Two boutique fund management houses have dropped FTSE Group from client literature after being asked to pay an annual licence fee to feature its indices and branding, with costs ranging between £15,000-£20,000.

The board of Harry Nimmo's £163m Standard Life UK Smaller Companies trust has axed its performance fee, in a move to offer a transparent charging structure ahead of the impending retail distribution review (RDR).

BlackRock plans to float a North American equity income investment trust next month, to be managed by Bob Shearer and Kathleen Anderson.

Royal Bank of Scotland shareholders are planning to sue the bank and its former chief executive Fred Goodwin for misleading investors over a rights issue in 2008.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has indicated more quantitative easing measures will be pumped into the US economy when it is needed to avert long-term damage, but his lacklustre speech failed to impress those seeking a firmer commitment.

Former Axa Framlington Japan fund manager Anja Balfour has joined the £248m Martin Currie Pacific trust, in a non-executive director role.

Strategic bond fund managers Richard Hodges from LGIM and Fidelity's Ian Spreadbury both expect UK government bond yields to remain at their abnormally low levels for the foreseeable future.

Norway's oil-backed sovereign wealth fund has outlined its fierce opposition to the proposed Glencore-Xstrata merger, putting the proposed $30bn takeover under threat.

Boston-based Fidelity Investments has promoted Abigail Johnson, the daughter of the firm's CEO Edward "Ned" Johnson, to head up the company's financial services business.

Fixed income continues to be the asset class of choice for UK retail investors, accounting for more than half of July's net retail sales, the latest figures from the Investment Management Association (IMA) show.