Weekly review

Equity view

BP's chief executive Bob Dudley saw his pay package jump 20% in 2015 to $196m (£139m) even though the company reported its worst annual loss in 20 years as oil prices slid.

WPP celebrated its 30th birthday in style in 2015, with another record year of results despite strong currency headwinds.

London Stock Exchange Group reported strong underlying growth in capital markets accompanied by rising pre-tax profits in a trading update on Friday, as suitors Deutsche Borse and Intercontinental Exchange line up to pitch a potential merger.

BHP Billiton's part-owned Brazilian mining venture Samarco has agreed a B$30bn ($8bn or £55bn) program of compensation and clean-up from the bursting of a mine tailings dam last November.

Satellite communications provider Inmarsat posted a drop in full year profit amid weak global government spending.

A strong set of results from Wickes owner Travis Perkins were marred by difficult trading and impairments in its plumbing businesses in 2015, as the company released its final results on Thursday.

CRH saw operating profits jump last year, driven by a strong performance at its heritage businesses and from acquisitions, although net debt rose substantially.

A hunger for pizza, tied with an attachment to smartphones drove growth at Domino's Pizza Group in 2015, with the company seeing more and more sales from e-commerce.

Sales slowed at Whitbread in the fourth quarter but the Premier Inns and Costa coffee shops owner said it would still deliver full year profit in line with expectations.

Investors appeared more than pleased with Carillion's 2015 results on Thursday, with shares in the facilities management and construction services company experiencing a healthy rise after it posted strong growth amid muted trading.

FTSE 250 temporary power provider Aggreko reported a drop in profit for 2015 and warned profit was likely to be lower in the first half of this year due to the timing of contract start and end dates.

Barclays confirmed plans to sell its African business on Tuesday as it announced a drop in full year profit and a cut to the dividend.

Oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell is facing legal action in London over spills in the Niger Delta, for the second time in five years.

Costain Group's concentration on high value clients may have shown its worth on Wednesday, as the company recorded some impressive improvements in its revenue and earnings.

Entertainment One said although group sales and earnings were dragged down by weakness from the film division, earnings expectations for the full year remained unchanged.

In a brief trading update Stagecoach said although it was operating in a "more challenging" environment, it remained on track to meet full year targets.

Moneysupermarket.com reported a rise in full year profit and revenue as it expressed confidence it will deliver its expectations for the year.

Oil and gas services firm Wood Group has won a $120m (£86m) contract with Babcock International to provide industrial services to a number of its UK sites.

Final results from Taylor Wimpey were strong and in line with City expectations, with the housebuilder confirming that the market had strengthened into 2016.

Weak metals prices had a significant impact on Fresnillo in 2015, though the company was appearing strong in its results for the calendar year on Tuesday.

Morrisons announced on Monday that it has inked a new supply agreement with online retailer Amazoncom that will make hundreds of its products available to Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers in the coming months.

UK house prices subsided 14% month-on-month in February, well below the consensus for a flat month after two months of strong gains, according to data from Halifax.

UK house prices increased by a steady 03% month-on-month in February, the same rate as the month before but below the consensus forecast of 04%, according to data from the Nationwide building society.

Debt levels in the UK were vulnerable to a ‘shock’ the Bank of England’s Jon Cunliffe said on Wednesday

Economic news

UK new car registrations rose 8.4% to 83,395 units in February, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on Friday.

Not one single forex strategist believed Britain voting to leave the European Union in the 23 June referendum would benefit the UK economy, according to a new poll by Reuters.

UK services activity declined much more than expected in February as economic growth slowed to its weakest for almost three years, according to Markit-CIPS data, leading economists to dismiss the possibility of a Bank of Interest rate rise in 2016.

The pace of UK construction unexpectedly slowed in February, data released on Wednesday showed.

The Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.8 in February from 52.9 in January.

Money and credit continued to flow through the UK economy at a healthy pace at the start of the year, with mortgage approvals and lending both running at multi-year highs, according to the Office for National Statistics.

International events

US employers added more jobs than expected in February but wages declined compared a month earlier, the Labor Department revealed on Friday.

America’s trade deficit with the rest of the world increased modestly at the start of the year, pointing to a continued drag on growth from slowing economies overseas in the coming quarters.

China's currency jumped at the end of the week after a top central bank official said the yuan and the country's monetary policies will remain stable, apparently helping to curb worries of further easing moves.

The US central bank should be “patient” when it comes to interest rate hikes, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Dallas said.

The latest data from Markit confirmed that business activity in the US services sector contracted in February.

The number of first time unemployment benefits claimants in the US unexpectedly rose last week, according to data from the Department of Labor.

The US private sector added more jobs than was expected in February, according to the ADP National Employment Report, which could have implications for Friday's closely watched non-farm payrolls report

German unemployment fell for a fifth consecutive month in February in line with estimates, data from the Federal Labor Agency showed on Tuesday.

Two readings of China's manufacturing performance showed the industry's decline rumbled on for another month in February.