Equities

Punch Taverns, Royal Bank of Scotland and Thomas Cook are among the members of the least coveted club in the business, research from binary options trading firm Banc De Binary has found.

US stock markets could spike if Mitt Romney secures a surprise victory tomorrow in the US Presidential election, leading thinktank the Centre for Economic Business Research (CEBR) has forecast.

Britain's largest bank HSBC has set aside an extra $800m to cover settlements for breaching anti money-laundering rules in the US.

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John Bellows, an investment strategy analyst at Legg Mason's fixed income subsidiary Western Asset Management, explains why fiscal policy is holding back corporate confidence in the US, and discusses the impact of the fiscal cliff on bond markets.

Baring Asset Management's chief investment officer said equity markets are facing the "mother of all rallies" before inflation, brought on by QE, brings the markets crashing down in five years' time.

Fund managers have raised cash levels in their equity and bond portfolios to levels last seen at the height of the Lehmans crisis as valuations in risk assets hit extremes.

The manager of the world's largest bond fund has said a Red or Blue victory will not make any difference to the US economy as the effects of monetary policy have already reached their limits.

US stock markets powered ahead after the opening bell as private sector jobs data released today painted a much brighter picture than analysts had expected.