Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 6.92 points to 7,020.47.

Equity view

British American Tobacco launched a $47bn cash and shares take-over offer for the 57. 8% of Reynolds American which it did not already own.

Playtech announced on Friday that it has acquired bingo software and hardware solutions provider ECM Systems.

Acacia Mining reported a sharp drop in its operating costs during the third quarter of 2016, which contributed to a near doubling of its cash even as the company raised its full-year guidance for output.

IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter reiterated its 2016 expectations as it posted a small jump in reported third quarter revenue thanks to currency movements, but constant currency revenue was weaker.

AIM-listed magazine publisher Time Out Group has bought YPlan, a mobile-first events discovery and booking app, payable in shares worth £1.6m.

FTSE 100 InterContinental Hotels Group's third quarter revenue increased with a strong performance seen in China, but was affected by the strength of the US dollar and volatility in foreign exchange markets.

Three of Tesco’s former Tesco executives are set to appear in court next year over allegations of fraud that left a £326m accounting hole.

Merger partners Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group posted fourth quarter financial results for Coral, for the 12 weeks to 25 September on Thursday.

London Stock Exchange posted its interim management statement for the third quarter to 30 September on Thursday, with total income from continuing operations excluding assets sold and held for sale up 19% to £414. 6m.

Rio Tinto lowered its iron ore shipment guidance slightly after it fell 5% to 80. 9m tonnes in the third quarter, reduced by port and rail maintenance.

Senior warned on Thursday that its performance for the full year 2016 is likely to be lower than previously expected amid challenging market conditions in truck and off-highway and oil and gas markets.

Keller shares tanked on Thursday after the FTSE 250 ground engineering company cautioned that its full-year 2016 underlying results will be around 15% below current market expectations, mainly due to underperformance in the Asia Pacific division.

NCC Group warned that profits growth will be hit by "a number of setbacks" in its core IT assurance division that included the cancellation of three large contracts, the deferral of another and delays with renewals of some contracts in managed services.

Estate agent Foxtons reported a drop in quarterly sales on Wednesday amid ongoing weakness in the London market.

One of the first companies in the construction sector to provide an update on the third quarter, Travis Perkins reported that market conditions have worsened and it has decided to close more than 40 sites and launch a cost-cutting programme.

BHP Billiton posted its operational review for the three months to 30 September on Wednesday, with all of its production and unit cost guidance remaining unchanged for the 2017 financial year - though guidance for the Olympic Dam was under review after a state-wide power outage in South Australia.

Rentokil reported a jump in revenue for the third quarter following an “excellent” performance from the pest control business.

Although trading at Laird improved slightly in the third quarter, helped by currency shifts, it warned profits for the full year would be lower than expected due to delays in the mobile devices cycle and increased margin pressure.

Housebuilder Barratt Developments has suspended its regional managing director for London, Alastair Baird, after he was arrested over possible misconduct in awarding certain contracts.

Health, hygiene and home products manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser saw sales growth slow in the third quarter as it was impacted by ongoing legal issues in South Korea and low demand in Russia.

Polymetal International announced its group production results for the third quarter and nine months to 30 September on Tuesday, with production of 372 Koz of gold equivalent in Q3 2016, an increase of 29% quarter-on-quarter.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes announced on Monday that subsidiaries of both itself and merger partner Gala Coral Group have agreed to sell a total of 359 licensed betting offices to Done Brothers Cash Betting - trading as Betfred - and StanJames Abingdon - trading as Stan James.

Underlying sales remained underwhelming at Pearson in the third quarter but the pound's weakness is likely to put a sheen on full year numbers.

Economic news

The red ink at Westminster flowed more freely in September, although some economists appeared to be sanguine regarding the prospects for the public finances.

UK construction workloads lifted slightly in the third quarter, though growth in London was depressed by Brexit uncertainty, according to a survey of the sector published on Thursday.

Britain’s deficit fell for the 2016 financial year fell while gross debt increased for the 14th consecutive year, according to the Office of National Statistics.

UK retail sales were lower than expected in September, according to official figures published on Thursday.

UK Finance Minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday that the government has not yet made any decision on whether the UK will remain in the European Union Customs Union (EUCU) in the wake of Brexit.

The headline rate of UK unemployment remained unchanged over the summer, according to official figures released on Wednesday, though jobless claims figures for September provided a positive surprise.

UK house prices strengthened, according to official measures that suggested the Brexit vote has not had much effect on the housing market.

UK inflation in September rose unexpectedly strongly to hit its highest level in 22 months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The UK's property rental market is overtaking the sales market following the Brexit vote, due to rising prices and a fall in the availability of homes, according to Countrywide.

Numbers of UK shoppers pounding the pavements declined again last month, with shopping centres the worst hit.

Inflation would probably rise somewhat above Bank´s inflation target over the next few years, but the pound´s flexibility was an important shock-absorber for the economy, a top Bank of England official said.

International events

Home prices in China showed tentative signs of cooling in October as policymakers try to rein in torrid price gains that some observers worry already augur poorly for the economy´s medium-term prospects.

Consumer confidence in the single currency area improved slightly in October, according to the European Commission.

The European Central Bank did not discuss extending or ending its asset purchase programme ahead of Thursday's policy decision, President Mario Draghi said.

Initial weekly US jobless claims increased modestly, but remained below the 300,000 mark for an 85th consecutive week, their longest streak since 1970.

Economic conditions in the Middle East and North Africa were set to improve only modestly in 2017 amid a slump in oil prices and conflicts in multiple countries, the International Monetary Fund said.

Oil prices rallied on Wednesday as official data showed weekly US crude inventories fell last week, soothing worries about a global supply glut.

China´s gross domestic product grew at a steady clip during the third quarter of 2016, but some economists cautioned that the expansion was running on borrowed time.

US inflation rose in line with expectations in September, driven by increases in housing and energy prices, official data showed on Tuesday.

Inflation in the eurozone was confirmed at 0. 4% for September, up from 0. 2% in August and in line with expectations, according to data from Eurostat.