The owner of the Amsterdam and Paris stock exchanges, among others, is looking to insert the London market into that list and saw its bidding rival, Deutsche B?, drop out last week. However, these results are unlikely to make for pretty reading, with analysts expecting a slide in profits after trading revenues fell and Euronext trimmed its stake in the clearing business Clearnet. Talks, though, are still going on with the London Stock Exchange, and these will be the main focus of the presentation.Another company of interest to domestic analysts is Pernod Ricard. The French drinks group publishes final figures – but its thoughts on the current wave of consolidation, and whether it is interested in Allied Domecq, will be bigger news. However, there are concerns that the price of steel is not sustainable, meaning margins will come under pressure.Mainland Europe also has a number of companies reporting, some of which will be of interest to British investors, such as Euronext. There will also be news from Standard Life, which, for the time being at least, remains a mutual.

Following a strategic review, the demutualisation was put back on track for 2006, so these results should garner interest across the board.Corus has been through the mill in recent years, but its restructuring and strong steel prices mean it is forecast to move into the black, with net income of around £56m against last year’s £305m loss Debt levels are thought to be around £1bn. Investors will be looking for clarification.Other companies also on show include the mining group Antofagasta, steel producer Corus, engineering business Cookson, aerospace outfit Smiths and life and pensions group Friends Provident. In particular, the group’s strategy of opening larger stores is now well under way – the tape will be cut in Maidstone in Kent on Thursday – and property deals have helped it to trim debt. The group was also rumoured to be interested in bidding for parts of the collapsed Allders chain, but has since thought to have pulled out. Rival John Lewis revealed a slowdown in sales at its department stores, and some analysts believe HoF’s like-for-like numbers could have dipped into negative territory after a tough fourth quarter.But it is not all gloom and some in the City are hoping for better things from HoF this year.

The focus, though, will not be on the figures but on management’s expectations for the crucial Easter trading period and beyond into the summer. News on the hoped-for improvements at Castorama, its French unit, will also be keenly sought.Something of a precedent may well have set last week for House of Fraser. Group pre-tax profits are expected to rise, from £589m to £672m, primarily as a result of Kingfisher’s long-term plans to trim the number of suppliers it deals with and cut costs. These come at a nervous time for investors in the sector, who have already had to deal with a profits warning from the chemist chain Boots and a report from the British Retail Consortium revealing dire sales across the high street in February.Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and sponsor of Ellen Mac- Arthur’s record-breaking yacht, has already made waves after revealing last month that recent trading at B&Q had been tough. In particular, a slew of retail results continues with offerings from DIY chain Kingfisher, department store group House of Fraser and fashion brand Ted Baker. Apparently, a certain Scottish gentleman will be addressing his fellow MPs this week. Markets will, of course, be paying close attention to what Gordon Brown has to say, not least because most traders will be having the traditional flutter on how many times the Chancellor says “prudent” or sips his water.
But, in an election year, no one expects anything too shocking from the Budget, so the non-gambling members of the City will be grateful for some corporate news to keep them occupied.

This will increase trust in the brand and ensure it gets passed on through word of mouth.”. Mr Milsom could work with child development agencies and offer a service through them.”The internet should not be overlooked. Mr Milsom should continue to use tightly focused keywords, though – or he will find himself paying for click-throughs that aren’t really qualified leads.”Finally, Anything Left-Handed should harness the power of the members club linked to its website. Many retailers get 20 per cent of their sales from affiliates. Set a policy governing what keywords your affiliates can, or cannot, bid on.”Annabel Pritchard, corporate brand manager, the Chartered Institute of Marketing”Mr Milsom is right that he should focus on his website as a key revenue source. But other marketing techniques should not be overlooked.”Anything Left-Handed has a news search service for cuttings including the word ‘left-handed’; it can focus on these articles as hooks for its own stories or as a way to get attention in the media.”The company should target parents with left-handed children, building brand awareness and becoming a trusted source of advice. The company should consider using pay-per-click more tactically, eg for seasonal promos, to plug holes where it doesn’t rank well, or to develop its business overseas.”Left-Handed already has the natural side pretty well covered.

I’d pay a consultant to advise occasionally on further tweaks and outsource pay-per-click to an agency with remuneration 90 per cent performance-based.”Left-Handed should also expand its affiliate activity. You’ve got plenty to focus on in terms of customer acquisition, conversion and retention without spending time creating indirectly relevant content.”Anything Left-Handed says: ‘We are pretty sure we are making a profit from pay-per-click’ ‘Pretty sure’ is not good enough. The pay-per-click programs provide full, free tracking for paid searches and you can get inexpensive solutions to cover all other areas. By becoming more efficient, Left-Handed will at the same time make its marginal keywords profitable, enabling it to increase the scale of its profitable pay-per-click activity.”Improve the conversion rate by developing specific ‘landing pages’ for major pay-per-click keywords.