London traders are looking forward to a quiet week ahead although neither British unemployment data nor results from Thomas Cook travel agency are expected to bring much comfort. Trading was volatile in the outgoing week, with London's FTSE-100 index of leading companies sliding 0.42 to 5,529.21 points, as investors tracked an attempt by EU leaders to agree on tighter budget policing in a desperate bid to save the eurozone.
Investors are still digesting the implications of Friday's summit at which 26 EU members agreed to enshrine tough budget rules with automatic sanctions in a "new fiscal compact" after Britain vetoed a new treaty. In the week ahead unemployment figures due out on Wednesday are expected to show a worsening on the job market as the British economy is double-whammied by government austerity measures and a slowdown in the neighbouring eurozone.
Analysts expect the unemployment rate to rise to 8.4 percent from 8.3 percent at the end of September, which was a 17-year high with 2.62 million jobless. November retail sales data due out on Thursday should give a clue on how British consumers are holding up ahead of the critical Christmas shopping season.
Thomas Cook, Europe's second-biggest travel firm, is to finally release its annual results on Wednesday.
They were delayed after the British firm said it was renegotiating its financing terms with banks after a sharp drop in business due to unrest in the Middle East and the weak economy. It should also announce a review of its activities in Britain, which could lead to the closing of 200 agencies.
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