Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

Results season for insurers and banks gets underway in the first week of August, with Legal & General, RSA Group, Aviva and Old Mutual from the former sector and HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland from the banking sector all set to weigh in.HSBC gets the ball rolling on Monday with its interim results. The market already knows that the first quarter performance was strong and well ahead of the corresponding period of 2009, thanks in large part to lower loan impairment charges, which fell to their lowest quarterly level for more than two years. Charles Stanley believes the half year results will be boosted by a significant fall in bad debts particularly in the US. "However, this will be partly offset by the fall in income from the Global Banking and Markets business in Q2 [second quarter]," claimed Charles Stanley analyst Nic Clarke.On Wednesday insurer Legal & General releases interim results. Panmure Gordon is forecasting European Embedded Value (EEV) operating profit of £572m, which it says is towards the top of the range of market forecasts.It's in line with the market's view with its International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) operating profit forecast of £394m, and is predicting a hefty hike in the interim dividend to 1.4p."We think that cash generation, dividend outlook and any comments concerning possible 2010 year end reserve releases will be the key issues," the broker said. "We are forecasting net cash generation at £321m (H1 [first half] 2009: £302m) following Q1 2010 cash generation at £179m (Q1 2009: £136m)," Panmure Gordon said, adding that an uplift to the previous net cash generation guidance of £600m for 2010 could be on the cards. "In addition, we will look to see if there is any steer on the dividend outlook and possible signs of a release of corporate default reserves that stand at £1.5bn. We view a reserve release at H1 as unlikely but think that there is a possibility at 2010 year end results assuming no material deterioration in the bond portfolio," the broker said.Away from the financial sector, pharmaceuticals company Shire issues a trading update on Wednesday at noon. Nomura Securities is predicting second quarter earnings per share (EPS) of 30.8 cents versus consensus of 29..8 cents. It thinks Adderall XR sales will total $69m while Elaprase sales are tipped to hit $104m."We estimate total revenues at $825m (+31.0% y-o-y [year-on-year], 2Q09A [actual figures for second quarter 2009]: US$630m) vs consensus $802m," the broker said.On the economic front the big event in the UK is the interest rate decision from the Bank of England, though all of the excitement is likely to take place behind closed doors as members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) argue the toss over the requirement, or lack thereof, to rein in inflation.Even though better than expected quarter-on-quarter growth of 1.1% in UK gross domestic product (GDP) has given the committee some wiggle room in terms of hastening what is seen as an inevitable hike in the rate, the smart money is still on the MPC voting to stick with the status quo.The previous two meetings have seen one MPC member, Andrew Sentance, vote for a small increase but there is no indication yet that he has succeeded in persuading any of his colleagues round to his view, even though most, maybe all, members are probably uneasy about the inflation rate showing little indication of moving back down to the target rate of 2%. The unexpectedly robust GDP figures have almost certainly killed off any lingering prospect of a revival of the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme. The minutes of the July MPC meeting revealed that the committee had debated the case for both a modest easing and a modest tightening in monetary policy.Monday August 02INTERIMSArena Leisure, Elementis, Fidessa, Hammerson, HSBC Holdings, Intertek Group, Keller Group, Management Consulting Group, Senior, Telecity Group, Tullett Prebon, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Xchanging, XP PowerINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATECompass GroupINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSConstruction Spending (US) (15:00)ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)PMI Manufacturing(EU) (09:00)PMI Manufacturing(GER) (08:55)GMSHealthcare LocumsFINALSFiltronicIMSSDiplomaEGMSLudgate Environmental Fund, LXB Retail Properties, Sistema GDR (Reg S)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Manufacturing (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEChloride Group, Hogg Robinson, JD Sports Fashion, United Utilities GroupQ1Gail (India) GDR (Reg S)Tuesday August 03INTERIMS888 Holdings, Capital & Counties Properties , Devro, Drax Group, GKN, ITV, Meggitt, SDL International, Taylor Wimpey, Weir Group, Xstrata, ZotefoamsINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATESinclair (William) HoldingsINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSABC Consumer Confidence (US) (22:00)Business Inventories (US) (15:00)Factory Orders (US) (15:00)Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00)Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)Personal Income (US) (13:30)Personal Spending (US) (13:30)PMI Construction (EU) (09:00)PMI Construction (GER) (08:55)Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)GMSKleenAir Systems InternationalANNUAL REPORTCohortAGMSBlue Planet Financials Growth & Income Inv Trust Unit, Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Inv Trust Units, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Hansa Trust, Monks Inv TrustUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Construction (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEJohnson MattheyWednesday August 04INTERIMS4imprint Group, Allied Irish Banks, Arbuthnot Banking Group, Bank Pekao GDS (Reg S), Cookson Group, GlobeOp Financial Services, Legal & General Group, Lloyds Banking Group, LSL Property Services, Premier Foods, Shire Plc, Standard Chartered, StatPro Group, Wolfson Microelectronics, Yamana Gold IncINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEBG Group, Bluehone AIM VCT 2, Dialight, Edinburgh UK Tracker Trust, Independent Inv Trust, Invesco English & International Trust, Maven Income and Growth VCT 3, Porvair, RAB Capital, Rank Group, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Reed Elsevier, St James's PlaceQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEQuorum Oil and Gas Technology Fund Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B'INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSCrude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)ISM Non-Manufacturing (US) (15:00)ISM Services (US) (15:00)MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)PMI Services (EU) (09:00)PMI Services (GER) (08:55)Retail Sales (EU) (10:00)Q2Shire Plc, Wolfson Microelectronics, Yamana Gold IncGMSEquity Partnership Income Shares, Octopus Phoenix VCT, Octopus Second AIM VCTFINALSMaxima HoldingsIMSSCarpetright, Marston'sEGMSEpic Securities ZDP Shares, Equity Partnership Income Shares, Octopus AIM VCTAGMSGas Turbine Efficiency, Petro Matad, Strategic Natural Resources, Workplace SystemsTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSNextUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBRC Shop Price Index (00:01)Official Reserves (09:30)PMI Composite (09:30)PMI Services (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAshley (Laura) Holding, Bond International Software, Homeserve, Octopus Protected VCT 1, Record, Vedanta ResourcesFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEAberdeen New Dawn Inv Trust, Carclo, Clyde Process Solutions, Cohort, Creston, Latham (James), RPC Group, SABMiller, SSL International, Sutton HarbourQ1British Land CoThursday August 05INTERIMSAviva, Barclays, Capital Shopping Centres Group, Cobham, Endeavour International Corp, Ferrexpo, Fiberweb, Hardy Underwriting Bermuda, Ladbrokes, Lancashire Holdings, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Nestor Healthcare, Novo-Nordisk AS 'B' Shares, Ote ADS, Planet Payment Inc., Rio Tinto, RSA Insurance Group, Schroders, Smith & Nephew, Spirent Communications, UnileverINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATETHB GroupINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSContinuing Claims (US) (13:30)ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45)Factory Orders (GER) (11:00)Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)Q2Aviva, Lancashire Holdings, Ote ADS, Smith & Nephew, UnileverGMSVyke CommunicationsFINALSAquarius Platinum Ltd.ANNUAL REPORTDart GroupIMSSMetric Property Investments EGMSTroy Income & Growth TrustAGMSC&C Group, Focus Solutions, Invesco Asia Trust, Schroder UK Growth Fund, Schroder UK Growth Fund Subscription Shares, Sofia Property Fund LimitedTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSBellwayUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBoE Interest Rate Decision (12:00)Halifax House Price Index (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBurberry Group, Charles Stanley, Dairy Crest Group, De La Rue, Mckay Secs., VictoriaFriday August 06INTERIMSBrammer, Catlin Group, Inmarsat, Logica, Old Mutual, PartyGaming, Royal Bank of Scotland, Stanley Gibbons, TomkinsINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATECareTech Holding, Chemring Group, HeavitreeQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEInvestors Capital Trust 'A' SharesINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSConsumer Credit (US) (20:00)Industrial Production (GER) (11:00)Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)Q2InmarsatGMSCorero, Polo Resources, Renewable Power & LightEGMSRuffer Investment Company Ltd.AGMSAlpha Tiger Property Trust, Carpathian, Majestic Wine, Pathfinder Minerals , Tanzanite OneUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSIndustrial Production (09:30)Manufacturing Production (09:30)Producer Price Index (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAurora Inv Trust, Establishment Inv Trust, F&C Global Smaller Companies, Halfords Group, Hyder Consulting, Invensys, Investment Company (The), Monks Inv Trust, Mothercare, Shanks Group, Telecom Plus, Vodafone Group, Walker Greenbank, Wincanton, Workspace Group