Weekly review
London's FTSE 100 ended the week 81.29 points higher at 7,426.21.
Equity view
Travel operator Thomas Cook finally collapsed on Monday as last-minute talks to save the industry giant failed, leaving 600,000 holidaymakers stranded around the world and putting 22,000 global jobs at risk.
Low & Bonar shares rocketed after it agreed to be taken over by German technology group Freudenberg for £107m in cash.
Manchester United reported record annual revenues on Tuesday but warned that it expected revenue and profit to fall in 2019-20, after the team failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Criminal charges have been brought against three current and former executives of Volkswagen over the emissions scandal.
Shares in BlackBerry slumped in pre-market trade on Tuesday as the security software provider swung to a second-quarter loss, missed revenue expectations and downgraded its annual revenue guidance.
Banco Santander is to take a €1.5bn writedown on the value of its UK business, the Spanish lender announced late on Tuesday.
Shares in Metro Bank fell heavily after the under-pressure challenger lender pulled a £250m bond sale.
French state-controlled power group EDF said on Wednesday it has raised costs estimates for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Britain.
Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda said it had successfully raised $150m from a bond issue, with an option for a further $100m, but analysts expressed caution on high borrowing costs.
Merger talks between US tobacco giants Philip Morris International and Altria have ended.
Imperial Leather maker PZ Cussons said on Wednesday that full-year results are expected to be in line with the previous year amid "challenging" market conditions.
A committee of MPs will question former Thomas Cook executives as part of an inquiry into the collapse of the firm, it was confirmed on Thursday.
Pearson shares had fallen through the floor on Thursday morning, after the company warned that its full-year profit would be at the lower end of its guidance range.
Airline operator IAG said it expected a €215m (£188.7m) fall in 2019 full year operating profit before exceptional items as a result of the British Airways pilots' strike in September.
Imperial Brands shares tumbled as the tobacco giant cut its annual revenue guidance amid challenges in the US vaping market and weakness in Africa, Asia and Australasia.
The profit warnings just kept on coming, with cruise operator Carnival the latest to throw its hat in the ring, cautioning that higher fuel prices would dent earnings.
Online property portal operator OnTheMarket cut revenue guidance on Thursday as it said a Brexit-fuelled "wait-and-see" approach by buyers and sellers was denting transaction volumes.
Shares of ABN Amro tumbled on Thursday after the Dutch bank confirmed that it is being investigated over potential money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Travel food outlet retailer SSP Group said full year turnover would be 10% higher at actual exchange rates as it maintained guidance for 2019 but warned of airline capacity cuts in 2020.
Economic news
More than 8 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unstable homes as a result of the housing crisis, according to a report from the National Housing Federation released on Monday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's advice to the Queen that parliament should be suspended for five weeks was ruled unlawful by the UK Supreme Court in a unanimous decision with MPs set to reconvene on Wednesday morning.
UK factories are continuing to struggle, an industry survey suggested on Tuesday, weighed down by Brexit and the global manufacturing slowdown.
Public borrowing came in below analyst forecasts in August, official data showed on Tuesday, but continued to rise over the year to date.
Sterling slumped on Wednesday, hitting its worst level in nearly two weeks amid speculation about a general election.
Retail sales volumes fell for the fifth consecutive month in September, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry has found, but the rate of decline eased notably.
UK car production rose 3.3% in August, recording the first rise 15 months, figures released on Thursday revealed.
The pound fell on Friday after a Bank of England policymaker said interest rates may need to be cut if high levels of uncertainty over Brexit persisted.
International events
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif has rejected talks with the US after President Donald Trump imposed fresh sanctions on Iran’s central bank.
The eurozone economy struggled in September as demand for both goods and services fell at the fastest rate in more than six years, data showed on Monday.
More than four in five of the world’s largest companies are not on track to meet the Paris climate targets for 2050, a study from the Arabesque S-Ray sustainability measurement tool revealed on Tuesday.
German business confidence improved a little in September but expectations among executives deteriorated, according to a widely-followed survey released on Tuesday.
The most senior German official at the European Central Bank, Sabine Lautenschläger, has resigned unexpectedly before the end of her term.
US economic growth in the second quarter was in line with expectations, according to figures released by the US Department of Commerce on Thursday.
German consumer confidence is set to improve in October, boosted by the European Central Bank's latest stimulus package, according to a survey released by market research group GfK on Thursday.
Americans reined in their spending at the end of the summer despite a jump in disposable income, according to data released on Friday.
US durable goods orders grew unexpectedly in August, as a jump in orders from the defence sector more than offset falling demand for airplanes and automobiles.