A Brief Look At The Week Ahead

Northern Rock will be high on the agenda again this week, as reports suggest that a deal will soon be done that allows the government to escape with a modicum of political credibility. Whether the taxpayers will escape unscathed is another matter. The recent stories of write-downs in commercial property values will probably remain to the fore, with Land Securities slated to reveal numbers on Tuesday. The mining sector should see some action as M&A chatter continues. The battle for Rio Tinto may come closer to an end with BHP Billiton due to release trading news on Wednesday and expected to use it as an opportunity to underline the attraction of its offer to Rio shareholders. Also bubbling away in the sector will be the reported interest of Anglo American in peer Xstrata. A few others to look out for this week will be Wolseley (Monday), Pearson and Morrison Supermarkets (Tuesday), Cairne Energy and Tullow Oil (Wednesday) and London Stock Exchange (Thursday). Enough there to throw up the odd chance of making a buck! Greystone Thanks, as always to Supermum, Kyoto and Digger for their invaluable input to The Traders Thread. (Greystone is Alan English, City Editor at MoneyAM.)

Morning all. Friday's market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Independent
The Guardian
This is Money

President Bush has backed an emergency fiscal package of tax cuts and spending boosts in the US administration's latest attempt to boost the flagging economy. Taxes will be cut by as much as 75bn (38bn) - or 1pc of gross domestic product - in the world's biggest economy, the White House said yesterday.
US economy to get emergency help

Market rumours about writedowns at SociGale, the second-biggest French bank by market value, pushed its shares down by more than 8 per cent yesterday. Traders said that SocGen might also be affected by problems at the American bond insurer Ambac.
SocGen leads French banking sector decline after rumours of writedown

Gordon Brown opened the door to billions of pounds of investment from China yesterday by encouraging its state investment arm to take stakes in British companies.
Gordon Brown opens door for Chinese to invest billions in Britain

The pound has given up its brief recovery after official figures confirmed that shoppers abandoned the high street over Christmas, despite almost unprecedented price cuts.
Sterling shunned as UK retail sales slide

General retailers suffered their worst Christmas in 13 years according to official figures released yesterday which confirmed the troubles facing the high street. Retail sales fell 0.4 per cent in December, usually the key month for shopping, worse than the 0.2 per cent increase that economists had forecasted. This followed a 1 per cent increase in November.
Official: worst Christmas on the High Street for 13 years

Britain's largest commercial property managers rushed to prevent a run on their funds yesterday, as investors began to panic following Scottish Equitable's decision to prevent some investors from withdrawing their savings for as long as 12 months.
Commercial property managers in race to prevent investor panic

Amid political meltdown, crashing stock markets and plunging consumer confidence, the Japanese Government has declared that the worlds second-biggest economy is no longer first class.
Japanese economy not first class, says minister

NIKKEI	AUSTRALIA	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei ended down 535.35 points at 13,325.94, while the Hang
Seng finished the morning session down 714.60 points at 24,487.27.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was 41
cents higher at $90.98 a barrel.

Happy trading!

G.

OUTLOOK Wolseley US trading seen sharply down due to US housing meltdownAustralian shares close sharply lower, marking 11th session of losses - UPDATETFN economic and business calendar to Friday Feb 1Australian shares close sharply lower, marking 11th straight session of lossesThomson Financial Europe AM at a glance share guide: Stocks lower; oil mixed

TFN UK calendar and forecasts for today

Tokyo shares close at fresh 26-month low as US recession fears grow

Thomson Financial UK at a glance share guide - weekend

BROKERWATCH Home Retail upped to 'hold' vs 'sell' at Citigroup; tgt 290p vs 390p

BROKERWATCH Diageo upgraded to 'overweight' vs 'equal-weight' by Morgan StanleyLondon shares outlook - lower, after a slump in Asia; Wolseley update in focus

BROKERWATCH BG Group upgraded to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JP MorganThomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

The Monday Press Roundup

Tokyo shares close at fresh 26-month low as US recession fears grow - UPDATE

BROKERWATCH Telekom Austria, Swisscom upgraded by Deutsche Bank in sector note

BROKERWATCH Marks & Spencer cut to 'underweight', Next to 'neutral' at JP Morgan

UK smallcap opening - Sarantel climbs on order news

UK smallcap opening - Proventec up on NHS deal

BROKERWATCH Support services cut to 'underweight' at Credit SuisseUK smallcap opening - Deal Group Media rises on Citibank Asia contract

FTSE opens session sharply lower

STOCKWATCH SNS Reaal outperforms market after sale of Belgian Swiss Life ops

STOCKWATCH Friends Provident top FTSE 100 riser after bid report; ABN Amro 'buy'London shares open lower, after slump in Asia; Wolseley drops on trading updateUK smallcap opening - Core Business lifted by reduced H1 losses

STOCKWATCH Wolseley shares tumble after trading update; Merrill keeps 'neutral'

UK smallcap opening - Entertainment Rights up on private-equity interest talk

UK smallcap opening - MAMA supported on swing to FY profits, confident statement

STOCKWATCH Northern Rock up as sale deadline set but Panmure Gordon targets 0pUK smallcap opening - Coffee Republic hardens on Aquila dealUK smallcap opening - Beale rallies ahead of next Monday's FY results

STOCKWATCH Friends Provident top FTSE 100 riser after bid report UPDATEUK smallcap opening - Hat Pin plunges on FY profits warning

STOCKWATCH Avanzit sharply higher on fresh takeover rumour

BROKERWATCH Bayer cut to 'hold' in Collins Stewart 'doom scenario' sector noteUK small caps open sharply lower with wider market, Hat Pin hit by FY warning

STOCKWATCH Wolseley drops as update disappoints; Evolution cuts to 'sell' UPDATE

Metals - Gold heads lower as dollar rebounds

STOCKWATCH Saint Gobain, Nexity, Vinci fall on sector outlook woes

STOCKWATCH Kingfisher lower as Collins Stewart initiates with 'sell', tgt 100p

Metals - Gold heads lower as dollar rebounds UPDATEMetals - Copper drops to 7,000 usd mark on economy woes

BROKERWATCH Land Securities, British Land started 'outperform' at Bear Stearn

London shares - mid-morning features

BROKERWATCH Friends Provident cut to 'underweight' vs 'equal-weight' at Lehman

Metals - Copper drops below 7,000 usd mark on economy woes UPDATE

STOCKWATCH Kingfisher lower as Collins Stewart initiates with 'sell' UPDATE

STOCKWATCH Friends Provident up after Flowers confirms it is mulling bid UPDATE

London shares - midday featuresUK small caps on session low at midday; Xtract Energy falls on well blow

Midday Market Roundup

Precious Metals Summary - London AM Fixings

Metals - Gold drops below 870 usd on dollar strength

TFN economic and business calendar to Monday Feb 4

FOCUS Northern Rock nationalisation would hit UK credibility more than finances

London shares - midafternoon features

Metals - Copper drops further below 7,000 usd on slowdown fears

Precious Metals Summary - London PM Fixings

OUTLOOK EU to finalise climate package amid fierce criticism from bloc, industry

End-of-day Market Roundup

OUTLOOK EU to finalise climate package amid fierce criticism from bloc, industry

UK small caps close with heavy falls; Humberts Group drops as sees H1 loss