UK banks have about £136bn of exposure to crisis-struck Japan, but it is "too soon" to judge the full hit to Britain's financial sector, the FSA says.

Bradford & Bingley (B&B) shareholders had their hopes of compensation dashed today after an independent assessor upheld his previous ruling against a payout.

Global insurance company share prices tumbled last night as concerns mounted about the cost of rebuilding Japan following Friday's earthquake and the resulting tsunami.

Warren Buffett has emerged as one of the biggest investors to be affected by Japan's earthquake and tsunami, with estimated paper losses of $150m from his investments in reinsurers Swiss Re and Munich Re.

The FTSE100 fell in early trading as concerns over EU debt problems offset any reassurance the market might take from easing oil prices.

Aviva has boosted its UK profits by 21%, led by higher sales in the life and pensions business.

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hawk Andrew Sentance is calling for a 0.5% rise in the Bank of England base rate, a greater hike than he has lobbied for previously.

The Investment Management Association (IMA) has confirmed it is leading efforts to shore up troubled Keydata-backer Lifemark, as part of a bid to recoup the fund management sector's £233m FSCS bill.

Sterling fell against the dollar and the euro after the Bank of England downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2011.

Official inflation figures due out today are misleading the public, according to international experts who say the data understates the true increase in the cost of living.