Economics

Fund performance skewed by benchmarks

Eyes down for Election 2015

No identity: Greek woes still hinder Europe

JO Hambro Capital Management's Clive Beagles has blamed an underweight in defensive stocks for the underperformance of the £2.7bn UK Equity Income fund last year but said he refuses to invest in "bond lookalikes".

Warren Buffett sold out of two of his energy stocks - including his position in the world's largest energy company ExxonMobil - as the oil price collapse accelerated at the end of last year.

Monetary Policy Committee members voted unanimously to keep interest rates in hold this month, but potential divisions over the future path of rates have begun to emerge once more.

The FTSE 100 is within sight of its all-time high after closing at its highest level for 15 years on Tuesday.

Inflation fell to 0.3% in January, the lowest level ever recorded, as price growth continued to slump on the back of falling oil prices.

Talks between eurozone finance ministers on the future of Greece's bailout have come to a dead end, heightening fears of further market turmoil in case Greece is left with no European support.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has upgraded its UK growth forecast in the face of low inflation and falling unemployment figures.