Weekly Review
The FTSE 100 Index finished up 121.72 points on the week at 6,689.08.
Equity view
Construction group Balfour Beatty rebuffed another takeover proposal from rival Carillion over a row about Balfour's plan to sell its US Parsons Brinckerhoff subsidiary.
Centrica has said that earnings this year will be affected by a reduction in output from EDF Energy's nuclear power stations.
Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed that is considering selling the international branch of Coutts, its private bank, in a deal thought to be valued at around $1bn (£600m).
Troubled pub group Punch Taverns has delayed the launch of its £2.3bn debt shake-up.
High street bookie Ladbrokes said that a good World Cup performance pushed revenues higher in the first half, but profits fell sharply as a result of "industry-wide customer-friendly results".
Online takeaway marketplace Just Eat said profits trebled in the first half of 2014 on the back of strong demand and accelerating growth in mobile.
Prudential ruled out big acquisitions in Asia as its businesses in the region and the US helped the insurer to boost first-half operating profits by 17% to £1.52bn.
Royal Dutch Shell is set to cut around 250 jobs at its onshore North Sea oil operations in Aberdeen.
Car insurer Admiral forecast a rise in premiums in the next few months but said margins on business secured this year were lower in the first half.
Mining and trading giant Glencore gave a mixed production report for the first half of 2014 but said that copper and coal - the company's biggest contributors to profit - both increased output over last year.
G4S won £1.2bn of contracts in the first half and increased profits, but said there was "much to be done" to turn the troubled security group around.
Egyptian gold miner Centamin unveiled a maiden interim dividend of 0.87 cents a share despite reporting a dip in profits in the second quarter as the cost of production rose.
BHP Billiton said that it is considering a demerger of certain assets in an effort to make the company "simpler and more productive". The company, which is the largest mining company in the world by revenues, is currently undergoing its "next phase of simplification".
Economic news
British mortgage loans rose in June, defying expectations of a slowdown following a clampdown on irresponsible lending. Total gross lending in June grew by 6% against May to £17.9bn and by a fifth against a year ago, according to Bank of England figures cited by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Britain is now the western European capital of self-employment, the Institute for Public Policy Research said this week.
UK retail sales fell at an annual rate of 0.3% on a like-for-like basis in July, as improving clothing sales were offset by a fall in food.
The Bank of England this week upgraded its economic growth forecast and reiterated that interest rate rises would be gradual. In its Inflation Report the central bank forecast the UK economy will grow 3.5% this year, compared to an earlier estimate of 3.4%, but cut its estimates for wage growth.
Britain had its best July for home loans since the financial crisis, potentially fuelling concerns that a lending clampdown is failing to rein back soaring house prices, a study showed on Thursday.
International events
The US have conducted airstrikes in the northern region of Iraq this week and, alongside other countries, has also provided food and water supplies to more than 40,000 members of the Yazidi religious minority who are under the threat of Islamic State (IS) militants.
German investor confidence declined significantly in August due to geopolitical tensions, the German ZEW survey said. The economic sentiment for Germany dropped to 8.6 in August from 27.1 in July.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest US job openings and labour turnover survey (JOLTS) showed job openings at a 13-year high, rising by 90,000 to hit 4.67m (consensus: 4.55m) in June, versus a revised 4.58m in May.
Apple was in focus this week amid speculation that the company has started production of new iPad models.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said global oil demand would increase by less than initially estimated this year. The IEA said: "Despite armed conflict in Libya, Iraq and Ukraine, the oil market today looks better supplied than expected, with an oil glut even reported in the Atlantic basin."
Russia this week sent 280 trucks allegedly carrying humanitarian aid to the border of Ukraine. However, Ukraine said that it would not allow the convoy into the country if it is not certified first by the Red Cross.
A host of Chinese economic data missed forecasts this week, including industrial production, fixed asset investment, retail sales and bank lending figures.
Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at an annualised rate of 6.8% in the second quarter of 2014 after 6.1% growth in the first quarter, the Japanese Cabinet Office said.
Eurozone economic growth eased back in the second quarter of the year as expected, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to take action. GDP rose at an annual rate of 0.7% after 0.9% growth in the first quarter.
The UK is set to supply weapons to Kurdish forces fighting IS militants in Northern Iraq, which would see Britain assume a more prominent role in the country's conflict.
Coca-Cola has bought a 16.7% stake in Monster Beverage as it seeks to expand its business beyond fizzy drinks.