Weekly review
The FTSE 100 ended the week 26.34 points higher at 7,277.70.
Equity view
Close Brothers has announced the sale of its retail point of sale finance business, Close Brothers Retail Finance, to Swedish payment solutions group Klarna for an undisclosed sum.
AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune announced on Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lumoxiti (moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukaemia.
Bank of Georgia Group announced on Friday that its banking subsidiary JSC Bank of Georgia has been awarded a ‘Consumer Digital Bank of Distinction Award’ from Global Finance in Central and Eastern Europe, for the second consecutive year.
Sirius Minerals said on Friday that it has secured a new $250m funding deal that should give it sufficient funding to the second quarter of 2019.
Legal & General Group has completed a £4.4bn buy-in for the British Airways pension scheme, Airways Pension Scheme (APS), covering nearly 22,000 pensioners, it announced on Thursday.
Income-focussed real estate investment trust RDI has completed a forward-funding agreement to acquire two “high quality” distribution units in Bicester totalling 288,000 square feet, as well as completing the disposal of the Lochside office in Edinburgh, it announced on Thursday.
Sports Direct clarified overnight that it does not currently intend to bid for Debenhams, in which it has a 29% stake.
Vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has completed the acquisition of a 21.22% interest in Strategic Minerals Corporation, an intermediate holding company of Vametco Alloys, from Sojitz Noble Alloys for a total cash consideration of $20m, it announced on Thursday.
Galliford Try posted a jump in full-year profit and revenue on Wednesday as completions rose and the housebuilder said it was making "excellent" progress towards its strategic objectives across all three businesses.
Rare diseases specialist Shire announced on Wednesday that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for ‘VEYVONDI’, for the treatment of bleeding events and the treatment and prevention of surgical bleeding in adults with von Willebrand disease, when desmopressin treatment alone is ineffective or not indicated.
Big Yellow Group announced its intention to raise gross proceeds of about £67m by way of a placing on Wednesday, with both existing shareholders and new institutional investors.
Superdry has appointed the former head of global womenswear for Tommy Hilfiger, Brigitte Danielmeyer, to the newly-created role of chief product officer.
CYBG could take over Virgin Money by the end of the year after shareholders on both sides gave their backing on Monday.
Sanne Group reported a “good performance” in the first half of 2018 on Tuesday, against strong prior year comparative, with revenue rising 17.1% to £65.9m, or 19.5% at constant currencies.
Hilton Food reported a jump in interim profit on Tuesday as revenue rose and the company hiked its dividend, with performance boosted by the first full inclusion of the Seachill business bought last November, recovery of the business in Central Europe and further strategic progress in Australia.
Cairn Energy released its half-year report for the six months to 30 June on Tuesday, reporting oil sales revenue of $172m at an average realised price of $66.97 per barre, or $67.81 before hedging costs.
RELX Group, the former Reed Elsevier, has simplified its corporate structure with a move to a single UK parent company, from its previous joint Anglo-Dutch arrangement.
LondonMetric Property has sold its retail park in Launceston for £21.9m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.6%.
888 Holdings has launched its online sports betting brand in New Jersey as the company extends its existing operations in the US.
Student accommodation manager and developer Unite Students has exchanged contracts for the disposal of 14 properties for £180.5m, its share of which is £84.7m, to Singapore Press Holdings.
Economic news
The Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney warned that a no-deal hard Brexit could be as catastrophic as the 2008 financial crisis, causing recession and sending house prices crashing.
British Steel could cut up to 10% of its workforce as part of a turnaround plan as the business looks to try and keep up with the changes in the industry including the rising costs that come with a weaker pound.
Prime Minister Theresa May is set to hold a special three-hour cabinet meeting to discuss plans for a no-deal Brexit in the increasingly likely case that her Chequers deal is rejected as she loses support from Northern Irish allies the DUP.
The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union without a deal could damage the economy and be credit negative for a range sectors and debt issuers in the UK and Europe, possibly leading to another recession, credit agency Moody’s warned.
Conservative members of parliament reportedly met on Tuesday to discuss whether to force Prime Minister Theresa May to stand down, as a last resort to discard her Brexit Chequers plan.
Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, UK worker’s annual wages are still £800 below where they were beforehand, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies revealed on Wednesday.
UK wage growth has strengthened to a three-year high but employment increased at a slower rate, official figures revealed on Tuesday, with economists seeing little chance of the Bank of England raising rates again soon.
Some officials in Brussels are "complaining" about "over-spin" by Westminster, saying that the European Union's stance vis-a-vis the Prime Minister's Chequers Plan had not changed one iota.
The UK economy grew more than expected in the three months to July as the hot weather and the World Cup provided a boost, according to official data released on Monday.
European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier said it was "realistic" to hope that a Brexit deal could be negotiated in "six to eight weeks”
International events
US consumer sentiment picked up more than expected in September, to a six-month high, according to a preliminary reading from the University of Michigan.
The rate of gains in US consumer prices slowed last month, as medical commodities and services prices dipped.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped last week, according to data from the Labor Department.
London has been overtaken by New York at the top of a long-running ranking of the top global financial centres, with Brexit uncertainty pulling the city off the top-spot for the first time in three years.
China's central bank reacted to rising bond yields by injecting 60bn yuan ($8.8bn) into the country's banking system on Wednesday morning, as data showed a shrinking money supply and fewer new bank loans than expected.
Factory gate inflation in the US eased in August, as food prices continued to ease and energy costs flattened out.
The US and North Korea are in talks to set up a second meeting between leaders Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump.
German economic sentiment improved in September, according to the latest survey from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim.
China's global trade surplus narrowed last month, but widened against the US, with the latter taking some economists by surprise given the trade tariffs recently-imposed by Washington.
Germany is in talks with allies France, the UK and the US on joining a possible military deployment in Syria in the event that the Syrian government uses chemical weapons in Idlib, BILD reported.