Weekly review

The FTSE 100 index ended the week 70.89 points lower at 7,277.73.

Equity view

Shares in bottling company Coca-Cola HBC slumped on Monday after Coca-Cola Co. said it will keep its majority stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa "for the foreseeable future".

Shares in Sprint Corp surged on Monday after US Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai said he would recommend approval of its $26. 5bn merger with T-Mobile.

Jaguar Land Rover posted a record £3.6bn annual loss on Monday as revenues dipped amid a drop in demand from China, though the business returned to profitability in the final quarter.

Google has restricted mobile phone giant Huawei from some features of its Android operating system following the Trump administration's blacklisting of the Chinese outfit.

American drugs giant Merck has agreed to buy Peloton Therapeutics in a deal that could eventually be worth more than $2bn.

The restaurant group fronted by celebrity chef Jamie Olivier has collapsed, putting up to 1,300 jobs at risk.

Nationwide saw underlying profits tumble last year after it increased investment in digital services, and warned that its core mortgage and savings markets remained competitive, despite a surge in the size of its loan book.

Tesco's banking arm has quit mortgage lending and will try to sell its £3.7bn of existing mortgages, blaming persistently difficult market conditions for the decision.

BT owned EE and Vodafone announced on Wednesday that they won’t offer phones from Huawei when they roll out Britain’s first 5G mobile network next week.

Babcock posted a drop in full-year profit on Wednesday as the defence contractor said operating profit for the financial year ahead is set to decline by around £63m, due in part to contract step-downs.

Royal Mail announced a dividend cut to fund an investment plan as the delivery company reported a sharp decline in annual profit.

Marks & Spencer's annual profit fell almost 10% as underlying revenue declined across the retail chain's food and clothing and home divisions.

Thomas Cook was subjected to downgrades from credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P on Thursday, with the agencies concerned that the travel operator will struggle with weak demand over the summer.

MPs have called on Lloyds Banking Group's chief executive to face questions about controversial executive pension arrangements at the company.

TalkTalk's annual loss shrank to £5m from £100m as the telecoms company increased earnings and reduced reorganisation spending.

Serco Group has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire the Naval Systems Business Unit and a small number of related contracting entities (NSBU) from Alion Science & Technology Corporation for $225m, it announced on Thursday.

Merlin Entertainments has rejected a call by one of its biggest shareholders for the theme park operator to find a buyer to take it private.

Work and Pensions Committee chairman Frank Field has written to Philip Green urging the Arcadia chairman to personally support the group’s pension fund.

Tarsus Group has agreed to sell itself for £668m to a subsidiary of funds advised by private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners.

South Africa-based financial services company Old Mutual said on Friday that it has suspended chief executive officer Peter Moyo with immediate effect due to a "breakdown in trust".

Economic news

NGO The Human Rights Watch accused the government of carrying out welfare cuts that had seen tens of thousands of poor families left without food and thus failing in its responsibility to ensure adequate sustenance for its citizens.

UK house price growth slowed in May, while all but two London boroughs saw a decline, according to the latest survey from Rightmove.

The number of scams involving cryptoassets and foreign exchange investments tripled last year, with victims losing more than £27m in total, according to research published on Tuesday by the regulator.

The Prime Minister said in a speech on Tuesday that she will offer MPs a vote on putting her deal to a second referendum if it passes the first stage of voting in Parliament.

Sterling fell below $1.27 on Tuesday for the first time since mid-January, weighed down by worries about Brexit.

UN poverty expert Philip Alston said in a report that the "ideological" cuts to public services in the UK since 2010 have led to "tragic consequences" and continue “largely unabated”.

British Steel will be placed into administration on Wednesday, putting 5,000 jobs directly at risk and threatening another 20,000 in the company's supply chain.

UK voters headed to the polls for the European Parliament elections to give their verdict on the main parties' handling of Brexit, with Conservative MEPs warning of a massive defeat.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accused four pharmaceutical firms of deliberately restricting the supply of an anti-nausea prescription drug, causing annual NHS costs for the drug to rise by around £4.8m over a four year period.

A tearful Theresa May finally fell on her sword on Friday as she said she would quit office on June 7, having failed to secure agreement on her Brexit withdrawal deal.

International events

Trump warned Iran to stop threatening the US and not to contemplate instigating a conflict or it would “end” the Islamic Republic.

A total of 173 footwear manufacturers, importers and retailers in the US have called on the US president to re-think his approach to the trade war with China, describing the recent tariff hike on imports from the People’s Republic as “catastrophic”.

BP’s chairman acknowledged in the Financial Times on Tuesday that the world’s energy consumption is on “an unsustainable path”.

The top US business association in China said on Wednesday that half its members faced retaliation by the Chinese government following the escalation of the country's trade conflict with the US.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on his nation's citizens to join him on a "new Long March" on Wednesday, a possible indication that Beijing could be preparing for its trade dispute with Washington to last for an extended period.

US and Chinese consumers "are unequivocally the losers from trade tensions" between the two nations, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

Domestic demand has helped the German economy return to growth in the first quarter as manufacturing remained a drag.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that the US needs to correct its "wrong actions" if it wants trade talks to continue and put an end to the tensions.

Durable goods orders in the US dropped sharply last month, weighed down by falls in those for automobiles and parts, civilian aircraft and for telecommunications equipment, with some economists concluding that the data reinforced the argument for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.

Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would be willing to include “dangerous” telecommunications company Huawei in the trade deal that he is hoping to negotiate with China.

Facebook is set to launch a new cryptocurrency in 2020 to rival bitcoin and accelerate the diversification of its revenue away from advertising.