Weekly review

Equity view

Royal Bank of Scotland said it would make a fourth-quarter pre-tax profit of £100m from the sale of its remaining 20.9% stake in Citizen's Financial Group.

Higher restructuring costs have seen third quarter pre-tax profits at RBS slump to £2m from £1.1bn in the same period last year.

Profits soared at International Consolidated Airlines in the third quarter thanks to rising revenues, the acquisition of Aer Lingus and cheap fuel.

BG Group posted a 37% drop in third-quarter core earnings but raised its full-year production guidance as output increased sharply in the period.

Underlying sales growth at BT Group improved in the second quarter but operating profits declined due to the telecoms company's diversification into media and investing in sports broadcasting.

Gambling and software and services supplier Playtech reported strong trading in both of its divisions in the three months to September.

Smith & Nephew fell after its third-quarter revenue came in a little weaker than expected, as the maker of artificial hips and knees maintained its full-year guidance and announced the acquisition of robotics company Blue Belt Technologies.

National Express posted growth at constant currency across all of its divisions in the second quarter and registered an increase in operating profits.

Royal Dutch Shell slumped to a third quarter loss of $6.1bn (£4bn), with earnings well short of forecasts, due to write-offs and lower oil and gas prices, though cash flow remained relatively robust with a decline of 13%.

Barclays posted a drop in third-quarter pre-tax profit as the cost of claims settlements weighed on results and revenues fell.

BT's £12.5bn acquisition of the EE mobile network has been provisionally approved by UK competition officials unconditionally and without remedies.

Online gaming group Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment reported a decline in revenue in the first nine months of the year, as the impact of VAT charges from the European Union weighed on its results.

GlaxoSmithKline posted third-quarter results with revenue and core earnings per share beating market expectations, though management held full year guidance steady.

Shares in Petra Diamonds continued to lose their lustre after the release of a first-quarter trading update, as a 1% increase in production was coupled with a 9% decline in selling prices at its initial diamond tender auction.

Meggitt warned that full year profits will be well below forecasts after the aerospace and industrial components supplier endured softer trading during the third quarter, with a "marked deterioration" in its end markets in September.

Banking giant Lloyds Banking Group reported a decline in third quarter underlying profit after it was hit by a further charge for insurance mis-selling.

Chilean copper producer Antofagasta has again cut its production target for this year as it reported fairly stable output for the third quarter compared with the second.

Barclays confirmed the appointment of former JP Morgan investment banking head Jes Staley as its new chief executive, replacing Anthony Jenkins almost four months after his forced departure.

British American Tobacco posted a drop in sales for the first nine months of the year as the company was hit by currency movements, which it expects to have an impact on operating profit for the year.

SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev have extended the deadline for the Belgium-based company to make a formal takeover offer for the London-listed brewer by a week.

Third quarter sales at Next were up 6% and the retailer slightly increased its profit guidance for the full year.

BP has reported a sharp fall in third quarter underlying replacement cost (RC) profit to $1.819bn (£1.2bn) from $3.03bn in 2014 as the company revealed the impact of plunging oil prices over the last year.

Morrison Supermarkets has agreed a deal to launch a pilot scheme where it will provide a convenience food offer in five petrol station shops owned by Motor Fuel Group .

WPP has reported a healthy rise in revenue for the third quarter, and expects an even better fourth quarter.

The US Food and Drug Administration's Arthritis Advisory Committee has recommended the approval of

AstraZeneca's lesinurad tablets for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout.

Randgold Resources has paid off its shareholders' loans used to partially fund the Tongon gold mine.

Economic news

UK retail sales in the year to October slowed following a strong showing in September, according to a survey from the Confederation of British Industry.

London has become the most overvalued city in Europe and the second most unaffordable in the world behind Hong Kong, UBS research has revealed.

British mortgage approvals declined for the first time in four months in September, official figures released on Thursday showed.

British house prices grew at a faster pace in October, figures from Nationwide released on Thursday showed. House prices rose 0.6% month-on-month in October compared with a 0.5% increase in the previous month and analysts’ expectations for an unchanged reading.

House prices in London skyrocketed in September by 9.6%, the Land Registry revealed on Wednesday.

The average price of a home in the capital rose to £499,997 last month and is expected to exceed the half a million mark this month, as prices have been rising consistently.

Senior Bank of England official Chris Salmon said on Wednesday that the central bank will outline how markets can move to a new “risk-free” interest rate benchmark from next year.

UK economic growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter, reflecting weakness in manufacturing and construction industries, the Office for National Statistics revealed on Tuesday.

International events

Consumer sentiment in the US declined in October, official figures released on Friday showed.

The Chicago purchasing managers' index rose to its highest level since the turn of the year in October, figures released on Friday showed.

US consumer spending rose at the slowest pace since the turn of the year in September, data released on Friday showed.

Unemployment in the Eurozone grew slightly more than expected in September, according to figures published on Friday.

The Bank of Japan lowered its forecasts for economic growth and inflation, due to the slowdown in global growth. Noting substantial uncertainties, the central bank now sees gross domestic product for the current fiscal year expanding by 1.2%, down from the 1.7% seen before.

Consumer prices in the Eurozone were flat in October, preliminary figures released on Friday showed.

The US Senate passed a two-year bipartisan budget deal on Friday by a comfortable margin, boosting federal spending by $80bn.

Headline economic growth Stateside slowed down by slightly more than was expected in the third quarter of 2015, drawing mixed reviews from economists.

Business confidence in the Eurozone beat expectations in October, official data released on Thursday showed.

The Federal Reserve decided on Wednesday to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.25%, as most analysts' expected, and left the door open to an increase in December.

Sweden’s central bank kept its main policy rate on hold at 0.35% as widely expected on Wednesday, but extended its government bond purchasing programme as it looks to do more to get inflation up to its 2% target.

US consumer were less confident than expected in October, data released on Tuesday showed.

Orders for US durable goods fell slightly less than expected last month, figures released on Tuesday showed.