Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is forecast to report a decline in first half profits on Wednesday, reflecting ongoing challenging conditions in the general merchandise (GM) division. The company is expected to report pre-tax profit of £252m, down from £262 the previous year, according to Numis.Despite a major restructuring to turn GM around, the clothing division continues to drag on sales.In the first quarter results, full-price sales were up 'mid-single digit' in clothing, and slightly behind in GM overall.Underlying food sales showed a marked slowdown on a like-for-like (LFL) basis, due to the tough market amid a pricing war among supermarkets."We look for a negative second quarter GM LFL outturn (-2.5%), although we expect the group to reiterate its margin guidance, given the ongoing commitment to full-price, and see little scope for improvement in the food LFL given the tough trading backdrop," Numis said."In all, we look for H1 profit before tax of £252m, down on last year (£262m), reflecting the ongoing challenges in GM and tougher food environment, and leaving some downward pressure on full year estimates."Wednesday 5 NovemberINTERIMSCanaccord Genuity Group Inc., First Derivatives, FirstGroup, Marks & Spencer Group, Stewart & WightINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATECarillion, StatPro GroupQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEAssura Group Ltd.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 Composite (GER) (08:55)PMI Services (EU) (09:00)PMI Services (GER) (08:55)Retail Sales (EU) (10:00)Q2Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.Q3Avocet Mining, Lancashire Holdings Limited, OAO Severstal GDR (Reg S), Smurfit Kappa GroupGMSAtlas Development & Support Services LimitedFINALSApplied Graphene MaterialsIMSSAer Lingus Group, esure Group, Hunting, Meggitt, Old Mutual, Wetherspoon (J.D.)EGMSOSJC Center for Cargo Container Traffic Transcontainer GDR (Reg S)AGMSHargreaves Services, Haynes Publishing Group, Infrastructure India, Jupiter European Opportunities Trust, Progility, Quoram, Schroder Japan Growth FundUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBRC Shop Price Index (00:01)Official Reserves (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAlumasc Group, IPPlus, Pacific Horizon Inv Trust