EUROPE

Investors have tentatively started to add to their European equity positions following an 18-month hiatus, after the European Central Bank's actions lessened concerns the euro will fall apart.

Jim Leaviss, M&G's head of retail fixed interest, has been adding to inflation-linked bonds following a "change in attitude" among central bankers.

M&G's co-head of fixed income Jim Leaviss has warned the UK could face losing its AAA rating on 5 December, the day of the Autumn Statement, as the growing budget deficit could force George Osborne to abandon plans for fiscal consolidation.

EUROPE

Victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud are being mailed a slice of a $2.4bn payout, bringing their total recovery amount so far to more than triple the amount initially set aside.

The FTSE 100 looks set to replicate the falls seen in Asian markets overnight as weak manufacturing data from China dragged on shares and sent metal prices downwards.

China should attack the Japanese bond markets and cause a full-scale funding crisis, unless the latter nation reverses a decision to nationalise the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, a senior advisor to the Chinese government said.

Former deputy governor of the Bank of England Rachel Lomax has ruled herself out of replacing Mervyn King next year, saying she has "moved on" from the central bank.

The Bank of Japan has followed the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank by extending its QE programme by 10trn yen.