil sector, where BP and Shell will this week publish third- quarter figures. The energy giants are forecast to be slightly less profitable than in the previous quarter but analysts still expect strong growth and high cash returns over the year.Early this week around half a dozen companies will submit indicative offers for Onetel, the telecoms company being sold by utility group Centrica. At least one financial buyer, as well as trade buyers including Carphone Warehouse, are among those thought to be bidding, but none is expected to meet Centrica advisers' valuation of £350m.If profits are going to be a concern this week it will be at the internet bank Egg, which will post third-quarter figures amid concern that they might show a repeat of the second quarter, when profits fell significantly. Bad debt provision brought the numbers down, though chief executive Paul Gratton said at the time that he could see no "meltdown" among consumers.There's a little more confidence in Whitbread, the restaurant and hotel operator.
All eyes will be on the progress of its Premier Travel Inn business, since the acquisition of Premier Lodge, and the David Lloyd health clubs.Analysts expect excellent results from Travel Inn, now that this acquisition has been integrated, but the David Lloyd centres are viewed as a "difficult" concept and expansion into Europe seen as risky.There'll be more sporting interest in tomorrow's deadline for the Premier League to give assurances to the EU that it can bundle up top matches more fairly among broadcasters. Competition regulators want to ensure no single broadcaster can dominate access to the best teams.Away from sport, City interest will also be focused on cigarette maker British American Tobacco, where a good performance is expected from third-quarter results underpinned by strong trading. The figures will be buoyed by promising results in Canada, though these were recently overshadowed by the country's Supreme Court decision to allow British Columbia to sue cigarette makers for the money it spends on treating sick smokers.In the US, analysts will be keenly watching the first quarter results from Microsoft. Decent growth is expected from the computer giant, in marked contrast to its efforts in court of late.
Earlier this month the world's biggest software maker agreed to pay RealNetworks $761m (£430m) to settle a lawsuit over the bundling of Microsoft software. In another disappointment, Microsoft failed in a legal effort to stop one of its former leading software developers from starting work for Google. The search engine then added insult to injury by agreeing a deal with Sun Microsystems to promote each other's products in a bid to challenge Microsoft's dominance.CALENDARTomorrow 24UK RESULTS: (final) Egdon Resources, Scott Tod; (interim) Alterian, Hitachi Capital; (2Q) AlterianTuesday 25UK RESULTS: (F) NBA Quantum; (I) Boots, Westbury, Whitbread; (3Q) Reckitt Benckiser, BPWednesday 26UK RESULTS: (F) Cambrian Mining; (I) Bristol & West, European Motor Holdings; (3Q) BAT, Egg, Autonomy CorpThursday 27UK RESULTS: (F) Interregnum; (I) Blacks Leisure, Maelor, Maiden Group; (3Q) Amvescap, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Royal Dutch Shell, Smith & NephewFriday 28UK RESULTS: (I) Anglo Asian Mining, LHM. When Sue Botterill set up MyMag, a firm helping enterprising individuals who want to launch community magazines, her motive was to bring in a little extra income for her family. Three years later, more than 700 magazines have been set up in the UK with the company's assistance. It has established franchises in Australia, France and Spain, and also has a couple in the US. MyMag is now working towards a full Stateside launch and wants advice on how to tailor the product to the American market. MyMag works by providing all the information and guidance needed to set up a community title, along with everything from editorial content, written by journalists, to word puzzles and cartoons.It all started when Mrs Botterill set up her own magazine, which not only became profitable but part of the fabric of her community in Solihull.
