Economics

Chancellor George Osborne has said he will cap the country's welfare budget each year for the next four years from April 2015 - but the state pension will not be included.

Outgoing Bank of England (BoE) governor Sir Mervyn King has accused banks of attempting to influence financial regulation by putting pressure on senior politicians - including the Prime Minister.

The BBC has raised £170m to help finance BBC Worldwide after tapping bond markets for the first time in its history.

Reducing the base rate from its current historical low of 0.5% into negative territory "remains an option" for the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), deputy governor Charles Bean has said.

A dramatic shift in the outlook for interest rates has been seen with money market indicators now pricing in a base rate rise in the UK to 0.75% in two years' time rather than three.

Chinese stocks sank deeper into bear market territory on Tuesday as fears over a credit crunch in China escalated.

It is "inevitable" Italy will need an EU bailout in the next six months, according to analysts at the country's second largest bank.

The FTSE 100 has continued to sell off in early trading on Monday following further falls in Asia, as investors continue to dump stocks on fears QE will be withdrawn in the US.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned spiking bond yields across the world threaten trillion of dollars in losses for investors and a fresh crisis for banks unless they are braced for the shock.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have downgraded a number of asset management firms on fears some fund groups will see net outflows for the second quarter of this year.