Weekly review

Equity view

Miner BHP on Monday said it had agreed with the Australian Taxation Office to settle the transfer pricing dispute over its marketing operations in Singapore without admitting fault.

Indivior shares were in freefall in afternoon trading on Tuesday as it emerged that the company had lost an appeals court ruling that could allow Dr Reddy's Laboratories to start selling a generic version of its top-selling opioid addiction treatment, Suboxone Film.

EasyJet's profits soared more than 41% in the past 12 months but the budget airline sees potential for greater growth by expanding its holidays business.

Building materials group CRH updated the market on its trading for the nine months ended 30 September on Tuesday, reporting a nine-month EBITDA figure of €2.5bn, which was 8% ahead of 2017 and 2% higher on a like-for-like basis.

The European Commission cleared Takeda Pharmaceutical's £46bn acquisition of Shire, subject to the divestment of a bowel disease drug under development by Shire.

European home improvement retailer Kingfisher on Wednesday said it was exiting Russia, Spain and Portugal to focus on markets where it could take a leading position as third quarter like-for-like sales fell 1.3%.

Home furnishings retailer ScS hailed a good performance from its core business on Wednesday ahead of its annual general meeting.

Pharmacy giant Walgreens Boots Alliance and US health insurer Humana are in talks about a potential tie-up.

The boss of online bookmaker Bet365 was paid a record-breaking £265m in 2017, making her the highest-paid chief executive of a British company.

A strong fourth quarter enabled Sage to deliver its tough targets for growing annual sales and profits, though the accounting software developer's profit margin will drop in the coming year as it ups investment.

BP is launching its first oil production from the offshore Clair Ridge project in the West of Shetland, more than 40 years after oil was first discovered in the area.

Nationwide reported “strong trading” in its interim results on Thursday, and announced its intention to launch a current account for small businesses.

Smurfit Kappa has invented a sustainable new alternative for the heavy wooden, chipboard and plastic boards that are used to protect palletised products during transport and storage, it announced on Thursday.

Betting group GVC Holdings said it had bought Australian peer Neds International for up to AUD $95m (£52m).

Centrica warned that full year earnings would be dented after weaker energy production volumes and the loss of 372,000 home energy supply accounts in the third quarter, though the British Gas owner still expects to hit its full year targets.

Loses at Mothercare widened in the first half as the mother and child retailer said negative press coverage had hit sales in the UK, although the international business was showing signs of recovery.

Shares in ailing regional carrier Flybe were well above cruising altitude on Friday, as it confirmed it was in talks with long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic, which was considering a take over of the Exeter-based firm.

As it battles a legal headache in the US, Indivior had some good news north of the border on Friday, as where regulators approved its new long-lasting treatment for opioid addiction.

Ibstock said it had sold its US brick-making business Glen-Gery to Brickworks Limited for an enterprise value of $110m and will use the proceeds to pay off debt.

HICL Infrastructure Company announced on Friday that Diamond Transmission Partners, a consortium comprising itself and Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Transmission Corporation, has been selected by Ofgem as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission link to the Galloper Offshore Wind Farm project.

Economic news

UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday sought to win the support from business leaders to back her Brexit deal with the European Union as she faced a potential leadership challenge from dissenters in her own party.

The director general of the CBI lambasted the millions wasted by business preparing for a no-deal Brexit as she called on government and the private sector to work more closely together.

Northern Ireland's DUP fired a political shot across the government's bows in parliament as it warned that Theresa May had “seriously broken” promises about the treatment of Northern Ireland post-Brexit.

The UK’s manufacturing sector enjoyed a surprise rebound in activity in November, following sharp slowdown in October.

Ahead of a trip to Brussels to fine-tune her Brexit deal ahead of a European Union summit on Sunday, Prime Minister Theresa May attempted to gain support for her deal by warning that without it there could be "no Brexit at all".

The UK and European Union on Thursday agreed upon a draft text of future ties post-Brexit, leaving many decisions over post-divorce ties to be settled during the transition period.

The UK’s booming alternative finance market burgeoned to over £6bn last year, research published Friday showed, as peer-to-peer lending continued to flourish.

UK MPs have urged the government to impose sanctions on the United Arab Emirates after UK citizen Matthew Hedges was given a life sentence for alleged spying.

Gibraltar chief minister Fabian Picardo announced on Friday that the UK had reached an agreement with Spain regarding the Brexit deal but officials from the Spanish Foreign Ministry said that they had just negotiated a fiscal agreement and some memorandums.

Consumers face paying £500,000 more than expected for the rollout of smart meters and it is unlikely that they reach their 2020 target, the National Audit Office has warned.

International events

A key US central bank official appeared to indicate at the start of the week that US interest rates were still set to head higher.

Sentiment among US housebuilders deteriorated more than expected in November amid growing affordability concerns, according to data released on Monday.

The Maldives is likely to withdraw from a free trade agreement with China and align itself more closely with India and the West under its new government, according to reports on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the White House's top economic adviser reiterated on Tuesday that trade talks with the People's Republic of China were ongoing.

The European Commission on Wednesday rejected Italy’s big-spending budget, escalating the row between Brussels and Rome.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he supported Saudi Arabia’s claim that journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder was carried out by an “enemy of the state”.

Beijing on Thursday rejected fresh accusations of “unfair” trade practices from Washington just days before Presidents Trump and Xi are set to meet to discuss their ongoing trade disputes.

Italian bonds rallied on Thursday despite a very weak showing at an auction for government debt and despite mixed remarks from top politicians in Rome regarding the scope for any flexibility in talks with Brussels over the country's budget for next year.

Google will set up ad vetting transparency tool that will reveal spending and targeting information for ads to avoid any meddling in the European Parliament vote in 2019.

The US President and two top Chinese officials made positive sounding remarks regarding the prospects for reaching a deal on trade at the upcoming G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.