Press Association
Sunday 22nd November 2009
Mobile phone giant Vodafone reports half-year figures on Tuesday as the group battles against an increasingly competitive market in the UK.
The Newbury-headquartered group largely blamed "intense" competition for a 4.7% slide in UK revenues during the first quarter.
It has been struggling to compete with Apple's iPhone, for which O2 currently has exclusive rights, with Orange coming on stream as distributor this month.
Elsewhere, consumers will be on the lookout for any suggestion that energy prices could rise when British Gas owner Centrica and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) provide trading updates ahead of the key winter months.
Centrica is set to outline recent trading on Thursday after an 80% rise in operating profits at its residential arm for the six months to June 30, at £299 million.
The firm made a 10% reduction in the standard gas tariff from February and a similar cut in electricity prices in May, but there are fears that the next move for industry prices could be upwards.
Supermarket Sainsbury's, which reports half-year figures on Wednesday, has already warned of slowing sales growth as inflation begins to ease.
The group saw its share price slump after the cautious trading statement, which came despite a 5.4% hike in second quarter like-for-like sales.
The City will be hoping for more signs of easing conditions in the embattled newspaper sector when media groups Trinity Mirror and Johnston Press post trading updates.
The credit crunch and recession has dealt a hammer blow to income from property and recruitment advertising, while there has been the structural impact of more activity moving online.
