Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week 406.37 points at 6,316.39.

Equity view

Indivior said a US court approved its agreement with the Department of Justice and other agencies and dismissed charges related to sales of its Suboxone opioid addiction treatment.

Galliford Try said it would reinstate its interim dividend as the construction group predicted it would return to profit in the first half.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund has acquired a 50% share of the music catalogue of Grammy Award-winning songwriter, record producer, and punk-funk inventor, Rick James for an undisclosed sum.

Tritax Big Box has acquired a temperature controlled distribution unit in the Nursling Industrial Estate in Southampton for £44.2m, it announced on Friday, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.24%, in an off market transaction with a UK real estate fund.

Burberry said revenue would be affected by fewer price markdowns as the luxury brand reported a 75% drop in first-half profit driven by the Covid-19 crisis.

Landscaping products specialist Marshalls said it was lifting 2021 expectations as like-for-like sales rose in October.

B&M European Value Retail announced a special dividend on Thursday as it posted a jump in first-half profit and revenue.

Legal & General said it planned an unchanged dividend for 2020 and for the payout to increase more slowly than earnings and cash generation over five years.

Coca-Cola HBC hailed "strongly improved" third-quarter trading on Wednesday amid a recovery in the out-of-home channel and growth in the at-home channel.

Flutter upgraded its earnings forecast for business outside the US but said the loss at its American gambling operation would be bigger than expected after it spent to acquire customers.

Workspace said on Wednesday that it swung to a loss in the first half, with income hit as customers vacated or downsized due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as it deferred a decision on dividend payments.

Investment firm The Renewables Infrastructure Group has acquired a 14.3% stake in the UK's East Anglia One offshore wind farm.

Outsourcing contractor Capita said third quarter trading was in line with expectations as it delivered a small rise in core profit.

Sales, marketing and support services group DCC lifted its interim dividend on Tuesday as it posted a rise in profit.

Insurance group Direct Line reported a broadly flat third-quarter trading performance on Tuesday as its Green Flag and commercial units offset lower average premiums.

Aerospace engineering company Meggitt said it expected to report underlying profit of £180m - £200m despite a weaker civil airline sector due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

TP Icap said it expected annual revenue in line with the year before after income fell in the third quarter.

Defence electronics company Ultra Electronics said on Monday that trading remains as expected despite the Covid-19 pandemic, with order intake strong.

Bunzl has agreed to buy Brazil-based personal protective equipment (PPE) distributor SP Equipamentos, it announced on Monday.

Amigo is looking for a new chief financial officer after Nayan Kisnadwala decided to leave the chaotic subprime lender.

Economic news

The Information Commissioner’s Office fined Ticketmaster £1.25m for losing over a million British customers’ personal payment card details in 2018.

The UK economy grew by a record 15.5% in the third quarter as lockdown measures were eased, but slowed in September, according to figures released on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics.

The UK is reporting a rise in emergency borrowing due to the pandemic, triggering worries that the country could be “sleepwalking into a debt crisis”.

Europe’s largest tour operator, Tui has been harshly criticised by Greek hoteliers over a delay to its payment schedule that they allege puts hundreds of businesses at risk of closure.

The UK government is considering new legislation that would halt ‘back door’ acquisitions of UK firms by overseas buyers even years after the deal was concluded.

Britain and the European Union are likely to miss the mid-November deadline to close a post-Brexit trade deal but the two sides have signalled that they will continue.

The UK unemployment rate rose in September as the coronavirus pandemic continues to dent the jobs market, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics.

Grocery sales continued to grow in October, but there was little evidence of stockpiling ahead of the second national lockdown, industry research showed on Tuesday.

The UK retail sector enjoyed a brief surge last week, before shopper numbers crashed as England’s second lockdown came into effect.

Retail sales continued to improve in October, according to a widely-watched survey released on Tuesday, but the pace of growth eased ahead of fresh lockdown measures coming into effect this month.

International events

Eurozone GDP grew a touch less than initially estimated in the third quarter, according to figures released by Eurostat on Friday.

US consumer dipped unexpectedly at the start of November as Americans reacted to the results of the presidential election and the rising number of Covid-19 cases, a closely-followed revealed.

Moderna is set to submit the data needed by the independent panel charged with monitoring the results of its Covid-19 vaccine trial to determine its efficacy.

Americans continued filing for unemployment claims at an elevated level last week, albeit at a slightly decelerated pace.

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 is 92% effective at protecting people, the country’s sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday.

TikTok-owner ByteDance is on track to generate at least 180bn yuan ($27.2bn) in advertising revenue in China this year.

Investor sentiment in Germany fell sharply in November, a closely-watched survey showed on Tuesday, as fears grew that the country is heading for another recession.

Governments must provide ongoing financial support for the aviation industry if mass job losses are to be avoided, the industry has warned.

The fourth wave of Covid-19 in the US may be out of control, a top-ranked economist believes.

Positive news flow on a Covid-19 vaccine is likely to boost risky assets further, Goldman Sachs said in a note on Tuesday, but in contrast to the initial US election relief, it has the potential to drive global growth expectations higher alongside lower uncertainty on the recovery.