Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 0.59% at 7,688.35.

Equity view

Italian financial market regulator, Consob, has approved gambling software group Playtech’s mandatory takeover offer for the remaining shares of Snaitech it does not own.

Shire presented the results of a widespread review of metastatic pancreatic cancer across nine countries and said there was a benefit witnessed for those undergoing a combined treatment with Onivyde, a drug for which it holds a licence outside of the US.

Cancer-focused biopharma company Autolus Therapeutics priced its Nasdaq initial public offer at the top end of its $15-17 indicated range ahead of its trading debut on Friday, giving a boost for London-listed backers Syncona, Woodford Patient Capital fund and Arix Bioscience.

Real estate group Winkworth has announced plans to return around £1.15m of surplus funds to its shareholders.

Saga said it traded in line with expectations in the first four months of its financial year as the over-50s travel and insurance company wrote more motor and home insurance policies.

Listed infrastructure investment company HICL Infrastructure Company said on Thursday that Diamond Transmission Partners - a consortium comprising itself and Diamond Transmission Corporation, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation - had been selected by Ofgem as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission link to the Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm project.

Dixons Carphone's final results filled in the gaps after warning of a disappointing drop in annual profits only three weeks ago.

Shearwater expects annual results near the top of its expectations after the digital security company's main businesses improved their performance.

LondonMetric Property announced the acquisition on Wednesday of ten single-let properties for £55m from the ACT Foundation.

British Land said 63% of the estimated rental value of properties were let or under offer across its total development pipeline, up from 55% at the time of its March year-end.

Legal & General said it expects its asset management division to increase profit by up to 10% a year in normal markets.

FTSE 250 retailer Sports Direct International has disposed of its stake in US sportswear retailer Finish Line.

Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone's chief executive has been pushed into early retirement of his own after the company issued a profit warning on Tuesday amid increased caution from potential customers.

Housebuilder and urban regeneration partner Countryside Properties has expanded its strategic partnership with Sigma Capital Group to deliver a further 5,000 private rental sector homes over the next three years.

Debenhams has warned that annual profit will be at least 20% less than market expectations as the department store chain faces weak consumer spending and discounting by competitors.

Capita has agreed to sell its supplier assessment services business for £160m as the outsourcing company disposes of non-core operations following the collapse of rival Carillion.

Paper and packaging group DS Smith posted a 21% jump in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit on Monday amid growth in all regions.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Monday that Rentokil's proposed merger with Cannon Hygiene could raise competition concerns.

Indivior has won a temporary restraining order by a US court compelling rival drugmaker Dr Reddy's Labs to immediately stop any launch activities related to its generic version of Suboxone Film.

The Renewables Infrastructure Group has acquired an onshore wind farm in the UK, ‘Solwaybank’, located in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, it announced on Monday.

Economic news

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the Irish parliament on Thursday that the EU was making preparations in order to cushion the blow in the case of a no-deal Brexit, an option that was becoming increasingly very likely.

European aviation giant Airbus warned overnight that it could leave Britain if the country exits the European Union in 2019 without a transition deal.

The turnout of the Monetary Policy Committee's meeting on Wednesday was more hawkish than expected, as the Bank of England's chief economist joined the ranks of those who were calling for an immediate hike in Bank Rate.

Greg Hands quit as trade minister on Thursday so as to be able to more freely oppose the expansion of London Heathrow airport in a vote in the House of Commons next week.

Theresa May’s government has managed to see off a rebellion in The House of Commons, seeing the ‘meaningful vote’ amendment defeated after once again making concessions on the subject.

UK manufacturing recovered in June, suggesting a turnaround for factory output after a slowdown earlier in 2018, a CBI survey showed.

New solar power installations in the UK have halved for the second year in a row, as a result of government subsidy cuts.

New research by online lettings platform Urban.co.uk has looked at the cost of climbing the London rental ladder from a studio flat to a four-bed property.

Theresa May said the government planned to provide the NHS an extra £394m a week, funded from increased tax contributions.

Sunnier weather helped herd more people into pubs last month, though the restaurant sector saw sales continue to wilt.

International events

House prices in the US edged higher in April led by gains in the North East and in the West.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to a six-week low last week, according to data from the Labor Department on Thursday.

Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region deteriorated more than expected in June, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The European Commission has responded to the US administration's levies on aluminium and steel, formally approving 'rebalancing measures' on €2.8bn-worth of US exports of agricultural and manufactured goods.

Producer price gains in the Eurozone's largest economy accelerated in May on the back of higher gasoline prices.

Cryptocurrencies dropped after South Korean exchange Bithumb was hacked and $32m in coins were stolen, including Ripple tokens.

The Chinese ambassador to Australia claimed that "less bias and bigotry" was required to repair relations between the two as concerns that China's influence in the nation continues to mount.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi sounded a confident note on the outlook for inflation on Tuesday, despite the multiple sources of uncertainty surrounding the outlook for growth.

A number of OPEC countries are optimistic that a compromise agreement on boosting the cartel's output over the next few months can be reached.

Sweden's third largest party is pushing for a referendum on leaving the European Union within the next four years.