Weekly review
London's FTSE 100 ended the week 229.08 points higher at 7,582.48.
Equity view
BT Group said on Monday that it has agreed to sell its Spanish business to private equity firm Portobello Capital for an undisclosed sum.
US oil and gas producer WPX Energy has agreed to buy Delaware Basin operator Felix Energy in a $2.5bn cash and stock deal.
Cineworld has agreed to buy Canadian cinema chain Cineplex for $2.1bn.
Aberdeen-based bus and train operator FirstGroup on Monday said it was considering options on the future of its US business, including a sale.
Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley said he expected further House of Fraser store closures but shares in the retailer jumped more than 20% as it predicted earnings would rise this year.
Shares of Abu Dhabi-based healthcare centre operator NMC Health tumbled on Tuesday after research firm Muddy Waters said it had "serious doubts" about the company’s financial statements, accusing it of manipulating its balance sheet to understate debt.
The Competition and Markets Authority will investigate Google’s $2.6bn takeover of cloud analytics company Looker Data Sciences.
Shares in global suppliers to Boeing fell across Europe as the aircraft maker said it was suspending production of its controversial 737 MAX passenger jet.
Consumer goods giant Unilever cautioned that full-year sales growth would miss expectations amid challenges in some of its markets.
GRC International lost more than a fifth of its value on Wednesday after the IT governance and risk management company posted a 20% drop in first-half revenue caused by falling demand for data protection services.
Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot have agreed a $50bn merger that will create the world’s fourth-largest car maker by volume.
Abu Dhabi-based healthcare operator NMC Health reaffirmed its guidance for 2019 and 2020 as it hit back at a damming report by research firm Muddy Waters, insisting that its accusations were "unfounded".
The battle for Just Eat intensified late on Thursday after Prosus and Takeaway.com sweetened their bids for the London-listed food delivery firm.
Vodafone said it has agreed to sell its Maltese business to Monaco Telecom for €250m (£212m).
Swiss speciality chemicals company Clariant said it has agreed to sell its Masterbatches business to US polymer group PolyOne for $1.6bn.
Carnival reported record full-year revenues and profits despite multiple headwinds, and with its fourth quarter results coming in ahead of analysts' expectations.
Shares of NMC Health fell sharply on Friday following a report that the Abu Dhabi-based healthcare operator was in talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars of off-balance sheet debt to fund new hospitals.
Food delivery business Just Eat has rejected a final enhanced takeover offer from South Africa's Prosus and urged shareholders to approve the £6.3bn bid from Takeaway.com of the Netherlands.
Economic news
The UK’s fiscal watchdog has increased its forecasts for annual borrowing by £20.0bn a year, after changes to the way student loans are accounted for.
UK business output fell for the second month running in December as manufacturing production suffered its heaviest fall since the financial crisis and the dominant services sector dipped.
Sterling took a tumble on Tuesday amid news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to add a clause to the Brexit bill making it illegal to extend the transition period beyond the end of next year, reviving the threat of a no-deal Brexit.
UK employment rose as employers unexpectedly hired more workers in the run-up to October's second deadline for Brexit.
Inflation remained at 1. 5% in November, slightly higher than markets expected, official figures showed.
UK retail sales unexpectedly fell in November as Brexit uncertainty and pre-election jitters took their toll on shoppers.
Brexit-related factory closures led to a 16.5% slump in November UK car production, according to figures released on Friday.
Financial Conduct Authority chief Andrew Bailey has been confirmed as the 121st governor of the Bank of England.
UK consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in December in the run-up to the general election, according to a survey released on Friday.
International events
Tensions between China and Germany have started to mount after it emerged that the eurozone’s largest economy was considering potentially excluding Huawei from the rollout of its 5G mobile network.
Business activity in the eurozone remained weak in December, according to data released on Monday, as a slight upturn in the services sector was offset by further weakness in manufacturing.
A trade deal that will almost double US exports to China over two years is "totally done", the US trade representative has said.
Hong Kong has seen as much as $5bn of capital flee from the Asian financial hub since April in the wake of recent political unrest and the ongoing protests, said the Bank of England on Tuesday.
German investor sentiment improved more than expected in December, according to a survey released by the Ifo institute on Wednesday.
Donald Trump became only the third US President to be impeached as members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening approved the two articles charging him.
US President Donald Trump has called for an “immediate” Senate impeachment trial as Democrats and Republicans reached an impasse over when it should start.