Economics

Barclays Capital's Jason Smith is backing UK and Chinese government bonds over German bunds in his Research Analysis Driven Absolute Return (RADAR) fund.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today denied reports it is planning a £500bn rescue package for Italy and Spain.

The OECD has warned the UK is teetering on the edge of a double-dip recession, and has called for further quantitative easing to support the economy.

George Osborne is expected to crackdown on tax avoidance by the wealthy and support commuters, motorists and small businesses in this week's Autumn Statement, acording to reports.

AIM-listed companies are targeting 12-month revenue growth rates double those of their FTSE counterparts, according to a PwC study.

S&P has downgraded Belgium's credit rating by one notch, to AA from AA+, expressing concerns about funding and market pressures.

IMF urges China to bring state-owned banking sector into line with international practices

Yields on short-dated German government bonds turned negative this week as bondholders paid to lend to the country, despite a dismal auction of 10-year bonds on Wednesday.

The UK will take five and a half years to recover to pre-recession levels, said Bank of England external MPC member Martin Weale in a speech today to the National Institute of Social and Economic Research (NIESR).

The FTSE 100 has reversed this morning's losses to rise over 1% in afternoon trading - buoyed by a surge on Wall Street.