Economics

Sterling has spiked further against the dollar and other currencies after strong retail sales and minutes of the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting stirred up the rate hike debate.

The rate of UK CPI inflation rose in the year to April, the first increase in ten months, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Credit Suisse is to pay fines of $2.6bn (£1.6bn) after pleading guilty to helping US clients evade tax.

AstraZeneca has rejected a new takeover bid by Pfizer, arguing it still undervalues the business.

The government may "pare back" its Help to Buy scheme if the Bank of England (BoE) believes it threatens the UK's economic recovery, Nick Clegg has said.

Indian stocks have hit a fresh all-time high, with the rupee hitting a 10-month high of its own, as early vote counts in the general election point to a resounding win for the main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party.

Threadneedle's head of UK equities Simon Brazier has flagged the energy and telecom sectors as being at risk in the run up to the 2015 general election.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has tried to defuse expectations of an imminent rate hike by saying it would "not be the right tool" to deal with a booming housing market.

The FTSE 100 has soared to its highest level since early 2000, as mining and housing stocks boost the blue-chip index at the start of the week.

An independent Scotland would face a "capital flight" if it did not retain the pound, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank.