Economics

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management (BMAM) has appointed Gemma Godfrey as investment director and head of investment strategy.

Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland led the FTSE 100 leader board in early trading despite the group posting a larger than expected loss of £2bn.

Capita, the authorised corporate director of the failed Arch cru funds, has revealed the settlement earlier this year cost it £17.9m.

Royal Bank of Scotland has posted a worse than expected loss of £2bn for 2011, its fourth consecutive year of losses since its government bailout in 2008.

Credit rating agency Moody's has placed Santander UK's long term debt and deposit ratings under review following the announcement last week that its parent may be downgraded.

The latest round of quantitiative easing is a threat to future economic growth in the UK, Fidelity's bond star Ian Spreadbury has warned.

Ignis' chief economist Stuart Thomson has hailed Mervyn King as the "central banker of the year" for supporting the UK economy and protecting its safe haven status over the past 12 months.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was divided over its quantitative easing programme earlier this month, with two members calling for the asset purchase programme to be increased by £75bn.

The owner of Glasgow Rangers FC has admitted he used the payment for future season ticket sales from Ticketus, the company backed by Octopus Investments' Protected EIS, to complete the takeover of the club.

US and Asian markets gave a modestly positive response to the second Greek bailout, following losses in European counterparts, as it emerged the debt-laden nation has just nine days to implement many of the conditions of the rescue.