Thursday sees by-elections in Clacton and Heywood & Middleton, raising the prospect of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) winning its first parliamentary seat.
Judging by the odds down at the bookies, UKIP is a certainty to win the Clacton by-election, while Labour is a shoo-in for the Heywood and Middleton vote, though UKIP is expected to push the Liberals into third place.
The parties have been wheeling out the big guns – quite literally in the case of UKIP, where party leader Nigel Farage climbed on a tank and declared the party is “parking its tanks on Labour’s lawn”.
It is not known how the blue-rinse set would react to the thorny issue of vehicles being parked on lawns.
Earlier in the day the Bank of England’s policy-making committee will make its decision on interest rates – another event that could have a dramatic impact on the UK political landscape.
Oilfield services group Wood Group (John) is set to release an interim management statement a couple of days after Liberum Capital turned bearish on the sector.
“Oil companies are focused on costs at a time when oil prices are weakening. We fear the slowdown in demand for Oil Services may be prolonged and have cut our TPs [target prices] to reflect bottom-of-cycle multiples,” the broker said.
Its target price for Wood was reduced to 610p, prompting a ‘sell’ recommendation.
“Relatively high exposure to Upstream O&G, non-NOC [national oil corporation] clients and weak Turbine Activities point to challenges,” the broker said.
Significant announcements expected
Companies: Interims: Brown (N) Group (LON:BWNG). Trading statement: John Wood Group (LON:WG.), Victrex (LON:WG.), Hays (LON:HAS)
Economic: UK: RICS housing survey, MPC announcement. EU: ECB monthly bulletin. US: Weekly jobless claims. Wholesale inventories.