Equities

THE BIG QUESTION

Net retail sales of funds of funds have exceeded £1bn for the first time in a year, according to IMA figures.

State-backed lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said today it had made a loss of £1.5bn in the first half of this year, after taking a near £3bn writedown on the value of its own debt.

Ignis' Terry Ewing has revealed the top American brands to watch as he seeks to insulate his £90m American Growth fund from the difficult global macroeconomic environment.

The New York Stock Exchange cancelled trades in shares which rose as much as 150% yesterday after Knight Capital's electronic trading system malfunctioned.

London's leading index was 60 points higher in afternoon trading despite a slump in UK manufacturing data, as Next and Standard Chartered lifted the market.

ON JAPAN

Baring Asset Management is expanding its presence in Korea with the acquisition of one of the largest asset managers in the region, SEI Asset Korea.

Strong retail fund flows in the first half of 2012 have driven Jupiter's AUM to £23.4m, exceeding analyst expectations as the group reported net profit of £31.2m for the period.

Rathbones' Julian Chillingworth, manager of the £49m Blue Chip Income & Growth fund, has cut back his defensive positions as he believes they have become overvalued.