Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning up 36.14 points at 14,873, whilst the Nikkei was recently ahead 135.57 points at 12,445.40.

Oil prices remained within striking distance of $70 a barrel in electronic trading on worries that Hurricane Katrina may have heavily damaged US crude production facilities. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, was at $68.45 a barrel, up $1.25 from its close of $67.20 in the US overnight.

Off to find some UK news......

Happy trading!

G.

OUTLOOK - UK company results for 2 weeks to Sept 9

LONDON (AFX) - The following is a compilation of UK company results due out in the 2 weeks to Sept 9.

TUESDAY AUG 30
Bunzl PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 110.5 mln stg vs 98.8 mln; interim dividend 4.5 pence, up 8 pct.

CRH PLC six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals under IFSR 378 mln eur; interim dividend 11.0 cents vs 9.6.

CRC Group PLC. Charles Stanley forecasts six months to June pretax profit 3.3 mln stg vs 1.9 mln; interim dividend 2.5 pence, unchanged.

Filtrona PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts pro forma six months to June pretax profit 24.5 mln stg; interim dividend 2.0 pence.

Mears Group PLC. Arbuthnot Securities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 4.3 mln stg vs 3.2 mln; interim dividend 0.7 pence vs 0.5.

WEDNESDAY AUG 31
Ark Therapeutics Group PLC. Baird Equities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 10.7 mln stg vs 6.4 mln.

LogicaCMG PLC six months to June pretax profit under IFRS 29.0 mln stg vs pre-exceptional pre-goodwill 39.2 mln.

Serco Group PLC six months to June pretax profit before 39.0 mln stg, up 13 pct.

THURSDAY SEPT 1
Diageo PLC year to June pretax profit before exceptionals 1.95-2.0 bln stg vs 2.07 bln; total dividend 29.0 pence vs from 27.6.

March Networks Corporation. Evolution Securities forecasts three months to July pretax profit 2.35 mln cad vs loss 300,000.

Rathbone Brothers PLC six months to June pretax pretax profit under IFRS 15.6 mln stg vs 10.2 mln.

FRIDAY SEPT 2
Rank Group PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 62.8 mln stg vs 63.9 mln; interim dividend 5.0 pence, up 5 pct.

JD Wetherspoon PLC. Arbuthnot Securities forecasts year to July pretax profit 42.5 mln stg vs 54.1; total dividend 4.3 pence vs 3.9.

MONDAY SEPT 5
William Hill PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 91.4 mln stg vs 95.1 mln; interim dividend 7.3 pence, up 32 pct.

Ideal Shopping Direct PLC. Evolution Securities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 3.7 mln stg vs 700,000; interim dividend 1.45 pence vs 1.25.

IMI PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 80.0 mln stg vs 74.4 mln; interim dividend 6.6 pence, up 5 pct.

Intertek Group PLC. Baird Equities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 40.0 mln stg vs 37.9 mln; interim dividend 3.7 pence, up 10 pct.

Travis Perkins PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 110.0 mln stg vs 103.8 mln; interim dividend 10.5 pence, up 11 pct.

Robert Walters PLC. Baird Equities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 4.0 mln stg vs 3.4 mln; interim dividend 1.05 pence, unchanged.

TUESDAY SEPT 6
Hays PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts year to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 178.0 mln stg vs 181.0 mln; final dividend 2.26 pence, up 13 pct.

PartyGaming PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 214.0 mln stg vs N/A; interim dividend nil.

Taylor Woodrow PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 175.0 mln stg vs 187.0 mln; interim dividend 3.3 pence, up 10 pct.

George Wimpey PLC six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 115-133.0 mln stg vs 159.0 mln; interim dividend 6.0 pence, up 15 pct.

WEDNESDAY SEPT 7
BAE Systems PLC six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 400-430.0 mln stg vs 392.0 mln; interim dividend 3.85 pence, up 4 pct.

Gallaher PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 260.0 mln stg vs 250.0 mln; interim dividend 10.5 pence, up 5 pct.

Wilson Bowden PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 100.0 mln stg vs 118.0 mln; interim dividend 11.5 pence, up 21 pct.

InterContinental Hotels PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 151.0 mln stg vs 143.0 mln; interim dividend 4.5 pence, up 5 pct.

UK Coal PLC. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax loss 30.0 mln stg vs loss 51.6 mln; interim dividend 6.0 pence.

AFX UK at a glance share guide - Bank Holiday

BANK HOLIDAY PRESS
* B&Q, owned by DIY retailing group KINGFISHER, is being hit harder than its arch rival Homebase, now owned by GUS, in the worst trading year for the industry; hit by the slowdown in the housing market, DIY and gardening spending expected to fall by 1.6 pct to 16.4 bln stg in 2005, after five years of impressive growth, according to research published by Verdict - Telegraph
* ITV safe from a multi-billion-pound takeover bid from US media companies such as Time Warner because an acquisition would not make financial sense, according to Anthony Fry, head of UK investment banking at Lehman Brothers; Fry says a US company could buy the entire UK independent production community for 6.6 bln stg, which would make a more sensible investment; a move into new media is also more likely - Guardian
* BSKYB approached by private equity groups trying to put together a bid for Formula One; but the broadcaster has no plans to join any bid, say people close to the company - FT
* Robin Saunders, a friend of Bernie Ecclestone, distancing herself from suggestions that she is working on a leveraged buyout (for the Formula One motor-racing business) through her new vehicle, Clearbrook Capital Partners - Mail
* Mandelson urges textile quota truce; EU trade chief backs formula to free Chinese goods held at customs; backlash feared from European producers; Beijing intent on driving hard bargain - FT
* CABLE & WIRELESS postpones a multi-million-pound TV marketing campaign for its broadband operator Bulldog under threat of an investigation into the quality of its customer service - Express
* Conservatives write to the government expressing concern over the possible 650 mln stg sale of MARCONI to the Chinese company Huawei - Telegraph
* OLD MUTUAL may tie-up a deal to take over Sweden's Skandia this week after months of haggling, according to Swedish reports - Mail
* Fears on oil price as Hurricane Katrina threatens New Orleans - FT
* The two consortiums vying to purchase SOMERFIELD could launch formal bids for the supermarket group within weeks, after reaching agreement with the Pensions Regulator on providing security for the food retailer's pension scheme - FT
* High price of oil encouraging increased investment in the North Sea, helping to slow the decline in oil and gas output from the UK continental shelf - FT
* India's biggest private company, Reliance Industries, preparing a 2.5 bln stg for BP's troublesome plastic raw-materials business - Express
* BBC wants to sell music on its website, exploiting the commercial opportunity afforded by its vast viewing and listening audience - Times
* Yield curve on US Treasuries close to inverting - FT
* 3i decides not to adopt a new accounting standard (IAS 27) that would have required the FTSE 100 private equity group to consolidate its accounts - FT
* Kimberly-Clark, one of the largest US consumer goods companies, in talks with German discount store Lidl about selling its products on the chain's shelves in Europe for the first time - FT
* Gate Gourmet says it has offered redundancy payments twice the statutory level to employees at the heart of the dispute, which earlier this month grounded flights at BRITISH AIRWAYS - FT
* Global Brands, the exclusive "master franchisee" of the DOMINO'S PIZZA brand for Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, raising up to 3.5 mln stg in an AIM flotation that will value the company at up to 10 mln when it starts trading next month - Independent

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN asks why is the UK yield curve inverted (institutional demand cannot entirely explain the low level of UK long-term real yields; but it should at least ensure that the 50-year index-linked auction is better received than July's conventional bonds); Lex comments on Pandemics (Cassandra is as unpopular as ever; still, it would be surprising if some hedge fund, somewhere, was not working feverishly on an angle), KPMG US tax case settlement (the deferred prosecution agreement it has struck still leaves a sword of Damocles hanging over it for more than a year; and the fine, at roughly 450 mln usd, is large) - COMPUTER SERVICES: AUTONOMY positioning itself for content wars; Maija Palmer examines how the UK company is taking on the US search engine giants through a venture in China which Google and Yahoo are not dominating (p.18)

LONDON (AFX) - UK blue chips look set for an opening rally as traders return after the long August Bank Holiday break. This reflects a recovery overnight on Wall Street and in Asia as US indices bounced back from Friday's falls amid receding worries over the impact of Hurricane Katrina's battering of the Gulf of Mexico, dealers said.
Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open around 20 points firmer today. The UK blue chip index closed 27.6 points weaker on Friday at 5,228.1.

MARKETS
DJIA 10,463.050, up 65.76
Nasdaq Comp 2,135.05, up 14.28
S&P 500 1,209.49, up 4.39
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 12,453.14, up 143.31
Hang Seng midday 14,873.11, up 36.14
Gold 438.90 usd (438.90 usd)
Oil - Brent Oct 64.87 usd (64.87 usd)



ECONOMICS
* UK July consumer credit/mortgage lending
* UK July final M4/M4 lending
* UK CBI quarterly distributive trades survey

MARKET EXPECTATIONS
* Bunzl. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 110.5 mln stg vs 98.8 mln; interim dividend 4.5 pence, up 8 pct
* CRH six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals under IFSR 378 mln eur; interim dividend 11.0 cents vs 9.6
* CRC Group. Charles Stanley forecasts six months to June pretax profit 3.3 mln stg vs 1.9 mln; interim dividend 2.5 pence, unchanged
* Filtrona. Williams de Broe forecasts pro forma six months to June pretax profit 24.5 mln stg; interim dividend 2.0 pence
* Mears Group. Arbuthnot Securities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 4.3 mln stg vs 3.2 mln; interim dividend 0.7 pence vs 0.5


TODAY'S PRESS
* Hurricane whips up oil price; Katrina forces Gulf refineries to shut; crude tops 70 usd and natural gas rises 23 pct; Saudis promise increased output to fill gap - FT
* OLD MUTUAL eyes bid for Skandia; London-listed group considers 3.1 bln stg offer; Nordic insurer presses for higher price; negotiations continue after weekend talks - FT - FT
* UK retailers are moving production from China to Eastern Europe, Turkey and India as customers' appetite for "fast fashion" forces a fundamental rethink of supply chains - FT
* Intelsat to buy PanAmSat for 3.2 bln usd cash
* AEGIS understood to have held talks with French rival Havas about combining the groups' media operations in a venture designed to bolster their position against giants such as WPP and Publicis - Telegraph
* After a miserable summer, trading conditions on Britain's high streets are going to deteriorate further, according to new sales figures from the CBI - Times

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Gordon Brown's prudence, Satellite operators (private equity investors behind PanAmSat poised for a sky-high return), French takeovers (Paris is throwing up barricades at home), Hurricane Katrina (importance to long-term insurance investors is what impact this hurricane has on pricing)

Good morning all and thanks Greystone and Digger. Great thread but what's happened to the other regular posters?

Druid - I think we have turned into a lurkers paradise. Thanks for stopping by an saying hello. :-)

Morning Druid and All,

People probably on Holiday or just feeling a bit lazy.

Thanks Greystone and Stan.

It would be nice if all lurkers would just say "Hello" so that we can all know they are.

The information on this thread is very good and although I don't contribute much I do like to say "Hello" from time to time.

My main long term stock is BARC which has performed very bad this year from 586 on 1st Jan 2005 to 555 atm. Fingers crossed for breakeven or more by 31st Dec 2005. Even if it does not rise much the divi. is good.

End of day market wrap