Week ahead in business and economics: October 1 The key manufacturing and services figures are expected to show a stabilising economy rather than one in growth mode, but at least provide further evidence that the recession is receding. In Europe, Spain will be the focus again. A bond auction is planned for Thursday that could prove expensive. Meanwhile, the government may decide to submit to a programme to qualify for the European Central Bank's emergency bond purchases. But with Catalonia threatening to secede, the politics remain very tricky. Pantheon International Participations, Pure Wafer None scheduled Andor Technology Manufacturing PMI, Bank of England mortgage approvals and net lending, eurozone manufacturing PMI City of London Investment Group (AGM), John Swan and Sons (AGM), UK Coal (EGM),Zetar (AGM) FirstGroup has come under intense scrutiny after it won the West Coast rail franchise with a controversial £13bn bid, which is now at the centre of a legal challenge by rival Virgin Rail. However, Liberum Capital analyst Peter Hyde believes key issues in FirstGroup's pre-close trading statement will be margin progression at its US First Student school bus business and at its troubled UK bus operation. Antisoma, St Ives, Wolseley Babcock International Group, FirstGroup Nationwide house price index, construction PMI Irish Continental Group (EGM) Wednesday is judgment day for Britain's supermarket industry, with Tesco and J Sainsbury going head to head. Tesco, which posts half-year results, is expected to report its first decline in group profits for almost 20 years. This is due to the company's investment in the UK to try to halt flagging sales, and a slowdown in some international markets. This means Sainsbury is poised to grab the plaudits. Analysts expect the company to show it is outperforming Tesco in the UK in its second quarter trading update, with like-for-like sales up 1.4pc. Sportingbet's fourth quarter trading update will be overshadowed by the revelation that it has rejected a £350m joint offer from William Hill and Aim-listed group GVC Holdings. Most analysts expect William Hill will have to offer somewhere in the region of 60p a share, but broker Numis believes Sportingbet's shareholders should hold out for 90p a share, given that its trading is currently at a "low point." William Hill is interested in Sportingbet's regulated businesses, notably its lucrative Australian operation. Numis said that Sportingbet Australia "has great potential" and is "worth 64p per Sportingbet share." The business in Australia accounts for about a third of the country's online gambling market, as well as more than 90pc of Sportingbet's profits. Tesco Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust, Dunelm Group, easyJet, Findel, J Sainsbury, Marston's, Sportingbet Services PMI, eurozone services PMI The British fashion retailer Ted Baker has just opened its first store in China, in Beijing, and investors hope the move could herald a new phase of growth for the company. Ted Baker posts interim results this week, with analysts at Panmure Gordon forecasting a 13.9pc rise in revenues to £117m, and a 7pc rise in pre-tax profits to £9.1m. In a trading update in June, Ted Baker said retail sales were up 16.2pc and that it was "pleased with performance across all territories, despite a backdrop of challenging trading conditions." Matchtech Group Ted Baker Carillion, Halfords Group, Robert Walters, Victrex Interest rate decision, new car registrations, housing equity withdrawal Investors in John Wood Group will be hoping for better news when the company gives a trading update this week, after some were left disappointed by its half-year results in August. At the time, the oil services group reported results that analysts at Liberum Capital described as "in line with expectations except for poor cash generation and bad debts." Since then the Aberdeen-based company has returned to the FTSE 100 after a spell in the mid-cap index but has also seen a number of analyst downgrades. Kcom, John Wood Group US unemployment Abbey (AGM), CA Sperati Special Agency (EGM), Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust (AGM)