The week ahead: Latest update on Gulf costs will weigh on BP's profit forecasts

Figures from oil major BP and updates from part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will be the highlights during a busy few days in the City.

The Gulf of Mexico oil disaster is set to dominate third-quarter results from BP tomorrow, but long-suffering investors will be looking for signs of a turnaround after the tragedy that almost brought the group to its knees.

Newly appointed chief executive Bob Dudley has already hinted at a potential return to quarterly shareholder dividends in 2011 to ease investor concerns, although analysts are not expecting any further concrete guidance in the update. The market consensus forecast is for BP to make replacement cost profits of $4.6 billion (2.8bn) in the three months to the end of September.

The results are also likely to reveal the latest figure for its Gulf clean-up bill. The last update, towards the end of September, put the cost at $11.2bn.

BP has already made steps to move forward from the spill and rebuild trust. Dudley, who replaced embattled predecessor Tony Hayward on 1 October, unveiled a new safety and operational risk unit, a review of pay focusing on safety-led incentives and a review of third-party contractors.

Tony Shepard, analyst at Charles Stanley Research, said: "The changes announced are a positive step forward but it is going to be some time before the ghost of Macondo is laid to rest."

Lloyds Banking Group is likely to face tough questions on its exposure to the controversial payment protection insurance (PPI) market and a number of other issues when it too updates investors tomorrow.

It has recently been hit hard by downbeat City research comments, with its shares taking a hammering after Credit Suisse banking expert Jonathan Pierce cut his 12-month target price for the stock and warned falling property prices could have an impact on the bank's profits. He said market revenue forecasts for next year were too ambitious and cautioned over the likelihood of any return of capital to shareholders in the near future.

While no specific figures are due in the Lloyds update, the market will be keen to see how it is being impacted by a dwindling demand for mortgages in the UK.

Spanish rival Santander revealed how tough lending is currently in its third quarter update.Its net mortgage lending slumped to 1.8bn against 3.1bn a year earlier.

Santander's figures also highlighted the impact of aggressive competition for savers as its retail deposits shrunk to less than a quarter of the levels seen a year ago.

This will also be in sharp focus at HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland when the pair deliver updates on Friday.

Transport giant FirstGroup is expected to report a robust first-half performance on Wednesday after a boost for its more expensive fares drove revenues higher.

The Aberdeen-based firm, which runs First Great Western, First ScotRail and First Hull Trains, previously said demand for first class train travel was recovering to levels not seen since the recession struck.

Carphone Warehouse will reveal whether anxiety over spending cuts caused a slowdown in the smartphone market in its half-year results on Friday. The group, which jointly owns its retail business with US partner Best Buy, made a good start to its financial year with sales boosted by the launch of Apple's iPhone 4.