Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week down 1.83% to 5,80410 points.

Equity view

BP and Rosneft have agreed to dissolve their refining joint venture Ruhr Oel GmbH as they move towards completion of the previously announced restructuring of their German refining and petrochemical venture.

Housebuilder Bovis Homes said on Friday that it expects to report a "significant" increase in 2015 revenue and pre-tax profit following a record number of legal completions and a big jump in prices.

The Competition and Markets Authority has approved BT Group’s plans to acquire EE, bringing together the UK’s largest fixed telecoms business and the UK’s largest mobile telecoms business.

Mining giant BHP Billiton expects to book a $72bn (£5m) impairment charge on the value of its onshore US assets in its half-year results due to the steep drop in oil prices.

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh has enforced a global pay freeze across the company as part of a cost-cutting exercise for what he expects will be "an even tougher year".

A half-year trading update from animal health group Dechra Pharmaceuticals showed growth was strong in America and solid in in Europe.

Tesco's fortunes turned around over the Christmas period, with an impressive like-for-like sales improvement following another decline in the third quarter.

Total group sales at Mothercare fell in the third quarter, as weakness in the international business failed to offset an improving UK performance.

Formal menswear specialist Moss Bros reported a rise in sales for the 23 weeks from 2 August to 9 January, as its promotional strategy offset a challenging trading environment in autumn.

Strong sales in the UK have boosted B&M European Value Retail’s total revenues in the 13 weeks to 26 December 2015.Total group revenue was up 23.5% for the quarter on a constant currency basis from £527.9m in 2014 to £647.8m.

Home Retail Group’s full year profit is expected to come it at the lower end of expectations after Argos sales over the festive period dipped.

Exploration and production company Premier Oil has struck a deal to acquire EON’s UK North Sea assets for a net $120m (£833m) plus working capital adjustments.

Shares in Shoe Zone rose on Wednesday as the specialist value footwear retailer declared a special dividend despite “a difficult year” for the industry.

Sainsbury's like-for-like retail sales were down 04% over the festive third quarter but by less than the 07% forecast, leading the grocer to say that the second half as a whole is likely to be better than the first.

Tullow Oil said it expects to report 2015 revenue of $16bn (£11bn) and gross profits of $600m (£416m) although it warned that the low oil price would result in almost $1bn in writedowns.

Dunelm Group said the mild weather has seen the number of people entering its stores decrease, but home delivery sales are on the rise.

Anglo American has finally completed the exit from its Tarmac joint venture, with the sale of assets in the Middle East to a subsidiary of French engineering and construction group Bouygues.

Recruitment outfit Michael Page delivered a mixed bag of numbers on Tuesday, reporting record full year gross profits but stating that currency fluctuations had hit fourth quarter results

Shares in Debenhams surged on Tuesday after the retailer reported solid Christmas trading, beating analysts’ expectations

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it will fast track the proposed merger between Ladbrokes and Coral to an in-depth phase two investigation

Taylor Wimpey has indicated 2015 was a year of steady growth, and has indicated it is starting the new year with a strong order book.

Economic news

UK retail sales were disappointingly flat in December, with a 01% like-for-like increase and total sales up 10%, according to BRC-KPMG.

UK supermarket industry sales over the festive period fell by 02% on last year, though Sainsbury's continued to grab market share along with the ever-rising discounters, Kantar Worldpanel said.

UK construction output unexpectedly dropped in November from the previous month, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

Rate setters in Britain kept policy unchanged following their latest deliberations, as had been widely expected.

Bank mortgage lending fell away towards the end of the year, new figures show, but was still higher than at the same time the year before.

The cost of building new homes in the UK has rocketed in recent months due to a continued skills shortage, putting government targets even further out of reach, RICS said.

The economy slowed down last year but continued to grow at close to its potential rate, said NIESR, one of the country's largest think-tanks.

UK manufacturing and industrial production fell in November, missing economists’ expectations, data revealed.

International events

US retail sales slipped 0.1% in December as sales of clothing and at gasoline stations fell, according to the Commerce Department.

Figures released by Eurostat showed the Eurozone trade surplus came in at a nine-month high in November

Chinese banks are continuing to lend to the economy and that should provide support to the economy in coming quarters, some economists said following the release overnight of the latest government data on credit growth.

International sanctions imposed on Iran by the UK, US, and European as a result of its nuclear programme may be lifted by next Monday, Bloomberg reported, citing the country’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

Some policymakers at the European Central Bank argued for a larger cut to interest rates when they met in December, the minutes of that meeting showed

The oil market will not begin to re-balance until late 2017, the US government said on Wednesday

US crude oil stockpiles edged higher last week while product inventories continued to surge ahead, the Energy Information Administration revealed.

Low oil prices for longer forced the Russian government to cut its budget and might even lead to a cut in oil production, government officials said on Wednesday

The Chinese economy was stronger in December than had been previously thought, if the country's foreign trade figures on Wednesday were anything to go by, economists said, but the data also hinted at larger capital outflows

Economic sentiment in the Eurozone worsened more than expected in January, according to the latest survey released by Frankfurt-based research group Sentix.