LONDON (ShareCast) - At Mothercare´s annual meeting - this Thursday - new Chief Executive Simon Calver is expected to deliver a progress report on his planned three-year turnaround. Critically, given that the outcome for the full-year is forecast to be a drop of 2.5 per cent in like-for-like sales, it would be surprising if the figures this week are much different, writes The Sunday Times´s Matthew Goodman. Nevertheless, there are reasons for optimism. As the share price is already correctly reflecting - in his opinion - Calver is getting to grips with the overabundance of stores. More importantly, he is also working hard to improve the online offering. The shares stand at 475p, which looks about right until there are further signs that Mothercare is being revived and that a feel good factor as a result of the birth of Phil and Kate´s heir has taken hold of Britain, as the company claims.

Security company G4S is now facing a Serious Fraud Office investigation into overcharging in government tagging contracts. The results of that scrutiny may see the company ending up having to repay tens of millions of pounds. Worse still, it comes after the already well-publicised Olympic debacle, which in turn saw the Government strip G4S of a prison-operating order in November. Even so, G4S is looking to emerging markets for future growth and despite the threat of a fine and worries over margins the shares look cheap. The current year earnings multiple is 10, falling to 8.9, and the yield is 4.4%. At this level, they are for speculative investors, but uncertainty means The Sunday Telegraph´s Questor thinks the rating has to remain as a hold.

Call centre specialist Eckoh´s aim is to improve the experience of consumers utilising a diverse range of firms´ call centres and automated client services, a critical fuction for many businesses. The company, which is well-known for its speech recognition services, has recently added new offerings including via website and mobile phone apps. Eckoh also helps companies take card payments more securely. Significantly, in the past Eckoh typically added six new customers a year. Last year, it gained 12, so it now has more than 50 clients. Over the next few years, Chief Executive Nik Philpot expects to add between 18 and 20 annually. Its clients include Premier Inn, the Department of Health and minicab firm Addison. For the Financial Mail on Sunday´s Midas column: "Eckoh is a small but impressive business offering a service that helps companies to cut costs and improve customer service. The shares have risen in recent months but they should increase further. Buy."

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