Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 34.23 points, closing at 6,624.02 on Friday.

Equity view

Private equity firm Carlyle has decided not to make a firm offer for aviation services company Signature Aviation.

Assura has bought primary care developer Apollo for an undisclosed sum.

Civitas Social Housing has secured a new seven-year term interest only loan facility of £84.55m, it announced on Friday, from M&G Investment Management.

Specialist publisher Future said on Friday that thanks to an overall positive start to the year, and despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, it was now expecting full-year profitability to be ahead of current market expectations.

Medical products business Smith & Nephew warned the Covid-19 pandemic impact was likely to continue into the first half of 2021 with uncertainty on the timing of recovery, as it reported a sharp fall in full-year profit.

Moneysupermarket reported a drop in full-year profit on Thursday as revenues, in particular in the travel segments, were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Residential landlord Grainger said on Thursday that Robert Hudson had been nominated to take over as chief financial officer "later this year".

Recruitment agency Hays said it planned to return £150m to shareholders via a special dividend as it reported improved trading conditions through its second quarter.

Plus500 said it would buy back up to $25m of shares and pay a special dividend as the trading platform announced record earnings driven by volatile markets during the Covid-19 crisis.

AstraZeneca said the phase 3 trial for breast cancer drug Lynparza would move to early primary analysis and reporting following a recommendation from the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC).

Imperial Brands has appointed Lukas Paravicini as its new chief financial officer, with Oliver Tant due to step down after seven years in the role.

Business development outfit IP Group said on Wednesday that portfolio company ApcinteX had been acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals following a $250.0m financing round.

FTSE 250 outsourcer Serco has agreed to buy Whitney, Bradley & Brown (WBB), a provider of advisory, engineering and technical services to the US military, for $295m from an affiliate of private equity firm H.I.G. Capital.

LXi REIT said it planned to raise £75m through a discounted share placing.

Self-storage facilities operator Safestore said on Tuesday that full-year earnings looked set to come in at the top end of expectations on the back of a strong first-quarter performance.

Gambling software group Playtech said on Tuesday that it has signed strategic agreements with various subsidiaries of Greenwood Racing.

Rolls-Royce has hired former Deloitte partner Panos Kakoullis as chief financial officer to help steer the company through the crisis in the aviation industry.

Vantage Towers confirmed its targets and guidance as Vodafone's infrastructure business reported strong commercial momentum.

German specialty chemicals company Lanxess has agreed to buy US-based rival Emerald Kalama Chemical in a $1.08bn deal.

JTC said on Monday that it has bought INDOS, a specialist in the provision of depositary, ESG and AML oversight services for alternative investment funds, for up to £12.5m.

Economic news

The UK government borrowed another £8.8bn in January, less than the £24.5bn forecast by economists, according to official data.

UK retail sales slumped in January as tighter nationwide coronavirus restrictions hammered department and clothing stores, official data revealed on Friday.

UK consumer sentiment strengthened but stayed gloomy with the economy in lockdown and the outlook uncertain, a survey showed.

UK inflation unexpectedly ticked higher in January amid a rise in the price of food and household goods, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.

UK house prices rose 8.5% in 2020 as the chancellor's stamp duty holiday spurred a boom in property purchases, official figures showed.

About 100,000 property buyers are likely to miss out on a stamp duty saving because they will not complete in time to cash in on the temporary cut, Rightmove said.

Data from retail industry experts Springboard revealed on Monday that footfall across UK retail destinations rose 1.5% week-on-week, following a rise of 6.7% in the week before.

Boris Johnson said any moves to reopen the UK economy must be "cautious but irreversible" as he faced pressure from his backbenchers to set a date for an end to Covid-19 restrictions.

Investors continued to bid crude oil prices higher at the start of the week, on the back of continued hopes for an easing of Covid-19 lockdowns around the world and of fiscal stimulus in the US.

International events

Business activity in the eurozone fell for a fourth straight month in February but sentiment picked up as Covid-19 vaccines raised hopes about an economic revival.

One of the world's top credit rating agencies downgraded Royal Dutch Shell's long-term debt on the back of the expected challenges from the transition to sustainable technologies.

There is still a need for the Covid-19 vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, even if some of their potency is lost on the new novel coronavirus strain detected in South Africa, Bill Gates said.

EU car registrations plunged to a record low for January as Covid-19 restrictions and economic uncertainty weighed heavily on sales.

Retail sales volumes in the US shot higher last month with across the board strength in all categories.

Wholesale inflation rose more quickly than expected at the start of 2021 on the back of a jump in energy and services prices.

German investor sentiment unexpectedly improved in February, according to the latest survey from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim.

The euro area economy shrank by a tad less than feared at the end of 2020, revised data showed.

Eurozone industrial output fell more than expected in December as manufacturing of capital goods dropped.

French drug giant Sanofi's two vaccine candidates against Covid-19 may be ready by year-end, the company said, refuting an earlier report.