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The sad events in Westminster held the headlines last week, as Londoners absorbed the impact of what had taken place. Markets offered a brief response, but are ultimately ill-equipped to do so. Some events are simply too far above their remit.

Nevertheless, the FTSE 100's major shift came on Wednesday and it ended the trading week down 1.2%. A handful of significant corporate announcements played their part in the index's performance over the week. On the positive side, Vodafone confirmed a merger of its Indian business with Idea Cellular, the largest local mobile operator, potentially putting a cap on a long-running price war and creating the country's largest operator, with 400 million users on its books. Thus, while it sank alongside UK-listed peers on Wednesday, the effect of the merger news was enough for the stock to cancel out its losses out the following day.

This week's bulletin also includes:

• Retail sales figures pointed to strong UK consumer spending, despite mixed corporate news.
• Inflation reached 2.3% in the UK, above the central bank target and its highest in three years.
• Data published by Moneyfacts showed that not a single Cash ISA currently beats inflation.
• US stocks dipped as Congress voted against Donald Trump's healthcare legislation reform.

View this week's Market Bulletin, which contains thoughts and opinions of St. James's Place and our range of investment managers on the key issues affecting investors.