<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
With the supermarket price war heating up, Tesco will be in the spotlight next week.
The country’s largest grocer – which still controls more than 27 percent of the market – has come under pressure from discounters Aldi and Lidl in recent years.
But it had a great Christmas as sales in Britain rose by 6.8 percent.
Investors will therefore be hoping for a cheerful set of annual results on Wednesday, after profit expectations rose in January. Boss Ken Murphy said the company will rake in £2.75 billion in profits – a £50 million upgrade.
Shareholders will be interested to see whether the momentum over the festive period has continued into the first few months of the year.
Tesco last year shrugged off accusations of greed as critics said it was making money while consumers struggled with price rises.
Everything Murphy says about what business in Britain currently looks like will be closely watched in the run-up to the general election this autumn.
Estate agent AJ Bell said the city expects annual profits for the coming year to reach £3 billion.
Sophie Lund-Yates of Hargreaves Lansdown warned that anything disappointing about price cuts or market share could irritate shareholders.
Shares fell 0.9 percent to 289.6p.