The petrochemicals sector looks set to remain squarely in focus as trading in 2006 gets under way.

With the rate verdict due later, there's a cautious mood creeping into equity markets as although a 25-basis-point hike is widely expected, there's little consensus as to just how long the aggressive stance over interest rates will now continue for.

There's some concern that although inflationary pressures do appear to have receded in recent days, higher fuel prices could reignite worries here and this in turn has the potential to weigh on stocks across the board.

The airline themselves aren't actually even coming out with any ideas of how much the strike is going to hurt them on top of the increase in oil prices so we're not actually making any call on price at the moment but it will be down and I would say quite heftily.

The fact of the matter is I've got some new commitments, ... My focus on those new commitments would really preclude any intense kind of focus on city issues. It's not that I'm ready to move on - it's very bittersweet.

There are lots of names that are being thrown out there. Some of the younger, more quantitative-focus guys, obviously. There are people that have communicated [their interest] directly and also through the press that may have more experience, and more traditional general managers. We're going to look at all of them and see which ones make sense to bring in here.