Economics

State-owned RBS has reported Q1 pre-tax profit of £826m and said its "substantially fixed" balance sheet means it should be ready to return to private hands next year.

Positive results from BG Group and Shell, alongside the completion of Glencore's long-running takeover of Xstrata, helped counter losses at UK engineers and propped up UK shares today.

Apple wowed the debt markets on Tuesday with the largest ever bond deal for a non-financial institution.

Hargreaves Lansdown is planning to launch a rebate-free charging model at the start of next year following the latest platform paper from the regulator.

GLOBAL POLICY

Aberdeen Asset Management saw its shares jump 9% in trading this morning after the group reported a huge hike in its dividend.

The International Monetary Fund(IMF) has warned strong capital inflows into Asia have increased the risks from rapid credit growth and rising asset prices.

European markets and the US dollar have extended losses after US GDP came in at a lower than expected 2.5% in Q1.

Markets across the US closed up overnight as the more optimistic mood prevailed, while gold continued to recover from its recent savage fall.

An analysis of changes in Google query volume for search terms related to finance reveals patterns that could be interpreted as early-warning signs of stock market moves.