Weekly review
The FTSE 100 finished the session 191.66 points lower to 7,318.54.
COMPANY NEWS
One of Intu Properties' senior directors is leading a consortium of investment companies to buy the shopping centre owner, leading to speculation that a bid battle could emerge.
Gold miner Centamin on Friday cut its annual production target as delays in planned operational improvements led to a 25% fall in third quarter output.
Unilever directors have decided to withdraw their proposal to move out of the UK to a single Netherlands headquarters after growing opposition from shareholders.
Shares in Botswana Diamonds shone on Thursday after the Aim-listed explorer finalised a development deal with fellow miner Vast Resources.
DFS Furniture posted a near-50% plunge in full-year pre-tax profit on Thursday as the retailer was hit by the heatwave in the fourth quarter.
Fashion retailer Ted Baker posted a rise in interim revenue on Thursday as it benefited from a solid performance from its online segment despite ongoing challenging trading conditions, but profit dropped.
Uranium storage company Yellow Cake on Wednesday predicted the uranium market’s strength will continue beyond the third quarter due to demand from Asia.
Aston Martin Lagonda was valued at £4. 3bn by investors as the luxury car manufacturer floated on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, short of the £5bn that had been hoped for.
Tesco reported a 42% increase in first-half profits which fell short of analysts' estimates but boosted its dividend as sales accelerated in the second quarter thanks to the £4bn acquisition of Booker.
Vodafone Italy on Wednesday said it had bought a range of 5G service airwaves for €2.4bn (£2.14bn) in an auction run by the Italian government.
Schroders is poised to win a £109bn mandate from Lloyds Banking Group to manage its Scottish Widows investment assets, according to a newspaper report.
Shore Capital has retained its 'buy' recommendation for Standard Chartered, despite reports claiming that the bank is facing a $1. 5bn fine related to Iran sanctions.
German retail chain Aldi plans to open 130 new stores in the UK and Ireland over the next two years, creating 5,000 jobs and bringing it closer to its expansion target of 1,000 stores by 2022.
Royal Mail put out a mid-afternoon profit warning on Monday after finding it difficult to cut costs due to the new pensions and pay deal agreed with unions earlier this year.
ECONOMIC NEWS
According to Bloomberg, the European Union is ready to offer the UK a free-trade deal deeper than any previous proposal but will not meet Theresa May's demand for a "frictionless trade".
For the three months ended 30 September, Halifax's measure of residential prices was 1.8% higher than the preceding three months, but for September alone house prices fell 1.4% month-to-month, well below consensus estimates of 0.2%.
The UK government has vowed to introduce new measures to crack down on late payments that are crippling small businesses.
UK vehicle registrations fell by a massive 20.5% in September, as new emissions testing requirements hit supply, according to figures released on Thursday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Activity in the UK's dominant services sector weakened more than expected last month, suggesting the economy maintained its growth trend in the third quarter.
The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index showed that overall shop price inflation was 0.2% in September, up on August’s 0.1% and the second consecutive month of increases.
Research from accountancy firm Moore Stephens revealed that 26% of firms had suffered a hit to their finances following the insolvency of a customer supplier or debtor in the last six months, with one in 10 companies saying the financial impact of the insolvency of another business was ‘very negative’.
Shares in house-building companies subsided on Monday after the Prime Minister announced a new tax on residential property purchases by overseas buyers.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
US non-farm payrolls rose by less than expected last month, registering an increase of just 134,000, amid a sharp slowdown in hiring among service sector firms, but the details of the report were stronger, with the rate of unemployment falling to its lowest since 1969.
The Italian government may yield to criticism of its recent budget proposals, but only modestly, following a late night meeting between the Prime Minister, Giusseppe Conte, and the country's two deputy PMs, Five Star leader Luigi di Maio and the League's Matteo Salvini.
The European Union is seeking to reach a deal with the United States to avoid falling victim to tariffs on US bound exports of cars and auto parts.
The recent rise in market interest rates is not a reflection of worries about inflation, New York Fed chief, John Williams, said.
US non-farm payrolls rose by less than expected last month, registering an increase of just 134,000, amid a sharp slowdown in hiring among service sector firms, but the details of the report were stronger, with the rate of unemployment falling to its lowest since 1969.
The United States has levelled charges against seven alleged Russian agents after the country's military intelligence service was linked to a raft of hacking attacks around the world.
The head of the US central bank sounded a very confident note on the outlook for the US economy on Wednesday evening, contributing to a sharp move higher in US government bond yields.
BHP Billiton has predicted China will account for around 7% of global demand for copper, after analysing the country’s international infrastructure spending plans.
For the first time in history, over half of the world's population (3.8bn people) are now considered to be middle class or rich, marking a global tipping point in which poor and vulnerable people are no longer a majority in the world.
A top US central bank official said on Wednesday he was confident with the interest rate path implied by market pricing, including a hike when the Federal Open Market Committee next met.