Economics

The sharp drop in the UK unemployment rate and mounting expectations of a 2014 rate hike pushed sterling to a two-year high versus the US dollar in morning trading.

Aviva CFO Pat Regan is to leave the company after three years to take up a post in Australia.

Equity markets across Asia have moved into the red after manufacturing figures suggested Chinese industrial activity has hit a surprise six-month low.

The Bank of England has again moved to temper expectations of an early rate rise, despite the UK unemployment rate dropping to close to the crucial 7% mark this morning.

Economist and founder of Capital Economics Roger Bootle has said quantitative easing (QE) is not the "inflation danger" people should be worried about - the focus should be on the intentions of the government.

Scammers have cloned advice firm Chelsea Financial Services and are operating under the name Chelsea Financial, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned.

THE BIG QUESTION

Nearly 50% of the UK's adviser community wants platforms to carry out bulk switches to clean share classes for their clients, research from FundsNetwork has discovered.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) should hold off on raising interest rates even though its stated threshold for doing so - a fall in the unemployment rate to 7% - is in sight, according to a report.

The Chinese economy grew by 7.7% in 2013, the latest figures from the country have revealed, its slowest rate for 14 years.