LONDON (ShareCast) - Wednesday sees the publication of the minutes from July’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The market has become accustomed to David Blanchflower voting for a rate cut every time the committee meets to determine interest rate policy, but he’s normally only opposed by those in favour of maintaining the status quo.

However, in June, Professor Tim Besley got off the fence and voted for an increase in rates. The market will be exceedingly keen to find out whether the professor has recruited any more members of the MPC to his camp in the wake of July’s scary consumer prices data.

Professor Besley has been banging the drum again about the dangers of inflation, saying in The Sun newspaper that the Bank’s forecast that inflation will peak at 5% and fall to around the 2% target level by the end of 2009 will only be achieved “if people don’t chase inflationary wage increases.”

Holding down costs will be uppermost in the minds of newspaper and magazine distribution group John Menzies, which issues half year results.

The group said back in May that higher start-up costs had hurt profits at its aviation business, where the increase in the price of aviation fuel cannot have helped matters.

Stockbroker Altium Securities has pencilled in reduced pre-tax profits of £11.3m, down from £14.6m last time.

Inkjet printing technology group Xaar has already indicated that its pre-tax profit in the first half of 2008 will be around £3.8m, up from £3.1m a year ago, despite a slackening of sales in China for its Platform 1 products.

The sales slowdown is likely to restrict revenues to about £22.5m, down from £23.4m a year earlier.

The company was forced to issue a mild profit warning in July, citing increasing competition in China and also the collapse of a “a potentially significant” deal which the company had been pursuing for 18 months.
Xaar said the third party pulled out of the deal due to adverse economic conditions.

Wednesday August 20

INTERIMS
H & T Group, John Menzies, Kenmore European Industrial Fund, OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel, Robinson, Xaar

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Anglo American, Arena Leisure, Barclays, Baronsmead VCT 3, Baronsmead VCT 4, Brewin Dolphin, Dairy Farm International (Singapore), First Quantum Minerals, Hongkong Land Holdings, Informa, Jardine Matheson (Singapore), Pearson, Psion, Schroders, Spring Group, Stanley Gibbons, Ultra Electronics Holdings

AGMs
Business Direct, Opsec Security

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Caterpillar

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Mapeley, Thomson Reuters

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BoE Interest Rate Minutes (09:30)
M4 Money Supply (estimate) (09:30)
M4 Sterling Lending (estimate) (09:30)
Public Sector Finances (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Goldshield Group, Halma, IBIS Media VCT, National Grid

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Ashley House, BT Group, First Property Group, Gartmore Irish Growth Fund, Hartest Holdings, Immunodiagnostic Systems, Latchways, NWF Group, PHSC, Prosperity Minerals Holdings, PZ Cussons, Scottish & Southern Energy, Warner Estate Holdings

• News Channel