Weekly Review

The FTSE 100 finished the week down 74.47 points at 6,710.45.

Equity view

Thomas Cook has started a new joint venture with shareholder Fosun International with the aim of developing domestic, inbound and outbound tourism activities for the Chinese market.

Leisure group Whitbread said it has started the new financial year well, as strong growth at its Costa and Premier Inn brands made up for weakness in the restaurants division.

Housebuilder Crest Nicholson posted a 52% rise in first-half pre-tax profit to £58.3m and said it will increase the number of homes it plans to build.

UK regulator Ofcom announced a fundamental review of the regulation of Royal Mail on Tuesday to make sure the company faces adequate competition following Whistl’s withdrawal from the direct-delivery letters market.

Industrial equipment hire company Ashtead reported full-year pre-tax profit growth of 33% to £473.8m on the back of strong US and UK markets, and said it was confident in the medium-term outlook.

Gambling company Betfair posted a 53% rise in full-year operating profit as product and marketing investment drove record customer activity.

Housebuilder Berkeley Group posted a 42% rise in full-year pre-tax profit to £539.7m, but sounded a note of caution over the EU referendum.

Royal Bank of Scotland admitted a number of payments expected by customers have failed to be credited into a number of accounts.

Discount retailer Poundland posted an 18.6% rise in full-year underlying pre-tax profit but disappointed investors after saying it faced a number of headwinds this year.

Neil Cooper, William Hill’s group finance director, will step down from his role to become chief financial officer at Barratt Developments, the gambling company has announced.

The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has called on the banking industry to stop complaining about regulatory changes and back moves to ring-fence high street banks from their investment arms.

Cast-iron cooker maker Aga Rangemaster confirmed that it was considering a possible takeover by a US kitchen equipment company.

Google is reportedly drawing up secret plans to gatecrash the auction of Tesco’s customer loyalty arm by considering a joint takeover bid with Permira.

Shares in Colt surged on Friday after Fidelity said it has made a 190p per share offer for the remaining in the stake in the telecoms company it does not already own.

Economic news

House prices in England and Wales rebounded 3% in May as the electoral uncertainty hanging over London properties was lifted and new supply failed to materialise.

UK Asset Resolution confirmed it had received expressions of interest in a £13bn mortgage portfolio seized from Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley when they were bailed-out – code-named Granite - and the associated mortgage servicing operations.

Low interest rates have seen British private sector pension liabilities outstripping the country’s GDP for the first time, research has shown.

The UK consumer price index climbed back into positive territory last month. According the Office for National Statistics, UK inflation rose to 0.1% in May compared with a -0.1% reading in the previous month.

A spokeswoman for Number 10 has said that the government is “stepping up” plans for a possible ‘Grexit’, to assess the impact it would have on businesses, banks, tourism and the financial sector.

David Cameron on Wednesday said that, for the first time, foreign direct investment in the UK had topped the £1trn mark, representing a “sharp increase” on the previous year.

UK retail sales grew more than expected in May, official figures released on Thursday showed. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales rose 4.6% year-on-year last month, exceeding expectations calling for a 4.3% expansion.

International events

Attempts by Greece and its creditors last weekend to reach a debt deal collapsed on Sunday night after just 45 minutes due to a lack or progress.

A Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers on Thursday also failed to result in a deal, prompting officials to call for an emergency EU summit next week.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange opened to foreign investors for the first time on Monday.

US gun maker Colt Defence LLC has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but said it would continue normal business operations as it obtained $20m from lenders.

US outfit Coty, which owns cosmetics brand Rimmel, reportedly won auctions to buy three businesses from Procter & Gamble for as much as $12bn.

Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump has announced that he will enter the race to succeed Barack Obama as US President.

Global food giant Nestle will reduce its business in Africa after concluding that consumption of its products in the region by shrinking middle income groups was "extremely small" and "not really growing."

A US regulator has slapped mobile company AT&T with a $100m fine for misleading its customers about its data plans.

Toyota’s first female executive was arrested in Japan on Thursday on suspicion of drug smuggling, local media reported.

The Federal Reserve may yet raise interest rates twice in what remains of 2015, the latest set of economic projections from the Fed´s rate-setters showed.

Shares in fitness watch producer Fitbit jumped more than 50% on its stock market debut in New York, even after the company raised its offer price ahead of its IPO.

Aerospace giant Airbus on Thursday signed a $14bn provisional plane agreement with Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air during the Paris Air Show.