Marketwatch: Train passengers on tenterhooks over RPI

Construction giant Balfour Beatty has completed some big projects in the first half of this year and orders are likely to be higher when it reveals its interim figures on Wednesday.

Work includes the aquatic centre for the 2012 Olympics and terminal 2B at Heathrow airport.

In March it said it had done a good job replacing that work as its order book stood at a record of 15.2 billion. However, with construction work likely to slow in the UK over the next six months, the underlying position will be keenly watched.

A trading statement last month indicated the UK had been resilient, but economic news since then has been poor both in the UK, which accounts for half of its business, and also overseas, especially in the US.

City forecasts are for the group to make profits of 330 million, up from 319m in the full year to December, with the bulk of that to be generated in the second six months.

Newspaper distributor and aviation services group John Menzies is expected to remain upbeat when it announces interim results on Tuesday.

Last month the firm spread its wings in the acquisition of travel industry marketing and distribution firm Media on the Move for 1.2m.

In the same month the Edinburgh-based firm's trading statement cited new contract wins at its aviation division that put it on course to land profits that will "exceed the board's expectations".

Several analysts upgraded forecasts for 2011 and 2012, with Numis Securities expecting a pre-tax proft boost of 3 per cent to 52.6m, up from its previous estimate of 51m.

Oil and gas producer Melrose Resources will be keen to lift investor confidence with its half-year results Wednesday. Last month the Edinburgh-based firm announced plans to switch focus from producing to exploring, unveiling plans to dedicate 40 per cent of its capital spending to "high potential" exploration for three years. Last year saw record production with gas finds in Bulgaria coming online, but unrest in Egypt, where the company gets 95 per cent of its revenue, highlighted the need to expand into other areas. It now plans offshore exploration projects in Bulgaria, Romania and France.

But an 8 per cent cut its forecast for 2011 production in March saw shares fall and the firm downgraded, with analysts at Cannacord Genuity suggesting the move "reads badly for Melrose".

Shares in Exeter-based airline Flybe have tumbled since a warning in May that trading had been hit by high oil prices, the weak economy and severe weather conditions.

Flybe, which flies from airports including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster and East Midlands, said while business travel, which makes up 45 per cent of its passengers, was resilient, the number of passengers flying on holiday or to visit friends and family had dropped. Broker forecasts are for full-year profits of between 22.9m and 25.3m.

The impact of the hugely successful final film in the Harry Potter series will be the talking point when cinema owner Cineworld reveals interim figures next week, even though it was released after the period ended.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the biggest grossing global film opening in history and played to packed cinemas across the country. That should translate into good news for Cineworld, especially as a string of other potentially big-hitting film launches have followed, including Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Cars 2 and the yet to be released Puss In Boots and Tintin.

The group, which runs 78 sites including four out of the ten highest grossing cinemas in the UK, is confident of meeting City expectations for a 5 per cent full year rise in revenues to about 360m. Consensus broker forecasts are for underlying profits for the full year of about 63m.