US

The boss of a futures brokerage has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $100m from 24,000 customers in the US state of Iowa.

The FTSE 100 gained more than 80 points in early trading while global markets leapt higher overnight, lifted by the Federal Reserve's latest round of quantitative easing.

The Federal Reserve has unleashed a third round of quantitative easing to support the US economy following a wave of poor data and a weakening labour market.

Apollo Multi Asset's Tom McGrath considers the possible unintended consequences of Fed chief Ben Bernanke unleashing a third round of quantitative easing at the upcoming meeting.

Moody's will strip the US of its AAA rating if a deficit reduction deal is not struck in Congress, it has warned.

MAM Funds has hired Scottish Widows Investment Partnership's Nick Ford as part of a drive to expand its investment capabilities.

QE3

Ex-Threadneedle manager Andrew Holliman has revamped his investment process since joining Polar Capital to run its US offering, taking a less conservative approach on the more focused portfolio.

Barings' Khiem Do has said the chances of the Federal Reserve carrying out QE3 are remote, with economic indicators in the US still "reasonably strong" and by no means justifying further action.

Citigroup is to pay out $590m to shareholders in one of the biggest settlements connected to the global financial crisis, after it was accused of hiding its subprime exposure during the 2008 crash.