Economics

Two of the UK's major tax-payer backed banks are facing three years of further writedowns, according to Barclays Capital analysts.

Credit ratings agency Fitch has cut Hungary's long-term foreign and local currency debt to junk status, following a tumultuous week for the country.

Architas CIO Caspar Rock has predicted 2012 will be another "bumpy year" with rising equity markets until the second quarter, when there could be another sell-off.

The US created more jobs than forecast in December as the country's economy continued to signal it is returning to steady growth.

INVESTMENT OUTLOOK

The FTSE 100 was trading higher this morning ahead of the release of a crucial jobs report in the US which will indicate how the recovery is progressing.

Old Mutual Asset Managers' bond fund manager Stewart Cowley has warned investors in gilt funds face major headwinds in 2012, after falls in yields to record lows left them with little protection from coupons if prices start to come down.

Dragons' Den star Peter Jones is among a group of potential buyers interested in acquiring ailing firm Blacks Leisure.

The UK arm of accountancy firm PwC has been fined a record £1.4m after it failed to discover billions of dollars of client money had been ringfenced improperly at US bank J.P.Morgan Chase.

The Swiss banking chief caught up in a political storm over allegations his wife shorted the Swiss franc just days before intervention from the central bank, has given a statement defending the transacations.