Weekly review

Equity view

Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Friday that its merger with SABMiller could result in thousands of job losses.

Restaurant Group swung to a pre-tax loss in the first half on the back of restructuring costs, while like-for-like sales fell and the company announced the closure of 33 outlets.

Landscape products group Marshalls said it remained confident of meeting full year expectations after delivering a 21% rise in half year pre-tax profits to £25. 1m.

Building materials group CRH winched its half-year dividend a touch higher as it reported the early stages of an economic recovery in Europe.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Shire and AstraZeneca were among FTSE-listed drug companies slipping lower on Thursday morning, following comments from US presidential favourite Hillary Clinton on pharmaceutical pricing that hit peers across the Atlantic overnight.

Luxury shoe retailer Jimmy Choo reported a jump in revenue and operating profit for the first six months of the year thanks to strong growth in Asia and a good performance from the men’s category.

John Laing Group reiterated its full-year 2016 targets for investment commitments and realisations, with the firm's management sounding a confident note regarding its ability to successfully navigate the macroeconomic waters, Brexit included.

Spire Healthcare reported a jump in pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of June as revenues grew and the company reiterated its guidance for the year.

Glencore held out the prospect of a return to dividend payments in 2016 as management promised to focus on delivering even lower levels of net funding and debt by the end of the year than previously indicated and provided investors with an update on its asset disposal programme.

Shares in WPP rallied on Wednesday after the advertising giant reported better-than-expected headline pre-tax profit, revenue and organic sales growth for the first half.

Maiden interim results from Paddy Power Betfair showed the merged bookmaker sped up to a gallop in the second quarter, with the online arm whipping profits higher.

Construction and engineering group Costain reported a rise in first-half pre-tax profit as revenue grew and the order book remained at a record level.

WH Smith said on Wednesday that results for the year to the end of August are likely to be in line with expectations following a strong performance from the travel business.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals reported a jump in first-half revenues but a drop in operating profit, as it reiterated its full-year revenue guidance.

AstraZeneca has agreed to sell its antibiotics business to US giant Pfizer for staged payments amounting to $1. 6bn (£1. 2bn) plus recurring, double-digit royalties on future sales.

Carillion reported a rise in first-half profit and revenue thanks to a strong performance from its support services business, as it announced the appointment of a new finance director.

Persimmon reported a better-than-expected jump in first half pre-tax profit on Tuesday as the housebuilder shrugged off Brexit uncertainty.

Hansteen Holdings posted a drop in earnings in the first half on Tuesday, blaming tough comparatives in the same period a year earlier.

Rank Group, which operates Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca bingo halls, reported an increase in full-year pre-tax profit and revenues and said it sees no likely impact from the Brexit vote.

Economic news

UK gross domestic product growth was confirmed at 0. 6% for the second quarter, according to the second estimate from the Office for National Statistics.

Consumer confidence in Britain rose at its fastest monthly pace since 2013, which suggested people were taking the economic effects from voting to leave the European Union in their stride

House price growth will more than halve next year, according to a poll of economists by Reuters, as the impact of the Brexit vote drags on consumer confidence, household incomes and the labour market.

Mortgage lending fell in London in the second quarter of the year amid a growing market in the rest of the UK regions, according to data from CML.

Infrastructure spending in the UK fell sharply since the country voted to leave the European Union in June, putting pressure on the government to go ahead with large-scale construction projects, according to consultancy group Barbour ABI, which supplies data to the Office for National Statistics.

UK house prices will fall by 1% next year as Brexit uncertainty weighs on the market, according to predictions by Countrywide.

International events

The case for an increase in US interest rates has strengthened in recent months, US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said. Nevertheless, the outlook was "uncertain" and policy was not on a pre-set course, she added.

US real gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter rose at an annual rate of 1.1%, a "second" estimate from US Bureau of Economic Analysis showed. In the first quarter, real GDP rose 0.8%. The bureau said the rise in real GDP primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and exports.

Japanese consumer prices fell more than expected in July, triggering some market-chatter around the need for further stimulus from the Bank of Japan.

Crude oil prices were set for a large move higher in 2017 as demand from emerging market economies makes up for a slowdown from OECD nations, analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, according to the Labour Department.

German business confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in August, according to a widely-followed survey by Ifo.

A sharp rebound in exports kept the German economy´s expansion on track during the second quarter of 2016.

Sales of existing US homes fell more than expected in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Consumer confidence in the euro area cooled unexpectedly in August, according to the preliminary results of a survey by the European Commission.

New home sales Stateside rose sharply in July, far surpassing economists' forecasts, buoyed by activity in the Northeast, according to the Commerce Department.

The three leaders of the EU’s largest countries by population maintained that the Britain's decision to leave the trading block did not mean the end of Europe. Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s president Francois Hollande and Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi met at a military airport in Naples in a symbolic gesture to strengthen the EU’s resolve after the UK leaves.