Inflation on the move

Inflation figures for December, due out this week, will given some indication of the initial inflationary aspects of that month's Budget. Specifically, the immediate rise in duty on cigarettes and petrol should begin to feed through to the index, which has no corresponding monthly figure for the previous year. Riada forecasts a monthly rise of 0.4 per cent, half of it due to the budgetary measures, the rest to underlying inflationary pressures. That would give a 13-month figure rise of 2 per cent, even before the much heralded inflationary pressure of rising import prices kicks in over the coming year.

Norwich Irish BS: Shareholders of Norwich Irish Building Society meet on Wednesday at an extraordinary general meeting to approve the sale of the society to the EBS building society. Assuming the takeover goes ahead, about 10,000 savers with Norwich Irish will share a payout of £1.7 million in a bonus dependant on the balance of their share accounts. The EBS will acquire a loan book of £83 million and 16,500 new customers.

Monday

Results: Adscene Group (H1), Ashtead Group (H1), Cardiff Property, Mitie Group (H1), Netscape (Q4), Union Carbide (Q4).

A.G.M.: Abacus Polar, Barlow, Cosalt, Dominion Energy, Reuters (e.g.m.).

Meetings: Trocaire/Oxfam conference on regulation of foreign direct investment to promote sustainable economic growth (Earl of Kildare Hotel, Dublin).

Indicators: Irish total external trade (Sep); British public sector borrowing requirement; German trade balance (Nov) and current account (Nov); Italian industrial orders (Oct).

Others: Norwich Union new business figures. US markets closed for Martin Luther King public holiday; SuperValu supermarkets announce initiative on beef quality and safety at its stores; Project Development Centre's Enterprise Award Evening (Dublin Castle Conference Centre).

Tuesday

Results: Bucknall Group (H1), Continental Airlines (Q4), Delta Airlines (Q4), Johnson & Johnson (Q4), Merrill Lynch (Q4), Northwest Airlines (Q4), Pacific Corp (Q4), Seagate, Somerfield (H1), US Airlines (Q4), Usher of Trowbridge.

A.G.M.: Abtrust High Income Trust, Alvis, Concentric.

Meetings: Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business meets.

Indicators: Irish consumer price index (Dec); British retail sales (Dec), M4 money supply figures (Dec) and building societies' net mortgage approvals (Dec); German IFO survey (Dec) and money supply data (Dec).

anaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney formally opens new company, Conservation technology Ltd in Inchcore, Dublin.

Wednesday

Results: AMR (Q4), BankAmerica (Q4), Bell Atlantic (Q4), Catepillar (Q4), Chevron (Q4), Exxon (Q4), Lorien, McDonalds (Q4), Microsoft (Q2), SFI Group (H1), Ultraframe, Watson & Philip.

A.G.M.: Australia & New Zealand, Century Inns, Nedcor, Norwich Irish Building Society (e.g.m.), Widney.

Meetings: Bundesbank Council; Prof Norbert Walker, chief economist Deutsche Bank Group, addresses business breakfast hosted by Dublin Chamber of Commerce and German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin).

Indicators: Irish repo rate; British Chambers of Commerce economic survey (Q4); US trade deficit (Nov), Beige Book, NABH survey (Jan); German producer price in dex (Nov) and import prices.

Others: Dublin Chamber of Commerce introduce Irish Crimestoppers with the Garda and the Department of Justice.

Thursday

Results: Amoco (Q4), Bankers Trust (Q4), Becton Dickinson (Q1), Bell South (Q4), BristolMyers Squibb (Q4), First Leisure Corporation, Lonrho, McKay Securities (H1), John Menzies (H1), Ransom (Wm) & Son (H1), Southwest Airlines (Q4).

A.G.M.: Airtours, Burlington Group (e.g.m.), Burton Group, MEPC, MY Holdings.

Meetings: Bord Failte director general, Mr Matt McNulty presentation on tourism development programme for 1998 to Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism Sport and Recreation.

Indicators: US housing starts (Dec) and weekly jobless claims.

Others: The Pensions Board publishes The Trustee Handbook, a guide for occupational scheme trustees.

Friday

Results: WF Electrical (H1).

A.G.M.: Denby Group, Lucas Varity (e.g.m.).

Indicators: British GDP (Q4 prelim); US budget (December).