Weekly review

The FTSE 100 closed the week up 159.49 points to 6,083.79.

Equity view

Sainsbury's acquisition of Home Retail has stalled, according to the Financial Times.

BT Group said on Friday that it has completed its £125bn acquisition of mobile network operator EE.

Sky has announced James Murdoch will return as chairman of the FTSE 100 broadcaster, as the company announced strong revenue growth for the first half of the year.

Rank Group's bets were paying off in the first half of its financial year, with all of the company's sectors showing growth in the six months to 31 December 2015.

One of AstraZeneca's cancer therapies reached a new milestone on Thursday, with the US Federal Drug Administration granting Lynparza a Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) for the treatment of a certain strain of prostate cancer.

Diageo posted a slight rise in first half pre-tax profit despite a drop in revenue, as organic sales grew more than expected.

SSE has announced it is dropping household gas prices on its standard tariff by 53% at the end of March.

Anglo American surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as investors welcomed its fourth quarter production report. Production for the fourth quarter rose 3% from the end of 2014 and the third quarter, while output for the year as a whole was up 5%.

Luxury footwear and accessories brand Jimmy Choo reported a rise in 2015 revenue, thanks in part to a strong performance in Asia.

SSP Group, which operates food and beverage outlets at airports around the world, said its full year expectations remain “positive and unchanged”.

Royal Dutch Shell has received shareholder approval for its £35bn takeover of BG Group, with 83% voting in favour of the deal, which would create the world’s largest liquefield natural gas trader

As well as confirming the bank will make a loss for 2015, Royal Bank of Scotland has announced a large clean-up in the fourth quarter, including £500m of PPI provisions, $22bn (£15bn) for US residential mortgage-backed securities probes, and £42bn poured into its pension fund.

Sage’s first quarter revenues were up, driven by strong software subscription revenue. The FTSE 100 company saw group organic revenue for the three months to 31 December rise 6.6%.

Antofagasta was looking at a strong end to a tough year, as it updated the market on its fourth quarter on Wednesday.

Soft drinks maker Britvic reported a rise in first quarter revenue as it reiterated its full year earnings guidance

Supermarket Tesco “seriously breached” a legally-binding code to protect suppliers by prioritising its own finances rather than treating its suppliers fairly, the UK grocery watchdog said on Tuesday

Carpetright shares fell to 12-month lows in early trade after management cut profit margin guidance and revealed sales slowed in recent weeks.

Foreign exchange has hit PZ Cussons’ half year results, with a small dip in reported revenue and a 37% drop in profit before tax.

After an encouraging 10 weeks of Christmas trading, Dixons Carphone has lifted profit guidance slightly above consensus forecasts and said it will go ahead with the full roll-out of stores in the USA.

B&Q owner Kingfisher announced a five-year transformation programme on Monday, saying it plans to deliver a £500m sustainable annual profit uplift by the end of the process.

Britain's largest lenders are preparing to set aside billions of more pounds for provisions against the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal, according to reports over the weekend.

Petra Diamonds reported an increase in first half production but a drop in revenue as the group sold fewer diamonds at lower prices.

UK economic news

UK house prices rose 64% to an average of £188,270 in December compared to the same month a year ago, data revealed on Friday.

Consumer spirits in the UK were near their best levels ever in January, as the plummeting price of crude oil, very low unemployment and rising house prices more than offset the depressing influence of the retreat in share prices, economists said

The UK economic growth picked up slightly in last three months of the year compared to the previous quarter, data revealed on Thursday. Gross domestic product rose 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, as expected by analysts, up from 0.4% in the prior three-month period, according to the preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics.

UK house prices continue to rise steadily in January, but at a slower rate than had been forecast, Nationwide data showed.

UK mortgage approvals in 2015 rose 6% compared to a year ago to £1378bn, according to data on Wednesday

Andrew Bailey, deputy governor of the Bank of England, has been appointed by George Osborne as the new chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, though the Treasury Select Committee has suggested it be given a veto in future.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will decide by the end of the year whether he plans to stay on as chief of the central bank for a full eight-year term rather than the five years agreed when he was appointed.

International events

US gross domestic product growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter to an annualised rate of 07% from 2% in the third, preliminary data from the Commerce Department showed.

The Bank of Japan has adopted negative interest rates for the first time ever as it looks to drive inflation to 2%

Inflation in the Eurozone picked up in January, according to flash figures released by Eurostat.

US durable goods orders fell more than expected in December, reflecting a decline in transport, the Commerce Department revealed on Thursday.

The number of first time unemployment benefits claimants in the US fell more than expected last week, figures released on Thursday showed.

Consumer confidence in the Eurozone fell more than expected in January. The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator slipped to 105 from 106.7 in December, falling short of economists’ expectations for a reading of 106.4.

The US central bank kept its main policy rates unchanged, as had been widely anticipated, with most pundits initially taking the view that the door to an interest rate hike come March, when its policy committee was next scheduled to meet, had been left open.

US crude oil stockpiles jumped by 84m barrels over the week ending on 22 January, according to the Energy Information Administration, the Department of Energy´s statistical arm.

Oil prices were tipped to remain near their current lows for the rest of the year on Tuesday, as the World Bank slashed its price forecast for 2016.

US consumer confidence rose in January, comfortably surpassing economists’ expectations, according to data released by the Conference Board.