Weekly review

The FTSE 100 finished the week up 127.4 points to 6,916.02.

Equity view

Pub and restaurant chain operator The Restaurant Group announced on Friday that after 15 years with the company, and two years as CEO, Danny Breithaupt will step down from the board and leave the company with immediate effect.

So far, so good for sofa retailer DFS as it posted a mixed year-end statement where it confirmed a strong second half and remained bullish in spite of a warning about the increased risk of a post-Brexit market slowdown.

Greeting card retailer Card Factory’s shares tumbled on Thursday as it reported that the retail environment had been "challenging" in the first half of the year as sales were lower than normal.

South Africa’s Steinhoff International has improved its offer for London-listed discount retailer Poundland to £610. 4m.

Geopolitics and a spate of violent attacks in parts of Europe hit Tui Group's revenues in the third quarter but the travel group was still confident of hitting its full year targets and said it was pleased with the start to early trading for the winter season and Summer 2017.

William Hill has again given the cold shoulder to a joint merger proposal by smaller suitors Rank Group and 888 Holdings and despite its troubles this year continued to haughtily turn its nose up at the prospect of talks.

Legal & General Group has agreed the sale of its Cofunds investment platform to Aegon for £140m. Legal & General also increased first-half profits by almost a quarter as strong growth from the annuity arm offset declines at investment management and insurance.

European soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC reported its results for the six-month period to 1 July on Thursday morning, with FX-neutral net sales revenue growing by 2. 4%, or 3. 0% taking into account the one less selling day.

Glencore reported a drop in production in the first half – with the exception of nickel and agricultural products – as expected, and lifted its full-year copper guidance.

Residential landlord Grainger has so far escaped any effects of the European Union referendum, reporting that private rental sector demand remains strong.

Prudential reported a better-than-expected increase in first half operating profit on Wednesday, driven by double-digit growth in Asia.

Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One said on Wednesday that it has rejected a takeover from broadcaster ITV that values the company at 236p per share.

Shares in G4S surged on Wednesday after the security company reported a jump in earnings and revenue for the first half as it said it has made substantial progress with the ongoing transformation of the group and maintained its dividend.

Barclays agreed to pay $100m, or £77m, to 44 US states for “fraudulent and anti-competitive conduct” in the Libor interest rate rigging scandal.

Morrison's has agreed to take 30% capacity of Ocado new customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in Erith by 2018, bought a new 'store pick' software licence and eased previous restrictions on the online specialist working with other UK supermarkets.

Shares in Smiths Group rallied on Tuesday after the company sounded an optimistic note on its prospects for the full year.

Payments processor Worldpay – which floated on the London Stock Exchange last year – reported a rise in first-half underlying earnings and pre-tax profit amid strength in all its businesses, as it declared a maiden interim dividend of 0. 65p per share.

Standard Life posted an 18% increase in operating profit before tax for the first half thanks to diversification, as its assets under management grew.

Investment bank Old Mutual is to sell its Old Mutual Wealth Italy subsidiary to insurance company Ergo Italia, which is owned by private equity firm Cinven, for €278m.

First-half results from Shire confirmed the drugmaker's strong performance so far in 2016, completing two acquisitions and continuing to grow its underlying business.

Economic news

UK retail sales bounced back in July after a tough few months, with the strongest growth in total takings since January, the BRC said.

UK construction output fell in the run-up to the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.

Consumer morale fell slightly in August in part due to the Brexit result, according to a survey by Thomas Reuters/ Ipsos.

Interest from new house buyers waned in July as sales fell, according to research by the surveying industry, pushing monthly UK house price growth to its slowest in three years and falls in London.

British banks could be hit hard if the country lost access to the European Union single market, as maintaining membership could add an extra 4% to the economy, the Institute of Fiscal Studies said on Wednesday.

The Bank of England said it would look to make up for the previous session's lacklustre results at a reverse auction to purchase £1.17bn of long-dated Gilts during the second half of its extended programme of quantitative easing.

The Bank of England might need to loosen policy further, should the signals from various economic surveys prove to be well-founded, according to policymaker Ian McCafferty.

UK economic growth halved in the last three months, according to analysis by a respected independent think tank, which is worse than the market expected and adds credence to predictions that the economy will contract in the third quarter and then fall into recession.

The UK´s shortfall on international trade worsened in June, with economists saying that exports had yet to react to the weakening seen in the pound, which in the very short-term in fact had the effect of making imports more expensive, thus adding to the deficit.

UK industrial production remained stable on a month-to-month basis in the run-up to the Brexit vote, according to official data, though this lagging official data has been followed by gloomy findings from several surveys of the sector.

UK retail sales bounced back in July after a tough few months, with the strongest growth in total takings since January.

Despite the UK voting to leave the European Union, UK consumer spending picked up in July as people spent their money on clothes, days out and dinners at restaurants. The Visa consumer spending index, calculated by Markit based on credit and debit card usage, gound that spending increased 1.6% year-on-year in July, which was the biggest rise in three months, and up from 0.9% in June.

Business confidence has not been as damaged by the Brexit decision as much as had been feared, according to study by BDO.

International events

Chinese credit growth slowed sharply in May as the impact of earlier monetary easing by the country´s central bank waned, some economists said.

Eurozone industrial production rose a touch more than expected in June, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

Eurozone gross domestic product rose by 0. 3% in the second quarter, confirming preliminary estimates and in line with economists’ forecasts, according to data released by Eurostat.

Oil demand is expected to slow next year as the global economic outlook has weakened, according to the International Energy Agency on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell pretty much in line with expectations last week, according to the Labour Department.

Small business confidence Stateside edged slightly higher in July as reflected in two separate gauges linked to their hiring plans and ability to meet their staffing needs.

US labour productivity fell for a third consecutive quarter over the three months ending in June, pressuring labour costs higher despite slower wage growth, although inflationary pressures eased substantially, leaving economists divided on the implications of the data for monetary policy.

The president of the OPEC said on Monday informal talks would be held at an energy conference in September in response to plummeting oil prices.

Chinese trade data released on Monday morning pointed to still soft economic conditions in Asia´s largest economy, although some economists were sanguine regarding the immediate outlook.