LONDON -- So the USA didn't disappear down a fiscal black hole and blink out of existence after all. That unsurprising outcome led the FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) to a 136-point recovery to finish the week at 6,623, for its first close above 6,600 points since September 19 -- it's almost as if a few weeks of short-term panic really don't make any difference in the long run!

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL -0.27%)
Investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown put in the FTSE 100's biggest rise of the week, gaining 144 pence (14.5%) to 1,137 pence after assets under management reached record levels at the halfway stage. The rise, of 2.9 billion pounds to 39.3 billion pounds, comprised a net inflow of 1.26 billion pounds and a further growth in asset values. The company now has a total of 528,000 active clients, who helped it to revenues of 77.9 million pounds in the second quarter, up from 68.7 million pounds in Q1.

easyJet (EZJ -1.62%)
Shares in budget airline easyJet have been on the up again after an upbeat trading update on Oct. 3, with the price picking up 88 pence (6.9%) last week to end Friday at 1,360 pence. For the full year, capacity is expected to have grown by about 3.3% with revenue per seat up 6%, after July and August brought strong demand. The company has refined and lifted its pre-tax profit guidance, from an earlier range of 450 million to 480 million pounds to now 470 million to 480 million pounds.

Burberry (BRBY -2.58%)
Fashion chain Burberry was hit by the news that chief executive Angela Ahrendts has been lured away by a new position at Apple and will be leaving by mid-2014. Ahrendts, who is to be replaced by Burberry's chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey, is widely credited with the company's resurgence in recent years. News of a 14% rise in first-half revenue with 13% comparable-store growth was not enough to soften the blow, and Burberry shares fell 78 pence (4.9%) to 1,527 pence.

William Hill (WMH)
William Hill shares have been a bit erratic since the bookmaker released a mixed third-quarter update on Oct. 3, and lost 8.7 pence (2.1%) this week to close at 403.5 pence. Although amounts wagered showed some nice improvements and net Q3 revenue grew by 10%, results went the punters' way during the period, and operating profit fell by around 24 million pounds, or 31%.

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