Spain's economic malaise was confirmed this morning as GDP for the first quarter of the year showed a contraction of 0.3%.

Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill has emerged as a surprise candidate to become the next governor of the Bank of England.

Alliance Trust Investments has poached SWIP bond manager Juan Valenzuela to head up a new fixed income fund.

ONE TO WATCH

INVESTMENT TRUSTS

First State Investments' emerging market and Asia Pacific specialist Angus Tulloch tells Kyle Caldwell about the macroeconomic headwinds preventing him from taking a bullish stance on the region.

PSigma's income manager Bill Mott has warned banks will never be able to return to the pre-crisis days of stellar profits.

Investors are concerned recent sharp moves in Apple's share price are distorting returns for the wider US market, suggesting some indices may have to be rebalanced to lessen the tech giant's dominance.

Witan has restructured the management line-up of its £160m Pacific investment trust, bringing in Matthews International Capital Management and MW GaveKal Asia Ltd to replace Nomura Asset Management.

Simon Ellis, managing director at Legal & General Investments, argues the fund management industry is becoming increasingly polarised, as large funds continue to dominate retail sales.