Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week down 146.18 points to 6,238.29.

Equity view

Primark owner Associated British Foods reaffirmed its guidance for the 2016 financial year, saying currency pressures will likely lead to a modest decline in adjusted operating profit and earnings

The UK government has announced plans to keep selling shares in Lloyds Banking Group to institutional investors, extending its original trading plan by up to six months

IG Group has announced that Peter Hetherington has been appointed as the company’s permanent chief executive.

Ladbrokes has appointed John Kelly as the bookmaker’s new chairman with immediate effect following the departure of Peter Erskine and ahead of the proposed merger with Coral Group.

Despite the situation in Sharm el-Sheikh and heavy fog at the beginning of November, easyJet has reported a 96% increase in passengers for the month.

British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group said traffic, as measured in revenue passenger-kilometres, a measure of the volume of passengers carried by an airline, rose 143% in November from the same month last year, or 72% on a pro-forma basis.

New Barclays boss Jes Staley’s offer to another JP Morgan alumni to run the lender’s investment bank was rejected, to the relief of some observers, Reuters reported.

Gold producer Acacia Mining unveiled plans to cut a further 1,050 jobs as part of its restructuring programme.

Pub operator Greene King posted a rise in first half pre-tax profit and revenue thanks in part to the integration of Spirit Pub Company.

Zoopla Property Group said it was continuing to fight back against increasing competition for its website, after losing more than a fifth of its estate agency partners to new rival OnTheMarketcom during the year

Software company Sage Group said strong growth in recurring revenue helped to drive an 8% rise in organic group full year operating profits to £380m.

Ryanair has taken Google and 'screen-scraper' website eDreams to court in London, alleging the search engine was allowing "non-existent fares" to be advertised that it said misled consumers and resulted in inflated fares.

Argos-owner Home Retail surged on Tuesday following a report that Nicholas Marshall, a former executive of the Garden Centre Group, is mulling a bid for Homebase

Theme parks group Merlin Entertainments confirmed it is likely to end its rollercoaster year on a stable footing with full year profit forecasts expected to meet lowered expectations despite the continued significant weakness at Alton Towers since the crash on its Smiler ride in June.

John Lewis enjoyed its largest ever single day's sales as it joined the sector-wide Black Friday promotions.

Full year underlying pre-tax profits at investment house Aberdeen Asset Management rose only slightly to £491m from £490m due to the slump in Asian and emerging market equities.

BP has acquired a 20% stake in an Eastern Siberia oil business with Rosneft as the Russian state-controlled oil group looks to further explore and develop one of the largest oil and gas condensate fields in the region

Economic news

The government and Bank of England have confirmed the extension to the Funding for Lending (FLS) scheme to ease the flow of credit via support for smaller businesses.

New UK car registration advanced in November, bouncing back from a first decline in almost four years, figures released on Friday showed

The UK services sector brushed aside the uncertainty surrounding emerging markets as orders for new work picked up, helping to offset weakness in construction and manufacturing, the results from a widely-followed survey showed.

Business activity in the People’s Republic of China picked up November for the first time in four months, the results of a survey showed, albeit only marginally.

The UK construction sector hit a seven-month low in November, figures released on Wednesday showed.

The Bank of England is monitoring the rapid growth of Britain's "buy-to-let" property market, the central bank's deputy governor said on Wednesday.

UK manufacturing activity growth slowed more than expected in November, data from Markit/CIPS revealed,

Britain’s financial system has exited from the period of heightened risk aversion and balance sheet repair which followed the financial crisis, the Financial Policy Committee said in its December report.

British mortgage approvals rose in October, data released on Monday showed.

International events

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rolled over its 'current' production level, which was last set at 30m bpd, but declined to offer an exact number on Friday, at the conclusion of its oil ministers' summit in Vienna, Austria.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payrolls in November rose by 211,000 compared with October's 271,000 gain and with analysts' expectations for a 200,000 reading. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5%, as analysts had forecast.

Orders for US durable goods declined less than expected last month, figures released on Thursday showed.

US factory orders rose slightly more than expected in October, official data showed on Thursday.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has announced the asset purchase programme will be extended to March 2017 from the original finish date of September 2016. The ECB cut the deposit rate by 10 basis points to -030% on Thursday, as expected by analysts, in an effort to address prolonged weak inflation.

Eurozone retail sales declined unexpectedly in October, data released on Thursday showed

The economic recovery Stateside was progressing well, but a rate rise come December was still not guaranteed, the president of the US central bank said on Wednesday evening

American businesses increased productivity in the third quarter but costs also rose, figures released on Wednesday showed.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart said the case for raising interest rates this month was “compelling”, although dollar strength was a risk to his outlook.

The US private sector created 217,000 jobs in November, according to a widely-followed survey from ADP.

Eurozone inflation rose 01% in the year to November, unchanged from the previous month, according to the 'flash' estimate from Eurostat on Wednesday.

The US manufacturing sector expanded at its slowest pace in 25 months as output and new orders slowed down, figures released on Tuesday showed

China's yuan currency has been approved by the International Monetary Fund for addition to its exclusive basket of reserve currencies, which some analysts think will add a further pressure on commodities.