Weekly review

The FTSE 100 finished the week down 63.19 points, or 0.87%, at 7,164.14.

Equity view

Old Mutual said it had agreed to sell its Latin American businesses to CMIG International, a financial holding company based in Singapore for an undisclosed sum.

Outsourcing company Mitie said it expected full operating profits to be slightly below the previous year after modest growth in sales.

Berkeley Group reported a resilient level of house sales in the past four months and while it was confident enough about the "compelling" fundamentals of the London and South East housing market to maintain profit and dividend guidance, had a fairly aggressive message for the government.

Alcohol wholesaler and distributor Conviviality may issue new shares to ease its financial strife, while tax authorities, creditors and customers were said to remain supportive.

FTSE 250 construction and services group Kier reported a rise in first-half profit on Thursday as it sounded an upbeat note on the outlook for 2018.

Housebuilder Persimmon has appointed Roger Devlin as chairman with effect from 1 June.

Consumer products group PZ Cussons updated the market on its trading for the year ending 31 May on Thursday, issuing a profit warning amid tough trading conditions.

Savills said it made a good start to 2018 but highlighted market uncertainty as the estate agent and property adviser posted a 3.5% rise in underlying annual profit.

Polymetal International said it had agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Dolinnoye gold property in Kazakhstan to local miner Altynalmas.

InterContinental Hotels has agreed to buy a 51% stake in Regent Hotels and Resorts for $39m in cash, with the right to acquire the remaining 49% interest in a phased manner from 2026.

Construction conglomerate Balfour Beatty said full year underlying profit from operations more than doubled to £196m from £69m as its turnaround continued.

Shares in Sportech tumbled as the company said it had terminated sales talks and that trading in the first few weeks of the current financial year has been "fairly challenging" while full-year earnings are likely to be below expectations, as it announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer.

International plastics engineer RPC Group said it had bought polythene film maker Nordfolien for €75m.

CLS said it had exchanged contracts to acquire Harman House in Uxbridge for £51m including costs.

Legal & General Group announced on Tuesday that its Legal & General Capital division has acquired the 52.1% of CALA Homes which it did not previously own, with completion occurring simultaneously with the announcement.

FTSE 250 retirement specialist Just Group said on Tuesday that deputy chairman Tom Cross Brown will retire at the next annual general meeting in May.

Petrofac has been awarded a lump-sum 27-month engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BCPL) valued at around $135m.

AstraZeneca has pushed back the expected completion of the Phase III 'Mystic' clinical trial of its Imfinzi immunotherapy treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Polymetal International issued its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December on Monday, reporting a 15% increase in revenue year-on-year to $1.82bn.

Clarksons lifted its dividend on Monday as it posted a 12% jump in full-year underlying pre-tax profit amid early signs of a recovery across shipping markets.

Economic news

The UK government was under further pressure on Friday over Northern Ireland as a cross-party group of MPs said it saw no real chance of a frictionless border with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.

Workers at Gatwick Airport have begun balloting for strike action in a dispute over a below inflation pay increase, the Unite union said on Friday.

Four select committees formed by UK members of parliament have called for a new Clean Air Act to tackle the UK’s air pollution problem, which they said could provoke half a million more early deaths after Brexit if left undealt with.

UK consumers lost £236m due to authorised push payment scams in 2017 as deception and impersonation continue to drive fraud according to data released by UK Finance on Thursday.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s departing chairman has defended the regulator’s record after a gruelling period when MPs published a report into Royal Bank of Scotland’s treatment of customers that the FCA wanted to keep secret.

A tax raise of approximately £40bn is needed each year for the UK government to maintain its current spending rate and reduce the deficit by 2020, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated.

Philip Hammond held out the prospect of increases to public spending as he set out improved short-term figures for UK economic growth and the public finances, including lower than expected government borrowing in 2017-18.

The Office for Budget Responsibility's spring report shows that Philip Hammond's upbeat statement that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" for the UK economy after years of austerity is based almost entirely on an improved global economy rather than any domestic improvement.

Many large UK retailers will struggle to meet higher interest payments this year if the Bank of England raises rates, according to a study carried out by Company Watch.

House prices dropped sharply in London last month, in contrast to the rest of Britain where the country as a whole continued to grow compared to last year but down on the preceding month.

International events

US consumer confidence moved higher still in March, hitting a 14-year high, but the details of the report appeared to point towards softness in consumption to extend into the second quarter, alongside higher inflation expectations.

US industrial output jumped past forecasts last month driven by a sharp increase in factory and mining output.

Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region deteriorated a little more than expected in March, according to a survey out on Thursday.

Cocoa plants as we know them are expected to become extinct by as early as 2050 as global warming pushes temperatures higher and levels of humidity fall, the World Economic Forum said on Thursday.

Google, the largest provider of digital advertising on the internet, has banned cryptocurrency advertising from all its platforms.

US retail sales unexpectedly worsened last month in what was the third consecutive month of decline.

Russia wants access to the substance used to poison former spy Mr Skripal and his daughter on 4 March before it answers Theresa May’s ultimatum to give "a credible response" by the end of Tuesday or face consequences.

Ramdi Hamdallah has suffered a bomb attack on his convoy in his first visit to the Gaza strip in five months.

The European Central Bank had not even begun to discuss possible revisions to its 'forward guidance', a top official clarified.

Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX founder has announced his intention to send rockets on short trips to Mars by as soon as 2019.