Weekly review

The FTSE 100 gained 64.98 points during the week to end at 6,840.75.

Equity view

GlaxoSmithKline announced the regulatory submission of a marketing authorisation application to the European Medicines Agency for approval of its candidate shingles vaccine, Shingrix.

Dee Valley shareholders should take no action in respect of Ancala Fronia’s previous revised bid for the water company, Severn Trent said on Friday.

Unilever plans to appeal an adverse ruling by the Brazilian Supreme Court.

Africa’s low-cost airline Fastjet tanked in early markets after its chairman resigned due to the company requiring further capital.

Pennon continued to deliver a good performance in the first half of its financial year at both its water and waste businesses, with costs savings and self-help initiatives falling straight to the bottom line.

BHP Billiton and its Brazilian joint venture partner Vale said they have approved $181m to fund remediation and compensation programs at the Samarco iron ore project after a dam burst in a year ago.

Estate agent Countrywide warned that operating profits will be lower than expected for the full year, due to a “tough” residential market as a result of a change in stamp duty and the EU referendum.

Water company Dee Valley will recommend to shareholders accept a new £84m a revised bid made by FTSE 100-listed Severn Trent overnight, leaving investment company Ancala Fornia gazumped again.

AIM-listed Belvoir Lettings said it could not predict the impact from not charging fees to tenants, as outlined in the Autumn Statement.

UK-based travel website Skyscanner is to be bought over by Chinese travel company Ctrip, valuing the business at around £1. 4bn.

HSS Hire slumped on Thursday as the company warned that adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation in 2016 would be above the prior year but below the range of market expectations.

Tying in with Chancellor Philip Hammond's quest to boost British productivity, Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said the mining giant can boost cash flow by $5m over the next five years via a new "productivity drive".

Pets at Home Group said first half pre-tax profits jumped to £45. 9m from £40. 91m, adding that its outlook for the full year remained in line with expectations despite a tough trading environment.

Domino’s Pizza increased its long-term target for expanding its UK store presence on Thursday as it reiterated its guidance for 2016 pre-tax profit.

Water company Severn Trent said interim profits before interest and tax rose 10. 8% to £299. 4m.

AIM-listed energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power has signed a fuel contract with Anglo American which covers fuel dispensed across its hydrogen refuelling network.

Aerospace and defence group Meggitt got a boost on Wednesday amid speculation it may have received a bid approach.

Scottish Aviation company John Menzies has appointed two new board members and finalised a loan agreement for the recent $202m acquisition of Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG).

Underlying interim pre-tax profits at United Utilities fell £16m to £189m, as a £4m increase in underlying operating profit was more than offset by a £19m increase in underlying net finance expense.

Irish pharmaceutical company Shire announced that it will expand its operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts through the establishment of an innovation hub to study rare diseases.

Retail property developer Hammerson said it had raised £400m in a private placement transaction with 11 institutional investors from both the US and the UK.

Entertainment One reported growth across all divisions in the first half, with a cut in profits attributable to increased investment, although its finance director had decided to step down with immediate effect.

Economic news

Sir John Major has defended those who have called for a second referendum on Brexit, saying that the case for another vote is "perfectly credible".

Car manufacturing output declined in October according to figures published by the industry on Thursday, with domestic demand falling and exports strengthening again.

Workers are facing the “dreadful” prospect of not experiencing any wage growth for more than a decade according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair has said that the country's vote to leave the European Union can be overturned if enough people change their minds about Brexit.

Mortgage approvals for house purchase by the UK's big high street banks rose more than expected in October but remain fairly depressed, according to data released by the industry on Thursday.

The insurance industry reacted with fury to the latest increase in premium tax (IPT) to 12%, the third rise in 18 months.

Delivering his much anticipated Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond said government borrowing would need to rise by £121bn over the course of the current parliament due to the slowdown in the UK's economic growth from the Brexit vote.

UK Chancellor Philip Hammond said the government would invest heavily in infrastructure and abolished the Autumn Statement as he made his first set piece speech since taking over from George Osborne in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Britons grew more pessimistic about the UK´s economic outlook, according to the results of a survey.

International events

Saudi Arabia would not attend a technical meeting between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-member countries, insisting instead on the need to focus on a deal between members of the cartel first.

Actelion surged on Friday following a report that US healthcare group Johnson & Johnson has made a takeover bid for the Swiss biotechnology company.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross looks set to be offered a job in Donald Trump's administration when he moves into the Oval Office in the new year, as his commerce secretary.

Markit’s flash US services purchasing managers’ index printed at 54. 7 in November, down a touch from October’s 54. 8, but still the second-strongest reading in the past 12 months.

Chief executive officer of Italian car-maker Fiat Chrysler Sergio Marchionne has said that a Donald Trump presidency will cause harm to the auto industry, after the president-elect said he would introduce a tax levy for companies who do business outside the US.

German airline Lufthansa cancelled almost 900 flights on Wednesday after a last-minute legal challenge to a planned pilot strike failed.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group has swooped in to purchase beverage maker Bai Brands for $1. 7bn, as it and its rivals make tracks to incorporate healthier products.

Turkish president Recep Tayyipan Erdogan has warned European lawmakers that his government could open its borders to migrants after the European Parliament voted yesterday to freeze the country's accession to the bloc.

German gross domestic product slowed down in the third quarter, with only an acceleration in household consumption and higher government spend helping to offset the drag from falling exports and flat investment.