Weekly Review
The FTSE 100 finished the week down 167.49 points at 6,855.02.
Equity view
Builders and plumbers merchant Wolseley said it is on track for the full year after a double-digit increase in underlying profits in the first half, helped by record trading margins in the States and strong growth in e-commerce.
Supermarket group Morrisons has announced a major management reshuffle, with five senior executives axed less than 10 days after new chief executive David Potts got his feet under the table.
A first-half trading update from TUI AG confirmed the merged Anglo German travel colossus has sailed serenely past last year's figures and remained confident of delivering strong full year growth.
British construction firm Balfour Beatty was forced to suspend its dividend as a result of ongoing challenges in its UK construction contracts which resulted in multi-million pound losses.
Shell has completed the sale of more of its upstream Nigerian assets for $1.7bn, following another disposal in the country last week. Shell also this week announced it has doubled its planned job cuts in the North Sea.
Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed that it expects to make at least $3.2bn from the partial sale of shares in US subsidiary Citizens Financial. The bank also agreed to sell its international private arm Coutts International, to Union Bancaire Privee, the Swiss private bank.
Budget airline Easyjet expects to beat previous first-half guidance, mainly due to favourable foreign exchange movements in the second quarter.
The British government on Thursday reduced its stake in Lloyds with the sale of £500m-worth of shares ahead of the upcoming UK elections in May.
Eight years after investing in the London Stock Exchange in a bid to create an investment empire, Dubai is selling its £1.5bn stake in London's stock market.
Copper mining group Antofagasta was forced to call a halt to activities at three mines in the north of Chile due to heavy rain.
Barratt Developments chief executive Mark Clare has stepped down after nine years in the role, to be replaced by finance director David Thomas, who has been with the company for six years.
Economic news
Activity in Britain's manufacturing sector remained steady in March, according to the latest Industrial Trends Survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry.
Consumer-price inflation in the UK fell to zero in February, as lower food prices and computer goods left consumer prices unchanged from the previous year for the first time since record began.
UK house price growth slowed to a 10-month low of 8.4% in the year to January 2015, down from 9.8% in the year to December, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics.
UK house prices in March rose mildly on the prior month, but annual growth had slowed to an 18-month low , according to data from mortgage lender Nationwide.
UK retail sales rose in February, exceeding expectations and fuelling confidence over the consumer spending. The Office for National Statistics said retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% last month, above market forecasts for a gain of 0.4%.
International events
The world's second biggest fashion retailer, Hennes & Mauritz, has reported better than expected first quarter pre-tax profit but warned that a strong US dollar would impact its sourcing costs this year.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley's chief financial officer Ruth Porat will be joining Google in the same executive position.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras this week warned German chancellor Angela Merkel that Athens will not be able to service debt obligations unless the EU distributes short-term financial aid.
Oil prices spiked on Thursday after Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in Yemen overnight in an effort to defeat rebel Houthi fighters from the north of the country.
Hutchison Whampoa and Telefónica are close to cementing a £10.5bn deal that would allow the Hong-Kong based group to merge the Spanish company's UK mobile operator O2 to its own British arm Three.
China’s contracting manufacturing sector has sparked fresh worries about slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy. The widely watched HSBC/Markit flash PMI for manufacturing fell into contraction territory in March at 49.2 from a previous reading of 50.6 in February.
US consumer prices rose for the first time in four months in February, climbing 0.2% after declining 0.7% in January.
Food giants Kraft and Heinz have agreed a megamerger to form the publicly listed Kraft Heinz Company, which will be the fifth largest food and beverage company in the world.
A Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed on Tuesday in the French Alps, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members on board. It is thought that the co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane.
Amazon is reportedly planning to enter the fashion market through the takeover of online retailer Net-a-porter from Swiss firm Richemont.