Equities

The White House has revised down US economic growth forecast for 2011 to 1.7% but said the US will avoid slipping back into recession.

Greece will miss its budget deficit target this year, the government and its international lenders said yesterday, but there was disagreement over how big the fiscal derailment will be.

The US is planning to sue more than a dozen major banks for misrepresenting the quality of mortgages they sold during the housing bubble, the New York Times reports.

Aegon's asset management capabilities in the UK has officially been re-branded as Kames Capital today.

Charles Evans, a leading Federal Reserve policymaker, has called on Ben Bernanke to issue further monetary stimulus as inflation higher than the 2% target would not be a "catastrophe".

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its growth forecast from 2.5% two months ago to 1.6%, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

The recent severe global market sell-off has stemmed from a number of legitimate investor concerns.

Simon Scott-White of Charles Stanley says Oxford Catalysts is worth a punt for those with the nerve.

Legg Mason is expanding its retail range for UK investors with the launch of a US equity income fund, previously only available to US investors and run by New York-based subsidiary ClearBridge Advisors.

Moody's downgrade of Japan's credit rating last week came as no shock to markets, while economists warned the appreciation of the yen is a more crucial issue for the country.