Economics

The Royal Bank of Scotland has made an £8.2bn loss in 2013, as it struggled with the burden of regulatory fines and splitting up the business.

Asset manager River and Mercantile is to merge with investment consultancy P-Solve, part of the Punter Southall Group, and is planning an IPO to fund its growth plans.

EU policymakers have agreed a deal on pay in the asset management industry which includes a requirement that fund managers be paid half of any bonuses in units of their own funds.

UK equities dipped this morning after closing at a 14-year high yesterday, with falls in commodity markets hitting miners.

Equity markets around the globe are near - or at - record highs, with sentiment remaining positive, but Chris Wyllie at Iveagh argues investors need to be prepared for a setback after such a strong run.

HSBC shares have fallen almost 5% after full-year results failed to meet market expectations.

A leading Bank of England policymaker has said the base rate is likely to rise in "spring 2015" in unusually revealing comments made this afternoon.

Vodafone's sale of its 45% holding in US peer Verizon Wireless could see an extra £10bn invested in UK equities in the coming weeks, according to reports.

Shares across Asia fell on Thursday after latest Chinese manufacturing data came in at a seven-month low.

Facebook's share price fell as much as 5% in after-hours trading as the company announced a deal to buy chat application WhatsApp for some $19bn.