Next, Sainsbury, Cairn Energy and L&G lead next week's schedule.
Next Wednesday will see the last Budget of the current government, with Alistair Darling set to begin his speech at 12:30pm. With the election looming and public spending under pressure, we could see a mixture of carefully targeted tax rises and giveaways.
Clothes shopping
On the corporate front, there's news expected from a number of retailers, particularly those of the clothing variety.
Next (LSE: NXT) has full-year figures out on Thursday. After a decent Christmas period, it's expecting pre-tax profits to fall between £490m and £500m. Its comments on current trading should also cast a little light on the state of the economy. Moss Bros (LSE: MOSB) and Ted Baker (LSE: TBK) have results out on the same day next week. While Ted Baker's profits have held up well over the last couple of years, Moss Bros is looking to turn its fortunes around.
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) should unveil profits of around £540m on Thursday. The DIY specialist has a seven-step plan for increasing shareholder value, which includes expansion in France and Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) has a fourth-quarter trading update out on Wednesday. The supermarket will be hoping to build on the Christmas quarter where it saw like-for-like sales growth of 4.2%.
Holes in the ground
A number of mid-line oilies are set to report next week. Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) leads the way on Tuesday, with Soco (LSE: SIA) following up on Wednesday and Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) on Thursday.
Cairn is expecting a step change in profits in 2010, as its Rajasthan project ramps up production. It's also looking at an active drilling programme in Greenland. Soco will also be busy this year, having recently raised £100m to fund drilling campaigns in Vietnam and Africa, while Premier is focusing on increasing its production levels from 44,000 to 75,000 barrels per day.
Mining fans are also well catered for. On the base metal front there is Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC) and Ferroexpo (LSE: FXPO), while gold bugs have figures from mid-tier producers Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG), formerly known as Peter Hambro Mining, and Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) to enjoy.
And the rest...
Smiths Group (LSE: SMIN) is set to issue half-year figures next Wednesday. Sadly, the diverse industrial group is not quite as cheap as it was last October but we could hear more on its plans to focus its business on a few core areas.
Like most insurers, Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) has slashed its dividend in the wake of the credit crunch. That said, its share price has more than trebled from the 23p it hit last March. Somewhat worryingly, it sees offering insurance against pension fund deficits as a new growth market.
One financial firm that hasn't cut its dividend, not yet at least, is Man Group (LSE: EMG). The historic yield on the hedge fund manager's shares is now a whopping 12%. Investors will be scouring its trading update on Wednesday to see what the future holds for this mammoth payout.
Finally, among the smaller companies to watch out for next week are Abbey Protection (LSE: ABB) and Healthcare Locums (LSE: HLO).
Abbey sells niche insurance products and is one of many companies that has brought forward a dividend payment to avoid the imminent 50% income tax band. Healthcare Locums is cashing in on the increased demand for healthcare staff, particularly in the US where 1.2m new nurses could be needed by 2014.
Notable announcements next week:
Monday: AG Barr, Healthcare Locums, Green Dragon Gas, Nautical Petroleum, Regus and Wolseley
Tuesday: 888 Holdings, Cairn Energy, Ferroexpo, Imperial Tobacco, Legal & General, Severfield Rowen and Trafficmaster
Wednesday: Abbey Protection, Bellway, Eurasian Natural Resources, Hochschild Mining, Man Group, Sainsbury, Smiths Group and Soco
Thursday: Ceres Power, Kingfisher, Moss Bros, Next, Petropavlovsk, Premier Oil, PV Crystalox Solar, Signet Jewelers and Ted Baker
Friday: Songbird Estates
