US GDP growth for Q2 has fallen short of analysts' expectations at 1.3%, while the Q1 figure has been sharply revised down from 1.9% to 0.4%.

BSkyB is set to return £750m to shareholders in share buybacks, in a bid to compensate investors after News Corp was forced to abandon acquisition plans for the broadcasting company.

Cyprus is the latest nation to be slapped with a downgrade by Moody's, with its rating cut two notches over concerns the country is heading towards a bailout.

First State Investments' Jonathan Asante and Aberdeen's head of global emerging markets Devan Kaloo have clashed over the growth prospects for GEM banks.

M&G's head of retail fixed interest Jim Leaviss has warned the US will see its credit rating downgraded to AA shortly after next year's presidential election.

The UK economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of the year, in line with economists' estimates, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today.

Oil major BP saw its shares fall in early trading on disappointing second quarter earnings and an 11% drop in production.

Just 43% of funds in the IMA Absolute Return sector have managed to provide investors with a real return greater than the rate of inflation.

Aberdeen Asset Management has seen its asset base grow by 2.5% to £185.8bn as outflows slowed.

Direct Property-Europe is top performing sector over first six months of 2011.