Wednesday preview: Barclays to report first half results

Barclays will steal the show on Wednesday when it reports its first half results. The bank is expected to report pre-tax profits of £2.8bn after £500m of additional payment protection insurance (PPI) provisions and £386m in costs of the company's so-called Transform strategy, according to Numis. The broker also forecasts core operating profits to fall to £3.8bn from £4.3m a year earlier, with non-core losses reducing slightly to £476m from £672m.Numis said there will be particular attention paid to operating costs, which the analyst predicts will decline to £8.1bn from £9.1bn, slightly ahead of consensus of £8.3bn.The bank has been slashing costs across the board with plans to cut 7,000 jobs by the next three years at the investment banking division.Revenue in investment banking is forecast to drop 23%, reflecting a 31% fall in fixed income, currencies and commodities, and a 4% decrease in banking revenue. Shares in the company have fallen 19% this year amid scandals involving high-frequency trading and currency investigations. The lender is embroiled in a US lawsuit that claims it hid the presence of high-frequency traders in its dark pool, or private-trading platform. It is also negotiating a settlement with the UK over a currency-rigging probe. Other major companies out with results include British American Tobacco, Shire, Atkins and ITV. Antofagasta and Vedanta Resources will release production reports. Wednesday July 30thINTERIMS4Imprint Group, Aer Lingus Group, British American Tobacco, Dignity, First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Greggs, Foxtons, Hrvatske Telekom D.D GDR (Reg S), International Personal Finance, ITV, Jupiter Fund Management , Moneysupermarket.com Group, New Europe Property Investments, Rightmove, Riverstone Energy Limited , SEGRO, Smurfit Kappa Group, Tarsus Group, Taylor Wimpey, Travis Perkins, Tullow OilINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATECQS Diversified Fund Ltd Ord NPV £INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEBlackrock Throgmorton Trust, Fenner, Frenkel Topping Group, Jiasen International Holdings Ltd, McColl's Retail Group , Microgen, Nichols, PorvairQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATECity of London Inv TrustINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBusiness Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00)Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00)FOMC Interest Rate (US) (19:00)GDP (Advance) (US) (13:30)MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)Q2First Quantum Minerals Ltd.GMSMirada, Scotgold Resources (DI), Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S)FINALSBetter Capital Pcc Ltd (2009)IMSS3i Group, Atkins (WS), Compass Group, DiplomaDRILLING REPORTAntofagasta, Polymetal International, Vedanta ResourcesEGMSForte Energy NL, Global Ports Investments GDR (REG S), Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S)AGMSAtkins (WS), Aurasian Minerals , CML Microsystems, Cropper (James), Fastjet, Kibo Mining, Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Inv Trust, Northern 2 VCT, RENN Universal Growth Investment Trust, Sepura, Sepura, SerVision, Stallion Resources , Westside InvestmentsFINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEHelical Bar, Norcros, Record, Rensburg AIM VCTFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEInfinis Energy, Investec, Latham (James), RedcentricRD