London investors will next week focus on the British government's annual budget, amid a smattering of crucial data and company earnings news. The capital's FTSE 100 index of leading shares finished at 5,965.58 points on Friday, up 1.33 percent from a week earlier.
Finance minister George Osborne will unveil his third budget on Wednesday, but is widely expected to stick to his austerity plans to slash the deficit and avoid a debt crisis.
Ahead of the budget, media have reported that Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne will decide to cut income tax for the country's highest earners, but such a move would need funding with more austerity measures elsewhere.
"For the UK, the week ahead holds the big fiscal event of 2012 with the chancellor set to deliver his 2012 Budget," said Investec bank economist Victoria Cadman.
"With fiscal room for manoeuvre approaching zero, we look for the chancellor to shuffle his fiscal cards considering where he can save a few pounds to fund a small spree elsewhere."
Osborne is under pressure from the right wing of his Conservative Party and business leaders to slash the top rate in order to stimulate growth and boost Britain's economic recovery.
He will also unveil the government's latest official forecasts for economic growth and state borrowing.
Aside from the budget, investors will also digest a crucial batch of monthly economic data next week, with inflation due on Tuesday and public finances on Wednesday.
The Bank of England will also publish minutes from its most recent monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
On the company earnings front, investors will focus on annual results from oil explorer Cairn Energy on Tuesday and home improvements retailer Kingfisher on Thursday.
Comments
Comments are closed.