Economics

The Nikkei endured further sharp losses on Thursday, entering a bear market as investors sold Japanese shares ahead of an expected tapering of QE by the US Federal Reserve.

RBS CEO Stephen Hester is to step down from the bank later this year as it "begins to prepare for privatisation".

The Bank of England's Andrew Haldane has said a possible sharp rise in bond yields represents the biggest risk for financial markets at present.

Defensive shares including utilities giant Severn Trent weighed on the FTSE 100 during morning trading, keeping a lid on gains following a tough week which has seen shares retreat further on US QE fears.

The UK economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to the end of May, driven primarily by growth in the production and private services sectors, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).

A lack of further easing from the Japanese authorities coupled with fears over QE in Europe rattled markets today, sending the FTSE 100 to a seven-week low, with asset managers some of the biggest fallers.

Japanese equities gave up nearly 200 points overnight as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) disappointed the market by opting to keep its monetary policy unchanged, failing to address concerns over bond market volatility.

Shore Capital has upgraded wealth manager Brewin Dolphin to a 'buy' after the group successfully navigated the RDR rule change by retaining clients despite an increase to its fees.

A private charity lunch with Warren Buffet has sold for $1m - less than a third of last year's price.

Markets surged overnight on news Japan revised its annualised growth rate to 4.1% - up from an estimated 3.5%.