Investors on the London stock market will next week pore over British economic data releases and more company earnings alongside events surrounding the Greece bailout saga. London's FTSE 100 index of top shares closed at 5,852.39 points on Friday, down 0.83 percent from a week earlier.
British inflation data for January due on Tuesday precedes next week's figures on unemployment and retail sales. The Bank of England on Thursday said it would prop up Britain's faltering economy with an additional £50 billion (60 billion euros, $79 billion) and keep interest rates at a record-low 0.50 percent as recession clouds hang over the country.
Recent data revealed that the economy contracted by more than expected in the fourth quarter, placing it dangerously close to another downturn.
Gross domestic product (GDP) dipped 0.2 percent in the three months to December. Another quarter of contraction would place Britain in a technical recession. But data Thursday painted a slightly rosier picture, showing that industrial output was up in December, when Britain's trade-in-goods deficit also fell.
Among the British companies posting annual earnings next week are InterContinental Hotels Group, defence group BAE Systems and miner Anglo American. This week saw two of Britain's titans post bumper profits. BP on Tuesday announced 2011 net earnings of $23.9 billion, returning to profit with a bang as the British energy giant prepares for a criminal trial over the US Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
Meanwhile on Friday, Barclays reported an annual net profit of £3.0 billion, although this was down 16 percent compared with 2010. The British bank also said it was slashing its bonus pool by a quarter on Friday to £2.15 billion amid public outcry over excessive bankers' pay in Britain.
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