Investec's stockpicking veteran Alastair Mundy has bought into Royal Bank of Scotland after a change of sentiment towards elements of the UK's beaten-up banking sector.

The UK's trade deficit more than doubled in August as imports of goods outstripped a small uptick in services exports.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its forecast for the UK economy, now warning it faces a hefty contraction this year, as part of a downgrade of most nations globally.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is planning to force fund groups to improve risk warnings on absolute return funds next year after warning consumers are in danger of being misled.

Standard Life Investment's MyFolio managers Bambos Hambi and Katie Trowsdale will run a range of five new risk-rated funds for RBS following yesterday's distribution deal, Investment Week can reveal.

Former M&G manager Mike Godfrey has joined institutional investment boutique Marathon after leaving the asset manager last week.

Internet search giant Google has become bigger than Microsoft in terms of market cap after its shares surged 30% in the last quarter.

The New York Attorney General has sued J.P. Morgan Chase for allegedly defrauding investors who lost billions of dollars on mortgage-backed securities sold by Bear Stearns.

Fidelity Worldwide Investment is planning to launch an Asian Dividend fund as it moves to compete with rivals such as Newton in this increasingly popular space.

Prudential has dropped funds including Richard Buxton's Schroder UK Alpha Plus fund from its Dynamic Portfolio range in a move to diversify UK equity risk.