Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 442.59 points to 6,577.83.

Equity view

Budget airline Ryanair will hold an EGM in Dublin on 27 July to seek shareholder approval to engage in further share buybacks over the next 15 months to exploit any share price volatility brought on by the EU’s decision to leave the European Union.

EasyJet has reportedly opened talks with EU member states’ aviation regulator about relocating its headquarters from the UK following the vote to leave the EU. EasyJet also warned that profits were lower than expected in the third quarter and that UK decision to Leave the EU is likely to mean revenues in the second half of the year will be lower than last year, while costs will be £25m higher due to oil and currency movements.

BHP Billiton's plans to settle claims over the 2015 Samarco mine disaster suffered a blow on Friday when a Brazilian court reinstated a AUD$8bn public civil claim.

Barclays has no plans to move jobs out of the UK due to Brexit, chief executive Jes Staley said on Thursday.

News Corp has agreed to buy Wireless Group, formerly UTV Media, in a £220. 3m deal.

The Competition Tribunal of South Africa has approved with conditions Anheuser-Busch InBev’s combination with SABMiller.

Oil engineering services firm Wood Group said the full year outlook remained unchanged with no alteration to the guidance given in May on earnings before interest, tax and amortisation being 20% lower on 2015.

Legal & General said it made £4bn of sales across bulk annuities, individual annuities and lifetime mortgages in the first half of the year.

Private equity firm 3i said it had no plans to dispose of its investment in Dutch discount retailer Action despite a number of approaches.

Lloyds Banking Group is to cut about 640 jobs and close 23 branches as part of its programme to cut costs and restructure the bank.

Profits rose 17% in the year to April at Dixons Carphone, which delivered a updated strategy and an optimistic appraisal of its chances post-Brexit as the largest player in the UK market.

Pub group Greene King reported a surge in full-year profit and revenue, partly thanks to its acquisition of Spirit Pub Company, but cautioned that Brexit was likely to hit consumer confidence in the near term.

Vodafone, one of the United Kingdom's biggest companies, will reconsider whether to maintain their global headquarters in London after the country's shock decision to leave the European Union last week.

Retirement homebuilder McCarthy and Stone said the UK's exit from the EU may have an impact on the timing and cost of the conversion of its order book of reservations into completions.

Passenger transport operator Stagecoach posted final results for the year to 30 April on Wednesday, with adjusted earnings per share rising 3. 7% to 27.7p.

The government has scrapped plans to sell its shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group on Tuesday due to Brexit, while the result wiped out almost £8bn on the banks’ share price on Monday.

Online grocer Ocado saw revenue and earning grow in the first half of the year, reporting gross sales of £582. 9m for the 24 weeks to 15 May on Tuesday, a 13. 9% rise on £511. 9m in the comparative period last year.

Estate agent Foxtons warned on Monday that full-year revenue and adjusted earnings will be “significantly lower” than the previous year due to uncertainty caused by the EU referendum.

Economic news

Chancellor George Osborne said he had abandoned his target to restore government finances to a surplus by 2020.

The Bank of England might have to ease its policy settings over the summer, Governor Mark Carney has said.

The UK manufacturing sector saw a modest improvement in June, rising to a five-month high.

The race to succeed David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister was blown wide open on Thursday when Justice Secretary Michael Gove made a surprise late bid for the contest forcing the favourite Boris Johnson to stand down.

The UK’s current account deficit remained near a record high in the first quarter due to shortfalls in trade.

The final release of first-quarter UK gross domestic product from the Office for National Statistics confirmed growth at 0.4%, in line with expectations.

Consumer confidence in the UK has collapsed in the days since the vote to leave the European Union, according to a survey by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Investment in the UK economy is likely to fall by 5% next year following the vote to leave the European Union, according to ratings agency Fitch, which downgraded the UK’s credit rating to AA from AA+ earlier this week.

Access to the single market has made the British car industry one of the most competitive in the world, the trade's industry body SMMT said on Wednesday as it reported record turnover last year.

UK house prices grew more than expected in June, despite the uncertainty around the referendum on European Union membership, according to data from building society Nationwide.

A widely-followed gauge of UK retail sales was stronger than expected in June, although economists saw signs of caution on the part of consumers in the data in the run-up to the EU referendum and were generally downbeat regarding the immediate outlook for consumption.

Discounters Aldi and Lidl saw their combined share of the grocery market rise to a record high of 10. 5% in the 12 weeks to 19 June, while the UK’s big four supermarkets saw a drop in market and the overall market slipped into decline for the first time since January, Kantar Worldpanel said.

Mortgage lending remained resilient in May as banks and building societies lent more than in April and than in May last year, CML said.

International events

The pace of growth in the US economy's manufacturing sector increased in June, according to the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which said its index of national factory activity rose to 53. 2 from 51. 3 in May.

The seasonally adjusted final Markit US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) registered 51. 3 in June, up from 50. 7 in May as manufacturers indicated a slight rebound in production volumes during June, helped by the fastest rise in new work since March.

The eurozone unemployment rate nudged down in May to its lowest level since July 2011, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

Data out of China on Friday showed the manufacturing sector weakened in June, but the services sector improved.

Britain will have to accept freedom of movement of immigrants if it wants to retain access to the European Union's single market after leaving the 28 member bloc, EU leaders warned on Wednesday.

US crude oil stockpiles fell sharply last week, albeit amid a large drop in imports, boosting prices for crude oil futures.

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has expressed “sadness” over Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

The US trade deficit increased by more than economists had expected in May, which was a possible indication of weakness in parts of the US economy according to some economists.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said she could not allow an extended 'waiting game' with the UK and appeared to rule out the possibility of holding 'informal' negotiations with the UK.