Greenspan speaks as earnings season opens

BUSINESS THIS WEEK: US Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan steals the show this week, with testimony to Congress that is expected to shed light on how the Fed will stem a sharp rise in debt yields that could threaten an economic recovery.

"Mr Greenspan will try to walk the tightrope of keeping rates low in the market but trying to talk up the economy," said Mr Tim Bond, international strategist at Barclays Capital.

He will be addressing politicians in a week when a rush of quarterly earnings from icons like chip leader Intel, software behemoth Microsoft and banking titan Citigroup may give the stock market another jolt higher as corporate America hints at an improving economy.

The next two weeks mark the most hectic period of the second-quarter earnings reporting season. Investors are betting the quarterly results will help justify Wall Street's double-digit run-up since major market gauges hit 2003 lows on March 11th.

Monday:

Results: Bank of America (Q2), Burberry, Citigroup (Q2), M&T Bank (Q2), SKF (Q2), Pace Micro Technology.

A.G.M.: Telework Systems (e.g.m.).

Meetings: Eurogroup finance ministers meet (Brussels)

Indicators: British producer prices (Jun) and retail sales (Jun); Italian industrial production (May).

Others: Public holiday in France.

Tuesday:

Results: Accenture (Q3), Dow Jones (Q2), Gannett (Q2), Glotel, Intel (Q2), Johnson & Johnson (Q2), Merrill Lynch (Q2), Motorola (Q2), New York Times (Q2), Philips (Q2), Reckitt Benckiser (Q2), Seagate Technology (Q4), State Street (Q2), Suedzuecker (Q1), Teradyne (Q2), Wells Fargo (Q2).

A.G.M.: British Airways, Burberry Group, Express Dairies, Great Portland Estates, Premier Oil, Youngs & Co Brewery.

Meetings: Ecofin ministers meet (Brussels); Quantum Business Solutions payroll seminar.

Indicators: Irish balance of international payments (Q1) and national income/expenditure (2002); US retail sales (Jun) and retailers' profits (Q1); British retail prices (Jun); German ZEW economic expectations (Jul); Italian consumer prices (Jun).

Others: Irish Stock Exchange half year review; US Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan gives semi-annual testimony to House of Representatives' financial services committee; US Treasury Secretary Mr John Snow travels to London, and Frankfurt to discuss the state of the global economy, with particular attention to growth prospects in Europe (to Fri); New governor and deputy governor of Bank of England appear before parliaments treasury select committee.

Wednesday:

Results: AMD (Q2), AMR (Q2), Apple (Q3), CR Bard (Q2), E*Trade (Q2), EMC (Q2), Ford (Q2), Genzyme (Q2), Harley Davidson (Q2), IBM (Q2), Iona Technologies (Q2), JP Morgan Chase (Q2), Knight Ridder (Q2), Kraft (Q2), Micronas (Q1), OM (Q2), Pixelworks (Q2), .

A.G.M.: BT, Flintstone Technologies, Gucci, Johnson Matthey, London Stock Exchange, Marks & Spencer.

Indicators: Euro-zone consumer prices (Jun); US business inventories (May), consumer prices (Jun), industrial production (Jun), capacity utilisation (Jun), real earnings (Jun) and National Association of Housebuilders index (Jul); British unemployment (Jun), unit wages (May) and average earnings (May).

Others: IBEC publishes its quarterly economic trends survey; Shannon Development publishes its annual report; ISME publishes it quarterly business trends survey; US Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan gives semi-annual testimony to Senate banking, housing and urban affairs committee; Marks & Spencer trading statement.

Thursday:

Results: Atlas Copco (Q2), Caterpillar (Q2), Coca-Cola (Q2), Continental Airlines (Q2), Delta Airlines (Q2), Electrolux (Q2), Equifax (Q2), First Data (Q2), General Motors (Q2), Georgia-Pacific (Q2), Guidant (Q2), Honeywell (Q2), Ingersoll Rand (Q2), Microsoft (Q4), Misys, Nextel Comms (Q2), Nokia (Q2), Northern Rock (H1), Northwest Airlines (Q2), PMC-Sierra (Q2), Robert Half International (Q2), RSA Security (Q2), SAP (Q2), Sulzer (H1), Unisys (Q2), UPM-Kymmene (Q2), Xilinx (Q1).

A.G.M.: Dairy Crest, De La Rue, Detica, Northern Foods, Renold, Uniq.

Meetings: World Bank conference on Trade, Investment and Development in the Middle East and Africa (Rabat).

Indicators: Euro-zone industrial production (May); Irish retail sales (May); US housing starts (Jun), building permits (Jun) and Philadelphia federal survey (Jul); British public sector net cash requirement (Jun) and M4 data (Jun).

Others: Enterprise Ireland publishes annual report; European Central Bank releases monthly report; NTMA auctions €600 million of the 3.24 per cent treasury bond 2009; Trading statement from Marconi.

Friday:

Results: Akzo Nobel (H1), Alstom (H1), Ericsson (Q2), Mattel (Q2), Visteon (Q2).

A.G.M.: BAA, Babcock International, Electrocomponents.

Meetings: German Finance Minister Mr Hans Eichel meets his Weimar Triangle counterparts from France and Poland, Mr Francis Mer and Mr Andrzej Raczko (Berlin).

Indicators: Euro-zone labour costs and earnings (Q1 revised); Irish construction employment (May) and census of industrial production (2001 provisional); US Michigan sentiment survey (Jul prelim); German producer prices (Jun); French current account (May); Italian industrial orders (May).