CARLTON AND GRANADA PREPARE TO WED
In another crowded week for company results, broadcasters and merger partners Carlton and Granada present their full-year figures on Wednesday.

Both groups, which now have the green light to proceed with their ?3.8bn union to form ITV plc, expect to complete the union by February 2004.

With investor pressure dashing Michael Green's plans to head ITV, the name of the permament successor to interim chairman Sir Brian Pitman is awaited.

The results from each group will again be dented by the advertising downturn.

Reports speculate that both Carlton and Granada may have agreed to sell their advertising sales arms as a concession needed to get Government approval for the deal.

The merger partners together control 12 of the 15 ITV franchises, potentially giving them the power to hike ad rates.

Little bright side for Jarvis

Support services group Jarvis will be hard-pressed to paint a rosy picture when it presents interims on Tuesday - even though the figures will be good.

A stream of bad publicity saw the group exit from rail maintenance last month, two weeks before Network Rail announced it would take the work in-house.

Some City analysts have suggested chairman Paris Moayedi might be ready to step down in the near future.

Enterprise Inns' dominant position in the fast-consolidating UK pubs sector has been challenged by Punch Taverns' ?1.2bn deal to buy Pubmaster.

But it is set to expand its empire next spring to around 9,000 pubs when the City expects it to exercise an option to take control of rival Unique Pub.

Enterprise may reveal more of its plans on Tuesday, when interims will show the effect of the hot summer on sales.

CBI hedges its bets

Second quarter economic growth data caught the City by surprise, when the figure was doubled from 0.3% to 0.6% at the final estimate.

Third quarter growth, initially put at 0.6% for an annual rate of 1.9%, gets its first revision on Wednesday.

A further surprise cannot be ruled out, but few expect an uplift this time with data set to confirm manufacturing is flat and industrial production weak.

The stock market could mark time this week, particuarly in the latter half with Wall Street closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Major economic data is scarce, although the Confederation of British Industry's industrial trends survey is out Monday.

Last month the CBI hedged its bets. It reported "tentative signs" of recovery in manufacturing, but no guarantee that firms had started to turn the corner.

Also reporting this week...

Quintain Estates, reporting Tuesday, and developer Countryside Properties, a day later, are to join forces for an ?89m development in south west London.

Low-cost fashion chain New Look Group also issues interims on Tuesday. Sales growth has revived, but founder Tom Singh's ?698m bid is the main interest.

Tuesday also sees first half figures from banknote printer De LaRue which recently won a contract in Iraq.

MONDAY November 24

Finals: Cardpoint, Fountains, Innovation Group, RM.

Interims: Air Music & Media, Merchant retail Group, Micap, Prelude Trust, UBC Media.

CBI industrial trends survey.

TUESDAY November 25

Finals: Abacus, Care UK, Character Group, Enterprise Inns, Greencore Group, Intec Telecom Systems, London Merchant Securities, Topps Tiles.

Interims: Acambis (Q3), Cybit Holdings, De La Rue, Enterprise Inns, Genus, ICAP, Jarvis Group, Kingston Communications, New Look Group, Quintain Estates & Developments, Signet (Q3), South Staffordshire Group, TBI, Tribal Group, Trifast.

WEDNESDAY November 26

Finals: Anglo Irish Bank Corp, Carlton Communications, Countryside Properties, Granada, Lonmin, Nord Anglia Education, Paragon Group.

Interims: Avocet Mining, British Land, IFX Group, Merrydown, Speedy Hire.

Index of distribution (Sep). Gross domestic product (Q3 revised estimate).

THURSDAY November 27

Finals: Daily Mail & General Trust.

Interims: Castings, Helical Bar, Investec, Johnson Mathey, Pennon, Pillar Property, Workplace Systems International.

US markets closed for Thanksgiving Day.

FRIDAY November 28

Interims: Black Arrow Group, Clarity Commerce Solutions, Plasmon, Telecom Plus.

Trading update: Anite Group.