RUSSELL LYNCH and GRAEME EVANS

Economic news will take centre stage this week as analysts look to a number of official releases for clues about the timing of future interest rate cuts.

After the Bank of England's recent rate cut , markets will be hoping for a clearer picture on prospects for borrowing costs from a range of economic data due before the festive break.

Although the City is expecting at least two more rate cuts from the Bank next year to stimulate a slowing economy, it will be poring over the minutes of the December rate meeting on Wednesday to gain hints on the timing of the next policy easing from the strength of the vote to cut rates.

Sports Direct
Sports World tycoon Mike Ashley's Sports Direct empire is set to post interim figures on Wednesday with investors braced for yet more bad news at the close of a turbulent year for the business.

In November, the sportswear company warned underlying earnings this year would fall below the £191.8m seen in the 12 months to the end of April after the England football team failed in its bid to qualify for next summer's European championships.

While this week's results cover the 26 weeks to October 28, the summer downpours affecting the sportswear sector and the beginnings of a tail-off in consumer spending are likely to put pressure on the firm, which posted operating profits of £76.4m in the same period last year.

November's pessimistic update was Sports Direct's second profits warning since it became a listed company in February, gaining Ashley £929m in the process.

In the latest embarrassment this week, Merrill Lynch - whose investment banking division sponsored Sports Direct's public debut - advised investors to sell the shares at less than a third of the original 300p float price.

Merrill warned its clients that England's failure would hit margins as the company slashes prices to get rid of unwanted football shirts.

National Express
Bus and rail group National Express is tomorrow expected to give a healthy verdict on trading and set out its stall for further growth next year.

In a brief snapshot last month, the London-based firm said its current performance was in line with expectations - led by a particularly strong revenue performance from its rail division, which has just started running the prestigious East Coast Main Line franchise.

But the company is also the UK's biggest coach operator and has impressed analysts with its growth potential of the business in Spain and North America.

Credit Suisse analyst Gerald Khoo expects a 9% increase in full-year profits to £170.5m.

Cookson
Continued strong demand from the steel industry should mean industrial materials group Cookson delivers a positive trading update tomorrow.

Known in its markets as Vesuvius, Cookson's ceramics division reported an excellent first half of 2007, with sales growth of 14% and profits up 30%. The company's second largest division - electronics - experienced a subdued first half, but Landsbanki said the market may have picked up since then. The division supplies advanced surface treatment and plating chemicals to the automotive, construction and electronics markets.

Cookson's smallest division involves precious metals and the supply of gold, silver and platinum to the jewellery industry in the United States, the UK, France and Spain.

The group, which employs 13,000 people in more than 35 countries, recently agreed a £497m deal for Tamworth-based Foseco, which is seen as highly complementary to its ceramics arm as it supplies products for the glass, solar panel and foundry industries.

Aggreko
The power supplier for major events such as the Glastonbury festival and the US Super Bowl has been one of the best performing stocks in the UK support services sector in recent years. Glasgow-based Aggreko, which specialises in portable power supply products, caused a surge in City forecasts in September after a 60% rise in half-year profits and said annual figures should be well ahead of analysts' hopes.

Aggreko has benefited from investment in its rental fleet, but also noted that power shortages in many of the countries in which it operates meant there was likely to be a growing need for its temporary power.

The company, which became an independent operation following its demerger from the Christian Salvesen Group in September 1997, is due to issue an end-of-year trading update tomorrow.