Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 149.62 points, or 2.03%, at 7,522.87.

Equity view

Unilever has called a deadline for bids for its £6bn spreads business of 19 October, according to reports overnight.

Budget airline easyJet said on Friday that headline pre-tax profit for the year is expected to be at the upper end of the previously guided range as it reported a record number of passengers over the summer.

CRH's proposed $3.5bn acquisition of US-based Ash Grove has been derailed after the Kansas company received a potentially larger rival offer.

Ultra Electronics confirmed on Friday that Sparton Corporation shareholders had approved the takeover by Ultra.

Aviva said it had agreed to buy a majority shareholding in low cost investment service Wealthify Group for an undisclosed sum.

Balfour Beatty said it was selling its US unit Heery to CBRE Group for $57m (£42m) to allow it to expand operations in the region.

Medical products group BTG grew sales at double-digits at constant exchange rates in the first half of the year and confirmed it was on track for the full year, while also announcing it has acquired a US-based cardiovascular catheters business.

Ferrexpo reported a drop in pellet production for the third quarter on Thursday due to its ongoing pellet line maintenance programme.

Topps Tiles warned on Wednesday that full-year profit will be at the lower end of the current range of market expectations as market conditions "remain challenging" despite a moderate improvement in the group's final quarter.

Shares in 888 Holdings fell on Wednesday after Sinitus sold its entire stake in the online gambling group via an accelerated bookbuild.

CLS Holdings has renewed leases on 14 government properties across the UK with average rent falling 15%.

Convenience retailer McColl's Retail said on Wednesday that co-founder and non-executive director James Lancaster has stepped down from the board with immediate effect.

Coca‑Cola HBC, one of the Coca-Cola Company’s largest bottling partners, announced on Tuesday that its CEO, Dimitris Lois, died on 2 October.

Britvic said on Tuesday that it plans to close its plant in Norwich and transfer production of Robinsons and Fruit Shoot to its manufacturing sites in East London, Leeds and Rugby, in a move that will affect 242 employees.

Bakery chain Greggs reported solid third quarter growth on Tuesday, claiming total sales were up 8.6% in the 13 weeks to 30 September, compared to 5.6% growth at the same time last year, while like-for-like sales in company-managed shops improved 5.0%, up from 2.8%.

Indivior has submitted a new drug application in the US for a once-monthly injectable schizophrenia treatment and agreed to buyout patent rights from a manufacturer of similar antipsychotic medication.

Vodafone Group announced on Monday that its Vodafone Portugal division, and Portuguese telecommunications and media conglomerate NOS, have signed an agreement to deploy and share a fibre-to-the-home network which would be marketable to around 2.6 million homes and businesses in Portugal.

Kaz Minerals said on Monday that following continued commissioning progress, the Aktogay sulphide plant has been declared commercial.

Electronic trading services provider NEX Group has warned that first-half profit margins will be hit by increased investment in its Optimisations business and ongoing low volatility on its Reset business.

Tritax Big Box has exchanged contracts with LondonMetric to acquire a national distribution centre on Danes Way at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal in Northamptonshire, currently let to Royal Mail Group, the two firms announced on Monday.

Economic news

UK retail sales were solid in September but growth remained weak amid rising prices, a consumer crunch and declining high street footfall.

The average house price in the UK hit its highest on record in September, underpinned by a shortage of homes, according to data from lender Halifax.

UK new car sales fell steeply in the historically strong month of September for the first time in six years to record their sixth monthly decline in a row.

Banks would start to move out of the UK if a Brexit transition deal was not agreed by Christmas, a Bank of England deputy governor warned.

Activity in the UK services sector unexpectedly improved in September but new business growth fell to a 13-month low, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Theresa May revealed new plans to pump £2bn into affordable housing in her speech at the Conservative party conference on Wednesday, also confirming that parliament would debate legislation for an energy price cap as soon as next week.

UK construction activity declined for first time in 13 months in September, according to a closely followed survey of the industry that indicated "fragile" client confidence and a lack of new infrastructure projects was hitting new business volumes.

Brexit poses "significant risks" to financial services companies, the Bank of England's financial stability committee warned in a report on Tuesday, which also admitted for the first time that the market's reliance on Libor had created a financial stability risk.

Growth in the UK's manufacturing sector eased back more than expected in September, according to figures released on Monday.

Shares in housebuilding companies were lifted on Monday after Theresa May said the government will plough a further £10bn into extending the Help to Buy scheme.

International events

US President Donald Trump is preparing to decertify the Iran nuclear agreement, according to several US media reports.

Former Federal Reserve Board governor and Morgan Stanley banker Kevin Warsh has a 40% chance of being appointed as the new chair of the Fed, according to Oxford Economics.

Eurozone retail sales strengthened last month as the currency bloc's three largest economies all delivered simultaneous sales growth for the first time in over two years.

US-backed Iraqi forces announced on Thursday that they had recaptured Hawija, a city about 300km north of Baghdad, which had been under the rule of IS since 2014.

King Felipe of Spain has launched a scathing criticism of Catalan authorities in the aftermath of the controversial independence referendum in the region on Sunday.

The European Commission has referred Ireland to court for failing make Apple pay back taxes worth up to €13bn, in an illegal state aid case disputed by both the company and state.

The autonomous Kurdistan enclave in Northern Iraq plans to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on 1 November after Kurds vote for independence in last month's referendum.

The unemployment rate in the eurozone was steady in August, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

The European Commission has sided with Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy in the fallout related to Catalonia's tumultuous independence referendum, backing his claim that the vote was illegal but also calling for dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced on Saturday that the White House had been in direct contact with North Korean officials to discuss the rogue nation's nuclear programme.