From the “Gatwick gusher” to Greece via Alton Towers: Five charts that sum up the week
Greece missed a huge repayment to the IMF, there was an update from Gatwick's answer to Dallas and a new study showed love doesn't come cheap.
Here are five charts that sum up the week:
Greek stocks suffered after Athens missed its deadline
The Greek debt crisis riled European markets as the cash-strapped country hovered dangerously close to the deadline for a €300m (£220m) payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – which it ended up rolling into one large payment due at the end of this month.
"Greece's decision to bundle four payments due to the IMF this month highlights the extreme pressure on government funding," credit ratings agency Fitch said.
Morrisons clung on to the FTSE 100
The week kicked off amid speculation that northern grocer Morrisons would be kicked out of the blue chip index in the stock market committee's quarterly review. Nevertheless, it was saved by data showing its first quarter sales grew for the first time since December 2013.
It the end it was power outsourcer Aggreko, hit by the strength of the pound in recent months, which made way for satellite maker Inmarsat.
A trio of challenger banks, including Aldermore, Onesavings and Shawbrook, were admitted into the FTSE 250 index, alongside newly-listed Auto Trader, John Laing, Wizz Air and Woodford.
Banknote printer De La Rue, Infinis Energy and Blackrock's World Mining Trust dropped out.
Accident at Alton Towers
Shares in Merlin Entertainments fell in the aftermath of a crash on its Smiler roller coaster at Alton towers earlier this week left four left four people seriously injured.
A carriage carrying 16 people crashed into an empty carriage left on the same piece of track. Two men and two women were airlifted to major trauma centres with significant leg injuries – the others were less seriously injured.
The theme park owner has since announced the closure of four rides Saw at Thorpe Park, The Smiler at Alton Towers, as well as Dragon's Fury and Rattlesnake at Chessington World of Adventures.
The "Gatwick gusher" let loose
UK Oil and Gas Investments' share price soared as much as 52 per cent today after a report revealed there's more oil at the Horse Hill well than previously thought.
Shares in the Aim-listed oil exploration firm were suspended yesterday pending the announcement.
And in other news …
Love doesn't come cheap, it seems. Those in relationships shell out an average of £2,340 a year more than their single friends, according to a study from insurance comparison site Confused.com.
