Investing Knowledge

If you think next week may be quieter than this week's slew of news then think again. Yes, Neelie Kroes won't be telling us how to run our banks and yes, we won't have an interest-rate decision from the Bank of England to digest. But we have something else to pore over -- two of the UK's biggest banks will open their books to reveal third-quarter results.

Banking profits

HSBC (LSE: HSBA.L - news) (LSE: HSBA) has escaped relatively unscathed from the global financial collapse. It avoided going cap in hand to the Government for a bailout though it did ask shareholders to stump up £12.5bn through a rights issue. Investors who took up their rights are sitting pretty though, as HSBC shares have rebounded strongly since the transaction was completed in April of this year.

However, investing is about looking forward, not back. On Tuesday, HSBC may flesh out its strategy to shift its focus from the west to the east. The bank is reportedly eyeing up the retail and commercial assets of Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) (LSE: RBS) in China, India and Malaysia. The bank may also comment on its progress to list on the Chinese stock market next year.

Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) (LSE: BARC) reports on Tuesday too. Boss John Varley recently claimed that paying bonuses is compatible with Christianity. His comments are seen a direct rebuff at the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said financiers have displayed no repentance. Barclays can afford to appear smug because it has not accepted any direct financial help from the Government. In fact, the bank has been on a spending spree. It not only picked up assets from Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH - news) at a discount, but more recently snapped up Standard Life Bank for £226m.

Vodafone (LSE: VOD.L - news) calling

And if Tuesday isn't going to be busy enough, Vodafone (LSE: VOD) is also pencilled in for interim results. Vodafone reckons it is on course for full-year profits of around £9.7 billion. So, a first-half turnover of around £20 billion and operating profit of about £6 billion would indicate that it is on target. 

Whilst you digest the Vodafone numbers, here's something else to chew over. It has teamed up with Pizza Hut for a new app on the new Vodafone 360 H1 phone. Customers will soon be able to order a pizza on their mobile and charge it to their phone bill.

Food and fags

Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY.L - news) (LSE: SBRY) is likely to report a 3% rise in sales for the last six months. However, Marks & Spencer (LSE: MKS.L - news) (LSE: MKS (MKX.TO - news) ) may be out gunning for the supermarket's customers. M&S recently said it would break with tradition and start stocking non-M&S branded goods. 

Results aside, rumours of a Sainsbury takeover by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund refuse to go away. The Qatar Investment Authority owns 26% of the supermarket, and there is speculation that it wants more. Sainsbury shares jumped almost 20% in October, prompting the Financial Services Authority to investigate.

Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT.L - news) (LSE: IMT) reckons that its acquisition of Altadis is bedding in well. The purchase is likely to double full-year profits to over £2bn. But where tobacco companies go, controversy is seldom far behind. Davidoff, a brand owned by Imperial Tobacco, and a sponsor of the Basel ATP World Tour 500 tournament, is embroiled in a row because advertising by cigarette companies is strictly prohibited in Europe. However, Switzerland is not in the EU and tobacco sponsorship is legal.

On the economics front next week, the government will post its latest house price data and the ONS will be reporting on the latest jobless numbers.

Notable results and updates

Monday: Latchways (LSE: LTC.L - news) and Lok'nStoreTuesday: Barclays, HSBC, InterContinental Hotels, Vodafone and YellWednesday: Great Portland Estates (LSE: GPOR.L - news) , Sainsbury, Scottish & Southern Energy and Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) Thursday: 3iGroup, Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) and Dairy Crest Group (LSE: DCG.L - news) Friday: HornbyDavid owns shares in Barclays.