London pre-open: Flat start foreseen

London is set to start the day barely changed as traders sit on their hands ahead of the comprehensive spending review to be announced on Wednesday. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 2 points from yesterday's close of 5,742.First half underlying pre-tax profits from Premier Inn and Costa Coffee owner Whitbread were in line with market expectations but the company had a pleasant surprise on the dividend front. Group underlying profit before tax rose by 28.4% to £151.8m in the six months to 2 September from £118.2m in the corresponding period of last year. The interim dividend, which most brokers had expected to be moved up to 10p or a little above has been hiked to 11.25p.Autonomy's chief Mike Lynch said growth prospects for the data search software giant remain good despite the recent slump in its share price. Third quarter profits in the three months to September rose to $57.6m from £48.6m as sales climbed 10% to a record $211m. Underlying operating profits rose by 34% to $86.3m. A cloud over sportswear retailer Sports Direct International has been lifted as the company indicated that no charges will be brought against it by the Serious Fraud Office.Automotive and aerospace engineer GKN expects a "solid" end to the year after sales in the third quarter jumped 21% and trading profit almost doubled."The outlook for GKN's markets in the fourth quarter remains positive with group sales expected to be at a similar level to the third quarter," the group said Tuesday. Whitbread