Diary commentary from FT reporters; data and company announcements, unless otherwise stated, from Thomson Reuters. Company announcements are of information publicly available before last week

MAY 28

Earnings
Aveva Group FY 63.04p (55.76p)
Lukoil Q1, FY estimate $14.40 ($14.15)

Shareholder meeting
Intesa Sanpaolo

MAY 29

● Investors will be curious to see if Topps Tiles remains on track to open new stores this year amid faltering sales growth, when the wall and floor coverings specialist announces interim results, writes Jennifer Thompson. The chain, which currently trades from 319 stores, plans six net openings this year.

The homeware sector has been one of the high street’s hardest-hit areas as cash-strapped consumers delay making costly home improvements amid a depressed property market. The fortunes of rivals such as Allied Carpets, sold in a pre-pack administration deal in April, and Carpetright, which recently issued its seventh profits warning in 18 months, have highlighted this common pressure.

Topps, however, believes there is scope in the UK market for up to 400 of its outlets to drive sales at the group, which the company expects to be down approximately 2.5 per cent in the period to about £86.9m, a drop of 4.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Analysts at Merchant Securities forecast pre-tax profits of about £13m for the year to September 29.

● Rumours that De La Rue has dusted off its drachma printing presses in preparation for a potential Greek exit from the eurozone crisis surface almost daily but neither the FTSE 250 company nor the Greek bank will confirm them, writes Gill Plimmer.

Nevertheless, the world’s largest commercial banknote printer said in November that it could benefit from any eurozone crisis. And the company, which produces 150 currencies worldwide, is one of the few with the capacity to help with such a large order even if the country’s state printer were to control overall production.

Buffeted equity investors looking for respite from the Greek turmoil have been busy buying De La Rue shares in anticipation.

An order from Greece would be a boost for the company, which is still counting the cost of a scandal over the supply of inferior banknotes to the Indian treasury in 2010.

Consensus forecasts have operating profits rising from £61.5m in 2012 to £83m in 2013.

Earnings
De La Rue FY 42.01p (24.00p)
Topps Tiles H1, FY estimate 4.97p (5.39p)

Shareholder meetings
Carrefour
China Unicom (Hong Kong)
Hermes International
Natixis

MAY 30

Earnings
National Bank of Greece Q1 -€0.16 (–)
Voestalpine FY €2.48 (€3.04)

Shareholder meetings
ACS
Chevron
China Merchants Bank
China Overseas Land & Investment
Exxon Mobil
Repsol
Royal Bank of Scotland
STMicroelectronics
Tullow Oil

MAY 31

● US retail sales growth in May is expected to have improved slightly from a flattish April but to have remained below the fast expansion of previous months, writes Barney Jopson.

Same-store sales at the chains that report monthly figures are forecast to have risen 1.7 per cent year-on-year in May, according to Retail Metrics, a research group.

That follows a 0.8 per cent rise in April, when retailers missed expectations for the first time in a year.

Falling gas prices, warmer weather and a later Mother's day boosted growth in May, but consumer spending remains subdued by the fragile US labour market and the eurozone crisis.

Retailers that have reported first-quarter earnings in recent weeks have generally been cautious about the second quarter.

A bumper sales increase of 5.5 per cent last May creates a tough comparison that will make it doubly hard for the retail sector to post strong year-on-year growth.

● There will be an end of an era feel at Deutsche Bank’s annual meeting as Josef Ackermann addresses shareholders for the last time on his final day at Germany’s largest bank by assets, writes James Wilson.

After 10 years as chief executive, Mr Ackermann is likely to hear praise for the way he steered Deutsche through the financial crisis without needing state aid. But the Swiss might also have to confront some criticism of the lingering reputational risks for Deutsche from a welter of crisis-linked lawsuits.

The meeting is set to mark an uncomfortable exit from the bank for Clemens Börsig, supervisory board chairman. Some shareholder representatives are pressing for a vote against him and the rest of the supervisory board because of perceived corporate governance deficiencies, including the clumsy handling of the search for a successor to Mr Ackermann.

Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen, already on Deutsche’s management board, take over as co-chief executives on June 1, while Paul Achleitner, finance chief at insurer Allianz, is set to take over from Mr Börsig.

● Investors will expect Thomas Cook, the UK travel company, to outline growth plans for the second half of the year at its interim results presentation, writes Christopher Thompson.

This follows the company’s £370m in announced disposals, a refinancing agreement to April 2015 and a new chief executive that appear to have steadied the ship in the short term.

The tour operator has already announced a first-half operating loss of £262.7m as seasonal losses increased £100m and net debt grew £200m to £1.3bn.

Nearly all Thomas Cook’s operating divisions have seen trading suffer, which according to analysts at Panmure suggests the company’s problems are wider than problematic markets in the UK, France and Canada.

The company has been cutting capacity before the crucial summer period and bookings have improved. But with the unknown consequences of a possible Greece exit from the euro on the horizon, investors want clarity on how the company should exploit the late bookings market that is likely to determine trading.

Earnings
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Q2 C$1.88 (C$1.75)
Thomas Cook H1, FY estimate 7.28p (11.70p)

Trading and sales updates
Costco Wholesale
Gap
Kohl’s
Limited Brands
Macy’s
Nordstrom
Saks
Target
TJX Companies

Shareholder meetings
ACS (second call)
China Merchants Holdings (International)
Deutsche Bank
EADS
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Repsol (second call)

JUNE 1

● Carmakers are set to post another month of strong US sales on Friday, boosted by pent-up consumer demand and a rebound after the repercussions of last year’s Japanese earthquake, writes Shannon Bond.

Analysts expect a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of about 14.45m cars in May, which would be the fifth consecutive month above 14m. Demand for cars and trucks has been robust this year, contrasting with the tepid pace of the economic recovery, flagging employment growth and a housing market weighed down by a glut of foreclosures.

The average age of vehicles on the road is now a record-high 11 years, and analysts say Americans are taking advantage of better credit conditions and new cars’ improved fuel economy to trade in their old models.

“Pent-up demand continues to fuel auto sales at a steady and sustainable level in May,” said Jesse Toprak, vice-president at TrueCar.com, the auto research website. “All major manufacturers will see double-digit growth this month.”

May sales are also expected to be flattered in comparison with a year ago when inventory shortages following the earthquake sent sales for all manufacturers tumbling.

Trading and sales update
Ford Motor

Shareholder meetings
Lowe’s
Netflix

Results forecasts, from Thomson Reuters, are for fully diluted, post-tax EPS in local currency for the stated fiscal period. The comparable period of the previous year is bracketed. Non-UK reporting periods are broken by quarter: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. UK periods are designated: Q1, H1 (first half), Q3 and FY (full year). Thomson Reuters calculates mean earnings estimates based on a majority policy where the accounting basis used for each company estimate is that used by the majority of contributing analysts

preview@ft.com