Prudential has delayed the issue of details of its $21 bn cash call, because it has failed to reach agreement with the FSA on its capital position.

Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have lurched into different directions over the timetable and rate of a levy on Britain's banks.

The FSA is investigating government-backed Lloyds Banking Group and RBS over poor complaints handling.

London's leading shares are showing slight gains this morning as a late recovery on Wall Street boosts investor sentiment.

The Arsenal boardroom power struggle could heat up after the club's fourth-largest shareholder appointed a firm to find a buyer for her shares.

Euphoria over a joint EU-IMF rescue deal for Greece worth €45bn (£39.8bn) appears short-lived, after angry reactions in Germany and continued concerns among bond investors any bail-out merely delays the worst.

Eurozone members have pledged up to €30bn in loans to Greece over the next year to help dodge a debt crisis which is seen as most serious challenge in the euro's existence.

Investment advisers have hailed the announcement Anthony Bolton's Fidelity China Special Situations fund had raised £460m from its initial public offering as "a bloody good result".

Gordon Brown believes the large economies are close to agreeing a global tax on banks which would cost the financial sector billions of pounds a year - but he played down expectations of a final deal at the next G20 meeting in June.

Greece will this month launch a multibillion-dollar bond in the US, selling itself for the first time as an emerging market country as demand for its debt dwindles in Europe.