Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 95.69 points, or 1.31%, at 7,393.96.

Equity view

Vodafone Group confirmed the end of its merger talks with Melita on Friday, putting the blame on regulators in Malta.

Student accommodation developer Unite Students has exchanged contracts on a development site in Oxford and agreed commercial terms with Oxford Brookes University for a 25-year nominations agreement covering the site, which will extend its partnership with Unite to 1,350 beds.

International Airlines Group announced on Friday that its subsidiary, British Airways, has decided - following consultation with its trade unions and employees - to launch a flexible benefits scheme incorporating a new defined contribution pension scheme.

Industrial thread manufacturer Coats Group announced the successful completion of a $225m issue of US private placement (USPP) notes on Friday.

Coca-Cola HBC has appointed Zoran Bogdanovic as its new chief executive officer with immediate effect, succeeding Dimitris Lois who passed away in October.

St. Modwen Properties updated the market on its trading for the period to 30 November on Thursday, reporting that it has delivered around one million square feet of commercial development this year.

Ferrexpo announced a special dividend of 3.3 US cents per share on Thursday, following the payment of an interim dividend for the first six months of 2017 of 3.3 US cents per share on 8 September.

Stobart Group confirmed its latest quarterly dividend on Thursday, in line with plans outlined to shareholders earlier this year.

GlaxoSmithKline released new data from a Phase III clinical study on Wednesday, which it said supports the safety and efficacy of Shingrix in preventing shingles when given to adults 18 years and above shortly after undergoing autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Medical technology business Smith & Nephew has completed the acquisition of Rotation Medical Inc, which develops novel tissue regeneration technology for shoulder rotator cuff repair, for $125m, with a further $85m due over the next five years contingent on financial performance.

Legal & General Group has reached agreement to sell its mature savings business to the ReAssure division of Swiss Re for £650m, it announced on Wednesday.

Budget airline EasyJet reported an 8.1% jump in passenger numbers in November on Wednesday as the load factor ticked higher.

Wood Group has won a multi-million dollar contract to support GlaxoSmithKline in Germany.

Ferguson, the plumbing and heating products supplier, said it was on track to meet annual profit expectations after strong growth in the US offset tough trading in the UK's stuttering housing market during the first quarter.

Central and Eastern Europe-focussed low cost carrier Wizz Air Holdings described another month of expansion as it issued its traffic statistics for November on Tuesday.

British American Tobacco has declared a second interim dividend of 43.6p per ordinary share this year, to be paid in February as it makes a move to paying out returns on a quarterly basis.

Bus and coach operator National Express Group spread some festive December cheer with a small but bulging offering on Monday of positive recent trading and two overseas acquisitions.

Budget airline Ryanair reported a 6% jump in traffic for last month on Monday as the load factor edged higher.

Rio Tinto has appointed non-executive director Simon Thompson as chairman with effect from 5 March 2018.

Business information and events group Euromoney Institutional Investor has acquired 100% of Seven Site Media, trading as TowerXchange, it announced on Monday, in a transaction of undisclosed value.

Economic news

UK construction output contracted in October, but new orders grew sharply, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

UK industrial production growth has slowed to a temporary halt after a six-month growth spurt, official figures confirmed on Friday, with unseasonably warm weather depressing energy output.

Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he is willing to consider changes to the post-Brexit border deal which was vetoed by the Northern Ireland's DUP on Monday.

House prices are continuing to surge higher, according to research by Halifax that runs contrary to most other surveys of the housing market.

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined insurance broker Bluefin - a former AXA subsidiary - £4m for misleading customers.

UK housebuilders have requested a special permit system to allow construction workers from abroad to be recruited to help with the housing crisis post Brexit.

The Labour party labeled the result of the ongoing Brexit talks "embarrassing", demanding single market membership be "put back on the table".

Services sector activity last month was even weaker than expected, according to a survey of Britain's dominant sector published on Tuesday, giving further indications that the economy will continue to grow slowly in the final quarter of the year.

UK construction activity rallied more than expected in November, according to a survey from IHS Markit released on Monday, with residential building leading the way.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is requesting a special Brexit deal to allow London to stay within the European Union’s single market and customs union.

International events

US consumer confidence cooled a tad at the start of December as some Americans reportedly fretted about the impact that the proposed tax cuts might have on economic prospects, according to the results of a widely-followed survey.

China's foreign trade was surprisingly strong in November according to economists, amid export growth at two-year highs and import demand that slowed by much less than had been expected.

Thousands of Catalan separatists have taken to the streets of Brussels to protest against the perceived lack of action from the EU in relation to the region’s independence movement.

Digital currency Bitcoin continued its upwards trajectory, hitting a new record high above $16,500, despite a major hack which saw millions of dollars worth of the digital currency stolen on Thursday.

US labor costs slipped unexpectedly during the third quarter, as wages grew more slowly than anticipated.

Analysts continued to warm towards stocks last month but based on past experience their overall level of optimism was still consistent with further gains in shares, strategists at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said.

US service sector growth slowed a tad more than expected last month but economists indicated that it continued to point to a healthy pace of growth.

European Union finance ministers have placed 17 states on a blacklist of tax havens, including the powerful economies of the UAE and South Korea.

The upper chamber of the US Congress approved a tax cut package at the weekend, possibly paving the way for final approval for as soon as the end of this week, but market commentary is quite divided on just how powerful a boost it will deliver to the economy and the price the country will have to pay in terms of an increased debt burden.