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Home Retail (HOME.L); has forecast that annual profit will be slightly ahead of the top end of market forecasts after Argos and Homebase are predicted to beat expectations.

This morning the retailer said it expected pre-tax profit to be "slightly ahead" of the top end of the current range of market forecasts which are in the range of £107-111 million.

The firm had estimated annual profit towards the top end of forecasts of £90-109 million.Like-for-like sales at Argos rose to 5.2% or £526m in the final eight weeks of its fiscal year to March 1. Sales on the same basis at Homebase rose 9.3% to £203m. Argos sales for the year were up 3.3% to £4bn as sa ...

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MONDAY:

U.S.: 8:30 a.m. EST January Chicago Fed activity index [From 0.16 in December]

The search is on for evidence that recent economic weakness was just down to weather. But the Chicago Fed's January index is only likely to cloud the picture rather than cast light on it. (AM);

ISRAEL: 10:30 a.m. EST (6:30 p.m. Jerusalem); Bank of Israel interest-rate announcement [Benchmark rate at 1%]

The shekel's strength puts pressure on the central bank to trim rates after it gained nearly 10% during 2013. But taking steam out of the currency market through intervention is likely to remain the main policy tool. ( ...

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Minutes of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee's February policy meeting, published Wednesday, record the nine members of the panel voted unanimously this month to keep the BOE's benchmark interest rate at a low of 0.5% and the size of its asset-purchase program unchanged at 375 billion pounds ($625.61 billion);.

The panel said it expects the economy to expand 0.9% between January and March and to register a similar rate of growth in the second quarter.

"The news on the month had tended to strengthen ...

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