Primary Health Properties (PHP) has become the first UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to launch a retail bond.

Katherine Garrett-Cox, CEO and CIO of the £2.5bn Alliance Trust, has argued global growth will remain stagnant next year, as the US faces the strong prospect of slipping back into recession.

Martin Currie Investment Management has hired a North American specialist manager, in a bid to turnaround performance of its flagship fund which has slumped to the bottom quartile of the IMA North America sector.

John Kennedy has deleveraged his £588m Scottish investment trust, converting its entire gearing component into cash equivalents to shield the portfolio against a further market set-back.

London's leading share index has notched up a 1.3% rise in early trading, as European policymakers announced plans to move towards a banking union.

A variety of asset classes and investment strategies feature in the list of funds with the largest outflows in the first half of the year.

Fixed income strategies continue to be the most desired asset class in the first six months of the year, with M&G topping the inflow charts.

Barclays' share price plummeted 18% early this afternoon amid calls for boss Bob Diamond to quit in the wake of the LIBOR scandal, and following a speech from George Osborne attacking its traders 'systematic greed'.

Standard Life Investments has re-opened Harry Nimmo's UK Smaller Companies fund to investors via its wrap, following a wave of outflows.

Spanish short-term borrowing costs have risen substantially in its latest debt auction, reflecting the country's struggle to service its debts at a sustainable level.