Tim Steer, manager of the £320m Artemis UK Growth fund, has labelled the takeover of Autonomy by Hewlett Packard as expensive after the US giant offered to pay a premium of about 75% for the firm.

Richard Buxton, Schroders' head of UK equities and manager of the £2.9bn UK Alpha Plus fund, has seen his holding in Autonomy sky-rocket today after an audacious bid from Hewlett-Packard.

Shares in software giant Autonomy soared this morning after it confirmed last night it had received an $11bn offer from Hewlett-Packard.

The price of gold futures touched a new high above $1,850 overnight as panicked investors sold off shares heavily across the globe on growth fears.

One of the more lighthearted stories doing the rounds last week was the closure of former Arch cru chief Jon Maguire's fish and chip shop.

The UK government is understood to be prepared to shoot down proposals for a financial transaction tax being mooted by Germany and France.

US investors jettisoned shares in early trading following a warning from consumer giant Walmart, piling on the pressure following weaker than expected German economic growth.

J.P. Morgan's Private Equity Limited fund of funds has moved to snap up assets from the former Arch cru portfolios in a deal worth £56.5m.

German growth lurched sharply lower in the second quarter of 2011, piling more pressure on the eurozone and sending shares in the UK lower in early trading.

The head of the World Bank has warned the crisis of confidence sweeping through markets in recent weeks has resulted in a new 'danger zone' for the global economy.