The takeover triangle between Sky PLC (LON:SKY), Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is likely to be in focus once again when Sky reports its second quarter update on Thursday.
The Competition and Markets Authority provisionally rejected Fox's ?11.7bn takeover bid for the UK broadcaster on Tuesday, saying the Murdochs would have too much control over UK media if it were to go ahead.
The implication was that if Disney - which is looking to buy some of Fox's assets, including its 39% stake in Sky - was the company behind the bid then it would have been given the green light.
With the Disney-Fox deal likely to take at least a year to clear US regulators, it leaves Sky and its shareholders in something of a limbo.
It's all quite confusing, isn't it? Investors will be hoping for some clarity, mainly: 'is a takeover from anyone still on the cards?'
On to the interims and UBS is looking for organic revenue growth of 5% across the group to ?6.79bn and 11% underlying growth in EBITDA to ?1.12bn, with sUBScriber numbers rising in the UK and Germany but falling slightly in Italy.
Keep an eye out for any commentary on the next Premier League rights auction which is due to kick off in February.
Having increased targets last time it reported, margin improvements will be a key focus at the half year stage for blue chip drinks group Diageo plc (LON:DGE) on Thursday, with cost savings and productivity gains to attract the most attention.
That said, increased investment in the US and its Scotch brands could dent margins in these two important segments in the short term, so top line revenue growth will probably be a more useful measure of performance at the interims.
Analysts at UBS forecast Diageo's first half margins to be up 37 basis points, with group organic underlying earnings (EBIT) growth seen at 4.9%.
They estimate that Diageo's first half organic net sales will show 3.7% growth, driven by Africa (+7.0%) and LatAm & Caribbean (+5.4%).
One area of interest for investors, even if it's unlikely to move the share price, will be the performance of the Casamigos super-premium tequila brand, which Diageo acquired for US$700mln last summer from Hollywood star George Clooney.
Online fashion retailer ASOS plc (LON:ASC) is expected to show, once again, that it has avoided the struggles faced by its high street rivals when it releases a first quarter trading update on Thursday.
Consumers have been increasingly ducking busy High Street stores to shop online, providing a boost to ASOS.
"The UK clothing retail sector may have a slightly better year in 2018, with less need for price increases; however, we still see market shares shifting towards the value retailers, disruption from the online channel shift which puts pressure on marginal profitability, and difficulties in maintaining price discipline," said Deutsche Bank, which rates ASOS as a 'buy'.
In its full year results in October, the group said it expected 2018 sales will grow by 25-30% compared with its own medium-term guidance of 20-25%.
Revenues jumped 33% to ?1.92bn in the year ended August, while pre-tax profit surged 145% to ?80mln.
Trading updates: ASOS plc (LON:ASC), Daily Mail & General PLC (LON:DMGT), Brewin Dolphin PLC (LON:BRW), CMC Markets Plc (LON:CMC), Countryside Properties PLC (LON:CSP). Close Brothers Group PLC (LON:CBG), Fuller Smith & Turner PLC (LON:FSTA), Greene King PLC (LON:GNK), Genel Energy PLC (LON:GENL), ITE Group PLC (LON:ITE), Kier PLC (LON:KIE), Restaurant Group PLC (LON:RTN), St James' Place Capital PLC (LON:STJ)
Production reports: Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL), Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO), KAZ Minerals PLC (LON:KAZ)
Interims: Diageo plc (LON:DGE), Sky PLC (Q2) (LON:SKY), Renishaw PLC (LON:RSW), CPL Resources PLC (LON:CPS)
Finals: Blue Prism Group plc (LON:PRSM)