Business and City Summary

Bentsen predicts moderate growth

Lloyd Bentsen, the US Treasury Secretary, said yesterday he expected only moderate US economic growth.

He said that the US economy was performing better than the economies in Japan and Europe, but lower interest rates in Germany and France and efforts by Japan to stimulate its economy should help to create demand for US exports.

Housing optimism

Seven homeowners in 10 expect the housing market to pick up this year, with prices rising 2 per cent in the next six months, according to Britannia Building Society.

Owing to technical difficulties some copies of Saturday's paper appeared without the shares and unit trust prices. We apologise to readers for any inconvenience.

TODAY

Interims: Foreign & Colonial Eurotrust, M&G Group, SEP Industrial.

Finals: Allied Lyons, Baring Stratton Inv Tst, Berry Birch & Noble, British Inv Trust, Govett American Endeavour Fund, Hartons Group, Ryan Hotels, Whitbread.

TOMORROW

CBI survey of distributive trades (April), Industrial production (March), Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. US housing starts.

Interims: Archimedes Inv Trust, BOC Group, Concentric, Diploma, Fenner, Hanson, Sedgwick Group (Q1), Yorkshire-Tyne Tees, H Young Holdings.

Finals: British Airways, Elswick, Foreign & Colonial German, Hartlepools Water, Marks & Spencer.

WEDNESDAY

Retail sales (April), public sector borrowing requirement (April).

Interims: Acatos & Hutcheson, Anglo Irish Bank Corp, Baggeridge Brick, Bass, Commercial Union (Q1), Compass Group, Dunedin Worldwide Inv, Group Dev Capital Trust, Leeds Group, M&G Income Inv Trust, New Zealand Inv Trust, Willis Corroon (Q1).

Finals: Baris Holdings, Chamberlain & Hill, El Oro Mining & Exploration, Exploration Co, Fulcrum Inv Trust (4th int div), Frank G Gates, M&G Recovery Inv Trust, Young & Co Brewery.

THURSDAY

Vehicle production (April prov); unemployment (April prov); average earnings (March).

Interims: British Gas (Q1), Hunterprint Group, National Australia Bank, Southern Radio.

Finals: Airflow Streamline, Drayton Blue Chip Trust, Drayton English & Intl Trust, Ferguson Intnl, French Connection, Gerrard & National, King & Shaxson, Kunick, Martin Currie Eur Inv, Merchant Retail, New Throgmorton Trust, Scottish Power, Smith St Aubyn, Starmin, Storehouse, Westbury, York Waterhouse.

FRIDAY

Retail prices index (April); building society monthly figures (April); provisional estimates of monetary aggregates (April).

Interims: Albion, Richards.

Finals: Daks Simpson, Mezzanine Capital & Income, Ocean Wilson Holdings, Worth Inv Trust.