COMMENT
This Week's Market Movers

London shares fell this week as the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged. By mid-morning on Friday, the FTSE had fallen 1% on the week.   

Biggest Movers in the FTSE 350 (as at Friday 10am)

It was a week for takeovers. The news  that Malcolm Glazer has finally seized control of Manchester United (LSE: MNU) caused its shares to jump 10% to 300p. The US sports tycoon is reckoned to own over 70% of the football club, and may complete his £790m takeover shortly.

Online travel agent Lastminute.com (LSE: LMC) surged 54% to 165p on a takeover bid by US travel group Sabre (NYSE: TSG), while JD Sports (LSE: JD.) back-pedalled 6% to 223p after a £100m bid by Pentland Group.

Media shares were in focus after GCap Media (LSE: GCAP), created from the merger of Capital Radio and GWR, warned of difficult trading. The commercial broadcaster, which slumped 11% to 297p, said revenues fell because of lower advertiser spending. Rival broadcaster Chrysalis (LSE: CHS) faded, down 13% to 134p, after it too warned of difficult trading.

Harsh trading conditions were echoed by video rental outfit Home Entertainment (LSE: HET), which retreated 11% to 147p, and Jessops (LSE: JSP), which slumped 10% to 83p. Bucking the trend was home shopping specialist N Brown (LSE: BWNG), which shot up 12% to 124p as it reported a rise in sales.

Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) fluttered 3% higher to 260p on vague takeover speculation. Meanwhile, Dixons (LSE: DXNS) was static at 144p after a mixed trading update. The electrical retailer said profits are in line with expectations but it was cautious over the outlook for the year. British Airways (LSE: BAY) cruised 3% to 260p on higher full-year profits.

Barclays (LSE: BARC) slipped 3% to 537p as it finally agreed a $5.5b deal to take control of South Africa's Absa. Man Group (LSE: EMG) dipped 4% to 1,189p amid concerns that some hedge funds may be affected by exposure to General Motors (NYSE: GM) bonds, and Royal & SunAlliance (LSE: RSA) shone 1% brighter to 77p on outstanding first-quarter figures.

Utility company Centrica (LSE: CNA), up 6% to 230p, also made the news after it said energy prices may have to rise again. However, gas explorer BG Group (LSE: BG.) fell 4% to 403p despite posting a 44% surge in first-quarter profits.

Accounting software outfit Sage (LSE: SGE) was in good form after a 16% jump in half-time profits. Sage, which rose 3% to 207p, added that it is looking for possible acquisitions. Elsewhere, solid interims sent Dimension Data (LSE: DDT) 6% higher to 35p, and a positive trading update saw healthcare software specialist Isoft (LSE: IOT) climbing 8% to 387p.

Finally, Center Parcs (LSE: CPK) gained 5% to 60p after checking in with a positive trading statement, but ice cream maker Richmond Foods (LSE: RFD) slid 2% to 627p on lower profits. Read more.

The Market Next Week

Annual figures are due from O2 (LSE: O2), Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY), Boots (LSE: BOOT) and BT (LSE: BT.A). MFI (LSE: MFI) has a trading update and Wolverhampton & Dudley (LSE: WOLV) will be reporting  interim figures.

Notable announcements next week

Monday: Cambridge Antibody Technology, RM and Robert Wiseman
Tuesday: BAA, Enodis, Enterprise Inns, Land Securities, ScS Upholstery and Yell
Wednesday: Compass, Holidaybreak, O2, Sainsbury, Scottish & Southern and Ultraframe
Thursday: Boots, BPB, BT, Invensys, London Stock Exchange, MFI, Mothercare and Tomkins
Friday: Hilton and Wolverhampton & Dudley

David owns shares in Barclays, British Airways and Centrica.