Business and City in Brief

German rates near

lowest point The German interest rate cycle will soon have reached its lowest point and any further rate cut will be small, the chairman of Germany's council of economic experts, or five wise men, forecast.

'It is thoroughly possible that we will have another small interest rate cut during the winter,' the council's chairman, Herbert Hax, said. 'But I have the impression that we will soon have come to the end of the interest rate cuts.'

Chinese link

China said it had completed all but the final 500 kilometres of a 21,000-kilometre fibre-optic cable communications link to Europe. The project will boost digital communications between China and Europe. About a third of the cable lies within China, with the rest traversing countries including Kazakhstan, Iran, Ukraine and Austria before terminating in Germany.

Roger Wallwork

Roger Wallwork, former finance director of Hollas, the clothing group, received no compensation for loss of office, contrary to the impression conveyed last Thursday. The sum of pounds 280,000 was paid to Tony Lawson, who lost his job as chief executive, but remains as non-executive chairman.

TODAY

Interims: Bullough, Clinical Computing, Greggs, Harry Ramsden's, St Andrew Tst.

Finals: Abtrust Scotland Investment Tst, Marling Industries, Merrydown Cider.

TOMORROW

CBI industrial trends survey for July.

Interims: Allied Textile Companies, Continental Assets, European Assets Tst, Gartmore British Income & Growth, HJ Joel Gold, M&G Dual Tst, Randfontein Estates, Rights & Issues Investment Tst, Shandwick, Temple Bar Investment Tst, Western Areas Gold.

Finals: Consolidated Murchison, Dalepak Foods, Fleming Emerging Mkts, Geared Income Investment Tst, Gibbs Mew, Misys, Murray Smaller Mkts Tst, Stagecoach Hldg.

WEDNESDAY

Second-quarter bricks and cement production and deliveries, second-quarter mortgage repossessions, first-half mortgage arrears and possessions.

Interims: BAT Industries, BT, Lex Service, Lloyds Abbey Life, Millgate, Murray Split Capital Tst, Reuters Hldg, Scottish National Tst, Spargo Consulting, Specialeyes, Standard Platform, Thornton Asian Emerging Markets Investment Tst.

Finals: Abtrust Preferred Income, Birkdale Gp, J&J Dyson, Fleming Emerging Markets, Govett Emerging Markets, MITIE Gp, Pex, Rubicon Gp, Shield Gp, Verson International.

THURSDAY

May energy trends; digest of UK energy statistics for 1993; major British banking groups' mortgage lending for June; new vehicle registrations for June.

Interims: Admiral, Ayrshire Metal Prods, Blagg, Chieftain Gp, Contra-Cyclical Investment Tst, Danka Business Systems, Derby Tst, Fleming Fledgeling, Green Property, ICI, John I Jacobs, Motor World, Premier Health, Sphere Investment Tst, Witan Investment Tst.

Finals: Sidney C Banks, Govett American Smaller, Jersey Phoenix Tst, Prior, Radiant Metal Finishing, Unitech.

FRIDAY

July economic trends; monthly digest of statistics for July.

Interims: African Lakes Corporation, BAA, Lloyds Bank.

Finals: Andrews Sykes, Electric & General Investment Tst, Flagstone Hldg, John Lusty Gp, Radiant Metal Finishing.