Business Information Service: This week

MONDAY 16.8.93: Headline growth at Argos in the first half will be nearly 50 per cent, with underlying progress estimated at a healthy 19 per cent. With no exceptional costs anticipated, interim pre-tax profits of pounds 14m would be up by 47 per cent.

Figures for US industrial production for July are expected to show a rise of 0.4 per cent, more than reversing the 0.2 per cent fall in June.

TUESDAY 17.8.93: Hanson's third- quarter results are not expected yet to show the signs of upturn to which its highly geared US businesses will respond. Pre-tax profits will benefit from currency translation which should add around pounds 35m to profits expected to be up 2 per cent at pounds 280m.

Sedgwick (today) and Willis Corroon (Thursday) both report interim results. Sedgwick's UK retail operation, which fell by 1 per cent in the first quarter, is underperforming that of Willis. Its US retail operations, however, are doing slightly better (up 1.5 per cent in the first quarter). Sedgwick's interim profit before tax should rise by around 6 per cent to pounds 55m, with Willis Corroon showing a 15 per cent rise to pounds 62m.

The latest CBI distributive trades survey is released.

A deficit of pounds 1.9bn is expected for the UK PSBR for July, which would imply a cumulative deficit of pounds 15.5bn in the financial year so far, against the official full-year forecast of a pounds 50bn deficit.

WEDNESDAY 18.8.93: Marley's interim profits should reflect the tight control of costs and plant closures. Analysts are looking for a 24 per cent increase in profits to pounds 12m. Estimated fixed costs are down by over pounds 28m since 1991 through closing brick, block and tile factories.

The latest German M3 money supply statistics should reveal that annualised growth has risen to 8 per cent, from 7 per cent in July, largely after foreign capital inflows ahead of the ERM crisis.

The July RPI is expected to show retail prices inflation up from 1.2 per cent in June to 1.5 per cent. A 0.3 per cent fall in retail sales is expected, despite talk of sales maintaining their buoyant trend.

THURSDAY 19.8.93: The UK's M4 money supply growth is estimated at 0.5 per cent for July, pushing the year-on-year rise up slightly to 3.3 per cent from 3.2 per cent. M4 bank and building society lending of pounds 2.2bn is forecast, sharply up from pounds 0.7bn in June, but largely reflecting seasonal factors.

Building society net new commitments are expected to hold steady at pounds 3.2bn for July, the same as in June.

FRIDAY 20.8.93: A UK visible trade deficit (excluding trade within the EC) of pounds 700m is expected, widening from the pounds 613m June deficit.

Results: NatWest Securities. Median economic forecasts: MMS International.