Weekly review
The FTSE 100 ended the week 91.46 points lower at 7,013.88.
Equity view
Diageo on Monday said it was selling 19 brands, including Seagrams VO, to US firm Sazerac for $550m (£427m).
Shares in British American Tobacco went up on smoke on Monday after it emerged the US authorities were considering banning menthol cigarettes.
Rio Tinto completed a A$2.87bn (US$2.1bn, £1.6bn) off-market share buyback to cancel 2.41% of the group's issued shares.
Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical has announced it expects to complete its $62bn takeover of Shire Pharmaceuticals in early January, sending shares in the FTSE 100 drugs group higher.
Vodafone swung to a large loss at the half-year stage after restructuring its business in India due to competitive pressures, though underlying earnings remained on track and there was reassurance provided on the dividend.
Mobile network operator EE announced on Tuesday that it will switch on 5G mobile sites in 16 UK cities during 2019.
AstraZeneca has agreed to sell the US rights to ‘Synagis’, used for the prevention of serious lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) caused by respiratory syncytial virus, in a transaction that will see the pharma giant receive an upfront consideration of $1.5bn.
Bisto, Oxo and Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods said on Tuesday that it was mulling the sale of its Ambrosia brand as it announced the departure of chief executive Gavin Darby alongside its half-year results.
Prudential's profit growth accelerated in the third quarter of the year as sales recovered in the US and improved in Asia, while the M&G Prudential arm made "good progress" in preparations for its demerger.
Global technology company Smiths Group on Wednesday said it was separating its struggling medical division from the rest of the business to concentrate on its industrial technology operations.
Pearson has agreed to sell the Financial Times' headquarters on the banks of the Thames to investor M&G for £115m.
A decline in retail property values hit British Land in the first half of the year, but the offices and shopping centre developer reported flat earnings as it grew rents and bought back shares.
GVC Holdings avoided paying almost an extra £700m for its acquisition of Ladbrokes after the government issued a new ruling on the UK fixed-odds betting machines.
Royal Mail nudged up its half-year dividend despite a 25% decline in operating profits for the first half of the year.
Chilean miner Antofagasta approved a $1.3bn expansion of its Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile, chief executive Ivan Arriagada said on Thursday.
Capita shares tumbled a day after it emerged that the company had failed to deliver thousands of cervical cancer screening letters to patients as part of a contract with NHS England.
RBS dropped out of the Financial Stability Board's list of global systemically important banks, which should translate into lower funding costs for the lender.
Ofcom has levied £13.3m in fines against EE and Virgin Media, it announced on Friday, for overcharging phone and broadband customers who wished to leave their contracts early.
Cigarette maker Imperial Brands said it was developing a version of electronic cigarettes that could be locked to prevent possible underage use, after a fresh US regulatory crackdown on vaping.
National Grid made two filings to regulators in Massachusetts and New York, which it said were in line with its strategy to deliver investments that drove greater efficiency and improved services for customers, while also supporting regulators in achieving clean energy goals.
Economic news
Terms of a Brexit deal had been agreed with Brussels, according to reports, but the pound whipsawed down and up on Monday as markets reacted to government splits and Labour's insistence that the decision to quit the European Union could yet be reversed.
Employers are battling to hire enough staff after a sudden decline in the number of migrants coming to the UK, putting salaries under increasing pressure.
UK wages grew at their fastest rate since 2008, according to official data published on Tuesday, although the unemployment rate also showed a surprise increase.
Theresa May's cabinet met on Wednesday after British and EU negotiators agreed the text for a UK-wide customs arrangement that could will form part of a Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Some senior Tory Brexiters were on Wednesday reported to be pushing for an immediate 'no-confidence' vote against the Prime Minister.
Ministers are being urged to impose cutbacks to the HS2 railway infrastructure project after a report warned that costs were well over those for comparable schemes in Europe.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday vowed to push through her Brexit deal after a day of turmoil that saw two Cabinet ministers quit and MPs openly talking of a no-confidence vote.
UK retail sales tumbled last month, official figures revealed on Thursday, confounding expectations for the sector to bounce back from the previous month.
On Friday, Prime Minister Theresa May faced an intensifying battle to save both her job and Brexit deal as rumours circulated around Westminster that enough MPs had submitted signatures for a no-confidence vote.
UK banks have shed two-thirds of their branch network in the past 30 years, instead ploughing millions into the Post Office to serve people’s basic banking needs, a new study from Which? has revealed.
International events
Saudi Arabia has decided rein back its production of crude oil next month, which has lifted oil prices out of their bear-market slump.
Riyadh and its allies should cut their combined output of crude oil in order to balance the market, Saudi Arabia believes, but it remains to be seen if other producers will participate in any reductions.
Top US and China officials discussed trade issues last Friday, marking just the second public sign of dialogue on the subject in six months.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made a commitment on Tuesday to pursue a code of conduct in the territorially disputed South China Sea with its neighbours, after recent tensions with US Navy vessels in the region.
A report from a US congressional commission recommended that Washington fund infrastructure in developing nations in order to counter Chinese financing deals.
The German economy shrank in the third quarter amid weaker exports, marking its first contraction since the first quarter of 2015, according to data released by Destatis.
US jobless claims edged only slightly higher last week, but some economists believed there were signs in the data that, at least for now, momentum in the jobs market might be topping out.
Cryptocurrencies added to a Wednesday plunge with the best-known of them, Bitcoin, down 12.61% to $5,428 and pushing its market cap below $100bn for the first time since October 2017.
The US imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi Arabian officials late on Thursday after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month.
Walmart has been targeted by a new bill that would prevent large companies from completing stock buy-backs unless their employees are paid at least $15 an hour, which was introduced by senator Bernie Sanders.