Weekly review

Equity view

South West Water said it would not take its latest price settlement to competition authorities despite several utilities saying they planned to do so.

Property investment and development company Segro reported a 10.8% improvement in adjusted pre-tax profit in its full-year results on Friday, which it said reflected a record year of development completions, high customer retention rates, like-for-like rental growth and a low vacancy rate.

AstraZeneca's annual profit fell 14% as rising costs and higher asset write downs offset sales increases at the pharmaceutical company.

One of NMC Health's biggest shareholders has resigned from the board of the embattled United Arab Emirates healthcare group.

Food delivery service Just Eat Takeaway.com swung to a full year profit as increased scale offset higher investment in its Scoober business.

Relx, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools, reported a rise in full-year profit and revenue on Thursday as it hiked its dividend and announced the retirement of chairman Anthony Habgood.

Lancashire Holdings posted a jump in full-year profit on Thursday and an improvement in its combined ratio.

British Gas owner Centrica on Thursday blamed the UK government's price cap, nuclear power station outages and lower gas prices for a 35% slump in annual profits.

Sainsbury’s said on Wednesday that Roger Davis plans to step down as chairman of its banking division.

Russian miner Polymetal reported a twofold increase in reserves at its Kutyn gold project to 800,000 ounces after a geological update, as the company looked for a buyer or partner.

Primary Health Properties reported a 51.4% improvement in net rental income in its preliminary results on Wednesday, to £115.7m, as adjusted EPRA earnings rose 62.2% to £59.7m.

Contracts for differences (CFD) trading services provider Plus500 reported on a year of “two distinct halves” on Wednesday, with a “strong” improvement in the second half, after a first half impacted by extremely low volatility in the first quarter.

Food producer Cranswick said it had bought the Buckle family's pig farming and rearing operations as well as the family's 50% stake in the White Rose Farms joint venture it set up with the family in 2018.

William Hill announced on Tuesday that it had entered a strategic partnership with CBS Sports, to become the ‘official sports book and wagering data provider’ across all CBS Sports platforms.

Roadside assistance company and insurer AA said on Tuesday that full-year adjusted underlying earnings and cash flow were set to be in line with market expectations as its roadside business returned to growth.

Ocado's annual loss more than quadrupled as costs rose and the online grocer and logistics company paid for the destruction by fire of a high-tech warehouse.

Workspace announced the appointment of David Benson as its new chief financial officer with effect from 1 April.

NMC Health confirmed it had received “highly preliminary” approaches from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and GK Investment to buy the company as its founder and a major shareholder were forced to step back from the board after their shareholdings had been reported incorrectly to the market.

Audioboom shares surged on Monday as the company confirmed that it is considering putting itself up for sale.

Intu Properties confirmed that it is in “constructive discussions” with Link Real Estate on Monday, following press speculation over the weekend.

Economic news

New rules implemented by Ofcom on 15 February are set to force phone, broadband and tv companies to tell customers that they could save money by signing up to a better deal.

The housing market showed signs of revival in January as improved sentiment prompted an increase in sales activity, the latest RICS survey showed.

Spain’s foreign minister Arancha González has welcomed post-Brexit talks with the UK and said it was an “incredible opportunity” for the countries to discuss the status of Gibraltar.

Sajid Javid resigned as UK finance minister after Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanded he fire his advisers as Downing Street sought to seize control of economic policy from the Treasury.

The UK Financial Ombudsman Services revealed rising concern over the successors to payday loans as complaints about high-cost loans jumped by 250%.

UK watchdog Ofcom will crackdown on tech companies such as Facebook and Google in its mission against harmful content online.

Retail sales stayed in the doldrums in January as shoppers remained frugal after years of political uncertainty and economic austerity.

The UK’s economy stagnated during the last quarter of 2019, as the political turmoil and uncertainty surrounding Brexit weighed heavily.

Accountancy firm KPMG released a report on Monday claiming that the number of UK businesses that were collapsing into administration was on the rise.

The coronavirus is a "serious and imminent threat" to the British public, the health secretary said on Monday.

International events

Euro area economic growth continued slowing at the end of 2019, led by the bloc's three largest economies.

The most closely-followed gauge of US consumers' spirits continued rising in early February, coming within a whisker of its highest level in the current 11-year long economic expansion.

The cost of living in the US increased by a bit more than expected last month, amid higher prices for shelter, transportation and medical services.

Passengers on a cruise ship that has spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over coronavirus fears finally made port in Cambodia on Thursday.

Eurozone industrial production slumped in December, as the monetary union’s beleaguered economy continued to be buffeted by global headwinds.Opec has cut its forecasts for oil demand in 2020, over concerns that the coronavirus outbreak will weigh heavily on the global economy.

The National Federation of Independent Business' small-business optimism index rebounded from a slight decline at the end of 2019, rising to 104.3 points in January from the 102.7 recorded a month earlier.

The Chinese government “removed” several senior officials from their posts over the way they dealt with the new deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 1,000 people already.

Inflation in China has surged to an eight-year high, after the coronavirus outbreak disrupted supply chains and households scrambled to stock up on essentials.

A European Union official said there needs to be clearer rules on how to deal with collapsing banks and their rescue in order to prevent “perceived inequality”.