Business Information Service: This week

Monday

Anglo-American relations are expected to thaw when John Major visits President Clinton this week. In the meantime, a batch of economic indicators should confirm the recovery on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, the provisional figure for February's narrow money supply is predicted to rise 0.7 per cent, showing a year-on-year lift of 5.3 per cent. HSBC Holdings, the Hong Kong banking group, will deliver pre-tax profits of pounds 2.36bn for the year.

Tuesday

The European Union's enlargement negotiations with Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden, are scheduled to conclude today. The fourth quarter figures for US gross domestic product should confirm a 5.9 per cent rise on the year. Full-year profits at Abbey National will rise to pounds 685m from pounds 564m the previous year. General Accident, the insurance company, is expected to unveil a turnaround, from losses of pounds 29m to profits of pounds 273m, as hardening rates improve results in the sector.

Wednesday

The Treasury will release its monthly monetary report. Profits at GKN, currently in the throes of an unwelcome bid for Westland, will be down to pounds 97m, three-quarters of the pounds 127m it made last year.

Thursday

The Bundesbank will hold a council meeting in Frankfurt. Zeneca, the demerged drug company, will deliver profits of pounds 625m for the year.

Friday

January's final money supply figures should show a 0.2 per cent rise in the broad money supply, with a pounds 200m increase in lending for the month. Cookson Group, the speciality chemicals manufacturer, is expected to produce profits of about pounds 92m.

Sources: NatWest Securities, MMS International