Week ahead: Political debates and central banks in focus

LONDON (ShareCast) - With little doubt what will be of most interest for investors next week, given that the next general elections are now looming, will be the three-way election debate between Cameron, Clegg and Miliband on the BBC´s 'Question Time' programme which is to be aired on Thursday. As regards the flow of economic data, the upcoming policy meetings of the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan will be next in importance. A heavy calendar of economic data also lies ahead in the UK and US. In Britain, the emphasis will be on the latest gross domestic product and manufacturing sector activity data.

Stateside, investors will focus on gross domestic product figures for the first quarter and the latest ISM manufacturing survey numbers which are scheduled for release on Friday.

Monday 27 April INTERIMS C4X Discovery Holdings , Lok'n Store Group FINALS Dillistone Group (LSE: DSG.L - news) , Lifeline Scientific Inc (LSE: LSIC.L - news) .

ANNUAL REPORT Augean IMSS Centrica EGMS Societatea Commerciala De Distributie Si Furnizare A Energiei Electrice S.A. GDR (Reg S) AGMS Biome Technologies (LSE: BIOM.L - news) , Brady (NYSE: BRC - news) , Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) , Dragon Oil (LSE: DGO.L - news) , Frutarom Industries Ltd GDR (Reg S), Globaltrans Investment GDR (Reg S), Good Energy Group, Honeywell International Inc (NYSE: HON - news) ., Minoan Group (LSE: MIN.L - news) , Symphony International Holdings Ltd.

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Playtech UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS CBI Industrial Trends Surveys (11:00) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Domino's Pizza Group, Phoenix Group Holdings (DI (KSE: 003160.KS - news) ), SpaceandPeople Q1 Orange Polska S.A. GDR (Reg S) Tuesday 28 April INTERIMS AB Dynamics (LSE: ABDP.L - news) , Avacta Group (LSE: AVCT.L - news) , Infrastrata (LSE: INFA.L - news) , Xeros Technology Group INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Consumer Confidence (US) (15:00) GMS (Taiwan OTC: 6481.TWO - news) MCB Bank Ltd GDR (Reg S), OJSC Phosagro GDR (Regs), Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S) FINALS Allied Minds (Other OTC: ALLWF - news) , Aseana Properties Ltd., Centralnic Group (LSE: CNIC.L - news) , EU Supply (LSE: EUSP.L - news) , Gresham House, Whitbread ANNUAL REPORT Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.(DI) IMSS Henderson Group (LSE: HGG.L - news) , SEGRO (Other OTC: SEGXF - news) , Standard Chartered (Other OTC: SCBFF - news) AGMS Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc. (Reg S), Dalata Hotel Group, Greencoat UK Wind (LSE: UKW.L - news) , JPMorgan Senior Secured Loan Fund Limited, Maintel Holdings (LSE: MAI.L - news) , Mithras Inv Trust, Murray International Trust, Murray International Trust 'B' Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) , Murray International Trust 'B' Shares, Rexam (LSE: REX.L - news) , Servelec Group (LSE: SERV.L - news) , Shire Plc (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) , Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S) TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Carpetright (LSE: CPR.L - news) , Synety Group (LSE: SNTY.L - news) UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS BBA Mortgage Lending Figures (09:30) GDP (Preliminary) (09:30) Index of Services (09:30) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) Q1 BP Wednesday 29 April INTERIMS Redefine International INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Balance of Payments (GER) (07:00) Business Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00) Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30) ECB Report (EU) (09:00) Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00) FOMC Interest Rate (US) (19:00) GDP (Advance) (US) (13:30) GFK Consumer Confidence (GER) (07:00) M3 Money Supply (EU) (09:00) MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00) Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00) Q4 MHP SA GDR (Reg S) FINALS Aquatic Foods Group , Development Securities (LSE: DSC.L - news) , Home Retail Group, MHP SA GDR (Reg S), Mi-Pay Group, Summit Germany Limited (LSE: SMTG.L - news) , Vimetco NV GDR (Reg S) ANNUAL REPORT Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S) IMSS Aer Lingus Group, Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS.L - news) , Next, Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) , TSB Banking Group EGMS Global Ports Investments GDR (REG S), MTI Wireless Edge Ltd (LSE: MWE.L - news) .

AGMS Aberdeen UK Tracker Trust, Admiral Group (LSE: ADM.L - news) , Aggreko (LSE: AGK.L - news) , Alliance Trust, Aviva (Other OTC: AIVAF - news) , BlackRock World Mining Trust, British American Tobacco, Countrywide (Other OTC: CTYWY - news) , Devro (LSE: DVO.L - news) , EMIS Group (LSE: EMIS.L - news) , EP Global Opportunities Trust, Global Invacom Group Limited (DI), Global Ports Investments GDR (REG S), Hellermanntyton Group (LSE: HTY.L - news) , Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (LSE: KWE.L - news) , Lancashire Holdings Limited (Other OTC: LCSHF - news) , London Stock Exchange Group, Maven Income & Growth 4 VCT, MTI Wireless Edge Ltd., Nichols (LSE: NICL.L - news) , Polar Capital Global Financials Trust, SEGRO, Sterling Energy (LSE: SEY.L - news) , Weir Group TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Greggs (LSE: GRG.L - news) , Stagecoach Group (LSE: SGC.L - news) , Standard Life UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS CBI Distributive Trades Surveys (11:00) Nationwide House Price Index (07:00) Q1 Norsk Hydro ASA (LSE: NHY.L - news) , OJSC Megafon GDR (Reg S), Ooredoo Q.S.C. GDR (Reg S) Thursday 30 April INTERIMS Superglass Holdings (LSE: SPGH.L - news) INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Abbey (LSE: ABBY.L - news) , Coral Products (LSE: CRU.L - news) , Manchester & London Investment Trust, Wolseley INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust, Card Factory (LSE: CARD.L - news) , Fidelity Special Values, Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) 11% Cum. Prf, Royal Bank of Scotland 5.5% Cum. Prf., SCS Group (LSE: SCS.L - news) , Wetherspoon (J.D.) QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE Albion Technology & General VCT, Assura , JP Morgan Chase & Co, Middlefield Canadian Income PCC, Schroder Income Growth Fund, TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE City of London Inv Trust, JPMorgan Claverhouse Inv Trust INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Chicago PMI (US) (14:45) Continuing Claims (US) (13:30) Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30) International Reserves (EU) (11:00) Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30) Personal Income (US) (13:30) Personal Spending (US) (13:30) Unemployment Rate (EU) (10:00) Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55) Q3 Kofax Limited (NasdaqGS: KFX - news) (DI) GMS Bank Pekao SA GDS (Reg S), BT Group (LSE: BT-A.L - news) , Sphere Medical Holding FINALS Access Intelligence (LSE: ACC.L - news) , GLOBO (LSE: GBO.L - news) , Goldenport Holdings Inc (LSE: GPRT.L - news) . (DI), Harvey Nash Group, JQW (LSE: JQW.L - news) , Saga ANNUAL REPORT Kazakhstan Kagazy GDR (Reg S), Matomy Media Group Limited (DI) , Plaza Centers NV (LSE: PLAZ.L - news) IMSS Berendsen (LSE: BRSN.L - news) , Fisher (James) & Sons, Howden Joinery Group, Kaz Minerals (LSE: KAZ.L - news) , Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Schroders (LSE: SDR.L - news) , Schroders (Non-Voting), Synthomer, Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Brit , Manchester & London Investment Trust SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Foxtons Group (LSE: FOXT.L - news) , ITV EGMS Resource Holding Management Limited (DI) AGMS Aga Rangemaster Group, Alkane Energy (LSE: ALK.L - news) , Anglo Pacific Group, ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L - news) , BBGI SICAV S.A. (DI), BBGI SICAV S.A. (DI), Berendsen, BlackRock Latin American Inv Trust, COLT Group SA, Diamond Bank GDR (Reg S), Everyman Media Group , FDM Group (Holdings), Fisher (James) & Sons, Fyffes (LSE: FFY.L - news) , GLI Finance Limited (LSE: GLIF.L - news) , Great Western Mining Corporation, H&T Group (LSE: HAT.L - news) , Henderson Group, IndigoVision Group (LSE: IND.L - news) , International Personal Finance (LSE: IPF.L - news) , Kalimantan Gold Corp Ltd. (DI), Kerry Group (Other OTC: KRYAF - news) 'A' Shares, LSL Property Services (LSE: LSL.L - news) , LSL Property Services, LSL Property Services, Modern Water (LSE: MWG.L - news) , Moneysupermarket.com Group, RIT Capital Partners (Other OTC: RITPF - news) , Schroders, Schroders (Non-Voting), STV Group (LSE: STVG.L - news) , Synthomer, Tullow Oil, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) , Witan Inv Trust TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN.L - news) UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Consumer Confidence (09:30) GFK Consumer Confidence (00:05) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Asian Total Return Investment Company, Brit , Dragon Oil, Wynnstay Group (LSE: WYN.L - news) FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE Aer Lingus Group, Capital Drilling Ltd (LSE: CAPD.L - news) . (DI), Card Factory, Cello Group (LSE: CLL.L - news) , Cenkos Securities (LSE: CNKS.L - news) , Centrica, Cobham (Other OTC: CBHMY - news) , Croda International (Other OTC: COIHY - news) , Dialight (LSE: DIA.L - news) , Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust, F&C Private Equity Trust, Ferrexpo (LSE: FXPO.L - news) , Foxtons Group , Fresnillo (Other OTC: FNLPF - news) , Henry Boot (LSE: BHY.L - news) , Highland Gold Mining Ltd., Holders Technology (LSE: HDT.L - news) , Hunting (LSE: HTG.L - news) , Hydrogen Group (LSE: HYDG.L - news) , Informa (Other OTC: IFJPY - news) , ITV (LSE: ITV.L - news) , McColl's Retail Group , Merlin Entertainments (LSE: MERL.L - news) , Morgan Sindall Group, National Express Group, Neptune-Calculus Income & Growth VCT, Polymetal International (LSE: POLY.L - news) , Porvair (LSE: PRV.L - news) , Quixant (LSE: QXT.L - news) , Reed Elsevier, Regus (Other OTC: RGSJF - news) , Rexam, SDL (LSE: SDL.L - news) , Senior, Servelec Group , SIG (LSE: SHI.L - news) , Spirax-Sarco Engineering, StatPro Group (LSE: SOG.L - news) , SThree (LSE: STHR.L - news) , Total Produce (LSE: TOT.L - news) , Travis Perkins (LSE: TPK.L - news) , Weir Group, William Hill (Other OTC: WIMHF - news) Q1 First Quantum Minerals Ltd (Toronto: FM.TO - news) ., International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI), Lancashire Holdings Limited, Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B', Royal Dutch Shell 'B', Shire Plc, Smith & Nephew Friday 01 May INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE GETECH Group (LSE: GTC.L - news) , NWF Group (LSE: NWF.L - news) , Redrow (LSE: RDW.L - news) , Smith (DS) QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE Investors Capital Trust 'A' Shares, Mercantile Investment Trust (The), Torchmark Corp., Verizon Communications (Xetra: 868402 - news) INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Auto Sales (US) (15:00) Construction Spending (US) (15:00) ISM Mfg Index (US) (15:00) ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00) U. of Michigan Confidence (Final) (US) (14:55) ANNUAL REPORT Cambridge Cognition Holdings, Cambridge Cognition Holdings IMSS COLT Group SA, Lloyds Banking Group SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Bodycote (LSE: BOY.L - news) , Next AGMS Aer Lingus Group, Capital & Counties Properties (LSE: CAPC.L - news) , Capital & Counties Properties , Fairpoint Group (LSE: FRP.L - news) , Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, RPS Group (LSE: RPS.L - news) , Smurfit Kappa Group, SVG Capital, Virgin Money Holdings (UK) TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Capital & Counties Properties , Rentokil Initial (LSE: RTO.L - news) UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Consumer Credit (09:30) M4 Money Supply (09:30) M4 Sterling Lending (09:30) Mortgage Approvals (09:30) PMI Manufacturing (09:30) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Aberdeen UK Tracker Trust, Bodycote, EMIS Group, Essentra (Other OTC: FLRAF - news) , Foreign and Colonial Inv Trust, Journey Group (LSE: JNY.L - news) , Maintel Holdings, Pearson (Xetra: 858266 - news) , Pennant International Group Q1 COLT Group SA