Weekly review

Equity view

Workspace Group announced on Friday that it acquired Salisbury House at 28-31 Finsbury Circus, London EC2, for a cash consideration of £158.7m.

AIM-listed Crystal Amber Fund said on Friday that the recent drop in its share price primarily reflects the decline in the shares of its largest investment, Hurricane Energy.

Generic veterinary medicines and identification products and services supplier Animalcare Group announced on Friday that it had entered into a conditional share purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Ecuphar.

Rio Tinto said it had completed its bond tender and redemption exercises and had cut gross debt by a further $2.5bn (£1.97bn).

The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared the way for the proposed £3. 8bn merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.

Barratt Developments announced that Jessica White was joining its board as an executive director and chief financial officer on Thursday, with immediate effect.

Saga, the provider of products for the over-50s, said its insurance and travels business had enjoyed a "good" first quarter as it begins a major transition to a new business model.

Satellite communications services provider Inmarsat said on Thursday that Colombia's Avianca has become the first Latin American airline to adopt its in-flight connectivity solution GX Aviation.

British Gas parent Centrica has agreed to sell its operational Langage and South Humber Park combined cycle gas turbine power stations to EP UK Investments for £318m in cash.

Shire announced on Wednesday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Mydayis - mixed salts of a single-entity amphetamine product - as a once-daily treatment comprised of three different types of drug-releasing beads for patients 13 years and older with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Housebuilder Berkeley Group lifted annual pre-tax profits 53% and while it warned the business was facing "a number of headwinds and a period of prolonged uncertainty" around its core London housing market, it had £2. 7bn of forward sales booked and remained confident of delivering its profits guidance for the next four years.

Whitbread booked in a strong start to its new financial year, with revenues at its Premier Inn hotels accelerating and Costa coffee shops sales returning to like-for-like growth.

Ultra Electronics has been awarded a "major" surveillance and security system contract valued at $18m over the next 26 months.

Barclays and four former executives have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance over the bank's emergency fundraising deal with Qatar at the height of the financial crisis.

Great Portland Estates has bought the freehold of land and buildings including Cityside and Challenger House in London E1 from Hermes Investment Management for £49.6m.

International service company Serco Group announced on Tuesday that it had signed the contract and completed financial agreements to operate the New Grafton Correctional Centre in New South Wales, Australia.

Assura said on Tuesday that it will place up to 164m new ordinary shares or around 9.9% of the company's existing issued share capital to fund its acquisition and development pipeline.

Clothing retailer Bonmarche reported a near-40% drop in full-year pre-tax profit as it highlighted a more challenging backdrop than it had been expecting, with wage inflation, Brexit and unseasonal weather all contributing factors.

Hansteen was cashed up to the tune of an extra €750m on Monday, confirming that the proposed sale of its German and Dutch portfolios to entities owned by funds advised by affiliates of The Blackstone Group and M7 Real Estate had now completed.

The Co-operative Bank confirmed on Monday that it is in advanced discussions with a group of existing investors about raising further funds.

Calculus VCT issued an update to the market on Monday morning, confirming that its board had agreed in principle with the board of Neptune VCT to merge on a relative net asset basis.

Economic news

The Competition and Markets Authority announced on Friday that it will be taking action against online gambling companies it suspects of breaking consumer law.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May used the three million EU citizens living in Britain as her opening gambit in Brexit negotiations, offering them a “settled status” if they had been in the country for five years.

At least three tower blocks have been found to be covered with combustible cladding similar to that used at Grenfell Tower, according to the UK government.

UK mortgage lending remained resilient in May, according to figures released by the industry on Thursday, but forecasts for a revival in buy-to-let lending have proved wrong.

UK public borrowing declined more than expected in May, providing encouraging reading for Chancellor Philip Hammond, although the budget deficit is still expected to increase over the rest of the year as the economy weakens.

The UK media and entertainment sector saw the revenues jump last year despite the backdrop of political and economical uncertainty in the country, according to Deloitte's Media Metrics 2017 report.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said interest rates would remain unmoved from their current low levels for a while longer given the "mixed signals" from the UK economy, an argument that send the pound lower on Tuesday.

Chancellor Philip Hammond used his Mansion House speech to assure the City that he would try and press for a transitional agreement keeping the UK in the customs union until new rules are implemented.

Asking prices for houses in the UK are being cut at the sharpest rate in over four years amid political and economic uncertainty, as London and the South East underperformed the rest of the UK.

One of the country's leading business lobby groups marked up its short-term forecasts for the economy even as it warned risks to the economy remain high because of uncertainty related to Brexit and given the potential for higher-than-expected volatility in financial markets.

International events

Donald Trump has strongly denied allegations that he has obstructed the FBI investigation into links between his campaign and Russia, and also said he does not have tapes of his conversations with former director of the agency, James Comey.

A sharp pick-up in gross capital formation helped to offset a slowdown in household spending in France at the start of the year.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, said it would be "prudent" for the US central bank to defer its next interest rate hike until December, instead of tightening at its September meeting.

US jobless claims edged slightly higher last week.

François Bayrou, French justice minister and key ally of Emmanuel Macron, has resigned from his position as his MoDem party face allegations of corruption.

Existing home sales in the States rose past forecasts last month as some buyers managed to overcome the challenging market conditions that were prevailing in many areas.

EU leaders should take a firm stance in Brexit negotiations with Britain, according to a poll carried out with citizens from nine major European nations.

US President Donald Trump has condemned the actions of North Korea after student Otto Warmbier died after returning from the secretive state in a coma following a stint in prison.

French president Emmanuel Macron's upstart centrist movement and his allies won a comfortable majority in legislative elections at the weekend, albeit amid a record low turnout, a stark reminder that a large minority of French are opposed to his plans.

Japanese exports and imports failed to rebound in May, suggesting that foreign demand acted as a drag on the broader economy during the second quarter, but some economists were nevertheless optimistic.