Martin Weale has called for an immediate 0.25% increase in the Bank of England (BoE) base interest rate, echoing the view of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hawk Andrew Sentance.

Aviva Investors, the insurer's global asset management business, has been granted permission to offer fund running services to the Singaporean market.

Tax bosses are facing an inquiry into how they strike deals with multinationals following accusations that Vodafone was let off a £6bn bill.

Kaupthing approved loans worth €2bn (£1.69bn) for Alisher Usmanov, the billionaire behind Arsenal FC, less than two weeks before the Icelandic bank went bust.

Inflation edged closer towards 4% in December as the rising cost of food and oil products continued to hit the price of goods and services.

Goldman Sachs has issued a short-term alert on China and India over inflation fears.

Northern Rock will begin seeking out potential bidders today in the first tentative steps towards returning bailed-out banks to private ownership.

The German economy made a strong bounce-back in 2010, growing by 3.6%, according to provisional figures from the national statistics office.

UPDATE 12pm: The FTSE is up a third of a percent and other key European markets have jumped 1.3% on news Portugal has succeeded in raising £1bn in a bonds auction, easing concerns over the country's need for an EU bailout.

Not owning gold during the current financial turmoil is "a form of insanity", according to Cazenove's Robin Griffiths.