Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week down 164.49 points at 5,799.08.

Equity view

Centrica's British Gas division has bought the customers of Robin Hood Energy, a loss-making supplier set up by Nottingham City Council to compete with the UK's big energy providers.

WPP said it had bought Velvet Consulting, a French customer experience consultancy, for an undisclosed sum.

Spain's Bankia and CaixaBank confirmed late on Thursday that they are in talks about a possible all-share merger.

Budget airline Ryanair said on Friday that it has raised €400m through a share placing to strengthen its balance sheet and enable it to capture the opportunities that have arisen since the Covid-19 pandemic.

MC Mining announced the conclusion of a subscription agreement with Columbia Skies Holdings on Friday, raising ZAR 10m (£0.45m) for both general working capital, and the Makhado hard coking coal project.

Sanofi and GSK said they had started a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Covid-19 vaccine involving 440 people in the US.

Kainos said on Thursday that its results for the year to the end of March are set to be in line with consensus forecasts.

Micro Focus International has repaid $175m (£132m) of debt arranged at the start of the Covid-19 crisis after the software company generated strong cash flow.

Online trading platform CMC Markets said on Thursday that 2021 net operating income is set to exceed the upper end of current market consensus.

Hotel and resorts group PPHE slumped to a first-half loss as coronavirus lockdowns hammered revenues during the second quarter as it was forced to close properties at the height of the pandemic.

Wizz Air's passenger numbers fell 41% in August as the budget airline reduced capacity and filled fewer seats during the Covid-19 crisis.

Domino's Pizza said on Wednesday that it has appointed interim chief financial officer Neil Smith to the role on a permanent basis.

Full year profits at house builder Barratt almost halved and a special dividend scrapped as the coronavirus lockdown hit sales in the fourth quarter, although it reported a sharp rise in completions in the new year as restrictions were eased.

Exploration and development company Ariana Resources announced new resource and exploration drilling results from the Kiziltepe Mine in Turkey on Wednesday.

Healthcare services business Uniphar reported interim results in line with expectations on Wednesday, with revenue rising 8.8% year-on-year to €871.33m (£775.71m).

The AA's potential bidders have been given an extra four weeks to make an offer for the breakdown service as talks continue.

Morgan Advanced Materials said on Tuesday that it has sold the assets of its facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the US for its Diamonex business to BEST Engineered Surface Technologies for an undisclosed sum.

Gem Diamonds has recovered a high quality 233 carat Type II white diamond from its Letseng mine in Lesotho.

Oxford Biomedica said it had extended its agreement with AstraZeneca to mass-produce its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.

Carnival announced on Tuesday that its ultra-luxury brand Seabourn will cancel additional voyages for three cruise ships in its fleet, as part of its pause in global ship operations amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economic news

UK construction growth suffered a surprise slowdown in August as the sector continued to cut jobs, a survey showed.

UK August new car registrations fell 5% year on year, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released on Friday.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is ready to reject a City of London proposal for a state-backed body to refinance tens of billions of pounds of loans made to businesses during the Covid-19 crisis, according to a report.

The UK's services sector expanded rapidly in August but rising job cuts raised fears the recovery could be short-lived.

The UK has cleared its 700 MHz band of airwaves to free up new capacity for a 5G spectrum auction next January, government officials said.

Arms manufacturer BAE Systems and defence electronics group Leonardo said they had won a £317m contract to develop the next generation of radar for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoons.

UK house prices reached a new all-time high in August thanks in part to pent-up demand following Covid-19 restrictions, according to mortgage lender Nationwide.

UK factory output rose at its fastest rate for more than six years as activity picked up after the Covid-19 lockdown but manufacturers continued to cut jobs, a survey showed.

Data from retail group Springboard revealed on Tuesday that footfall across all UK retail destinations rose 6% over the week ended 29 August, the last full week of Downing Street's Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

Consumer borrowing increased for the first time in four months in July as households loosened their budgets with the easing of lockdown restrictions, Bank of England figures showed.

International events

German industrial goods orders rose by a smaller-than-expected 2.8% in July, according to official data on Friday, in a further indication that the post-coronavirus recovery was faltering.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is investigating whether a new class of medicines that are intended for weight loss and diabetes could prove effective in treating Covid-19.

US non-farm payrolls rose by a bit less than expected last month, but unemployment undershot economists' forecasts by a wide margin.

Chinese services companies hired more workers for the first time in seven months as the sector continued to recover from the Covid-19 outbreak, a survey showed.

Growth in the eurozone services sector nearly ground to a halt in August amid a rise in new coronavirus cases, according to data released on Thursday.

China is preparing new government policies to develop its own domestic semiconductor industry and reduce reliance on US suppliers and technology.

German retail sales unexpectedly fell in July, frustrating hopes that household spending would help drive a strong recovery in Europe's biggest economy.

The US government said overnight that it will not participate in a global initiative to develop, manufacture and equitably distribute a vaccine for Covid-19 due to the World Health Organization’s involvement.

Chinese factory activity rose at its fastest pace for almost a decade in August as export orders increased for the first time this year, a private sector survey showed.

Activity in the eurozone manufacturing sector continued to recover in August from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and shutdowns.