Weekly review

Equity view

Evraz's steel output rose 7.4% in the fourth quarter as its Russian plant increased activity after repairs and volumes improved in North America.

Specialist lender Paragon Bank reported a fall in first quarter lending volumes as Covid-19 lockdowns stalled house sales, but said it expected a pickup as buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday in March.

Sirius Real Estate hailed "strong" rent and service charge collection on Friday despite the pandemic.

Avon Rubber said it was confident about meeting expectations for annual results as the company reported strong demand from military customers and for respiratory products during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Intermediate Capital Group saw assets under management nudge higher in the third quarter, the UK asset manager said on Thursday.

UK soft-drinks maker Britvic reported a fall in first quarter revenue as the coronavirus pandemic hit its out-of-home sales, with a rise in home consumption failing to make up the shortfall.

St James’s Place ended 2020 with record funds under management after investors placed more than £4bn with the wealth manager in the final quarter of the year.

Alternative asset services firm Sanne said on Thursday that underlying earnings per share for the year to the end of December 2020 are set to be in line with its expectations.

Diversified Gas & Oil said 2020 results were in line with expectations after the company achieved record production and cut costs.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo lowered its current-year gold output forecast as a landslip at its Noche Buena mine and Covid restrictions hit 2020 production.

IT recruitment and training company FDM said on Wednesday that its full-year results are set to be in line with its expectations, as it declared a second interim dividend after a "solid" second-half performance.

LondonMetric Property said it bought two warehouses in London and near Birmingham for a total of £13.2m in an active market for logistics centres spurred by the Covid-19 crisis.

Convenience food producer Greencore reported a drop in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday as it said the latest national lockdown was "significantly" impacting demand.

Consumer goods conglomerate PZ Cussons reported higher adjusted profits, driven by demand for hand wash and sanitiser during the coronavirus pandemic, but warned of Brexit-related supply issues.

Fund manager Quilter on Tuesday reported a rise in full-year assets under management (AuM), supported by net inflows and positive market movements.

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday that ‘Symbicort Turbuhaler’, with budesonide and formoterol, has been approved in China as an anti-inflammatory reliever to be taken as-needed in response to symptoms to achieve asthma control in patients with mild asthma aged 12 years and older.

TI Fluid Systems said it was paying a first quarter interim dividend of 6.74 euro cents a share, but not a final payout for 2020 as it forecast adjusted EBIT margin to be “slightly better than expected”.

TP Icap said Covid-19 prevented the company from staffing European offices to comply with post-Brexit rules and that its UK operations no longer had permission to service all clients in the EU.

Industrial park investor Sirius said its Titanium joint venture with AXA IM has bought the Sigma Technopark in Augsburg, Germany for €80m (£71m) from a fund managed by Corestate Group.

JTC said on Monday that full-year results are set to be in line with management guidance and consensus expectations after it continued to perform well in the second half.

Economic news

Britain on Friday announced it would be offering Hong Kong citizens a route to citizenship but China said it would no longer recognise special British passports.

Uber’s acquisition of Autocab is the subject of the new inquiry by the UK’s competition watchdog that was launched on Friday.

Leaders of two UK environmental charities have raised concerns over a blueprint for carbon offsetting with former Bank of England governor and now UN climate envoy, Mark Carney.

UK car manufacturing slumped last year to levels not seen since the start of the 1980s, industry data showed on Thursday, after Covid-19 shut factories and depressed demand.

Around 400,000 jobs have been lost in the events industry during the coronavirus crisis, an industry group told Sky News on Wednesday.

Boris Johnson said English schools would not reopen until 8 March at the earliest and that people arriving in the UK from 22 countries would be quarantined because of Covid-19.

The UK unemployment rate has reached 5.0%, the highest in more than four years, official data showed on Tuesday.

UK retail sales fell to their lowest level in January since May 2020 as lockdown takes its toll, according to the latest survey from the Confederation of British Industry.

Footfall across UK retail destinations rose last week, despite severe weather conditions and the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

City centres in the UK are suffering from falling rents as tenants increasingly decide to move to the suburbs due to the pandemic.

International events

France and Spain's economies beat expectations in the fourth quarter, suggesting the eurozone will produce a positive surprise with many countries under strict Covid-19 restrictions.

Strategists at Bank of America are anticipating a 'correction' in global stock markets over the next few months but within the context of more enduring changes in the backdrop for financial markets.

The dizzying rise of GameStop shares continued on Thursday as fresh investors continued to pile in and - possibly - as more hedge funds opted to 'throw in the tunnel'.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment claims slipped again during the latest week.

The US will receive more Covid-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech and more quickly than expected.

German consumer confidence slumped as households in Europe’s biggest economy put spending on hold during a second severe Covid-19 lockdown, a survey showed.

Janet Yellen has been confirmed as the next US Treasury Secretary, the first woman to hold the role.

The head of the United Nations warned that it was in the self-interest of countries in the Northern Hemisphere to help those in the South to access vaccines.

The European Central Bank is to launch a dedicated climate change unit as part of efforts across the eurozone to transition to a greener economy.

Merck will close its Covid-19 vaccine development programme after clinical trial results came up short.