Economics

Markets on Wall Street opened higher for the fourth consecutive session as speculation the Federal Reserve is to take more action to stimulate the US economy continued to buoy investors.

The FTSE 100 was enjoying a second consecutive day of gains on Wednesday as investors pushed the index to a two-week high.

Charles Evans, a leading Federal Reserve policymaker, has called on Ben Bernanke to issue further monetary stimulus as inflation higher than the 2% target would not be a "catastrophe".

ExxonMobil has formed an Arctic exploration partnership with Russian state oil company Rosneft, in a strategic coup over rival BP.

Business secretary Vince Cable said UK banking reforms will go ahead despite criticism from industry leaders the plans threaten the economic recovery.

US markets have opened lower, with the S%P 500 losing ground initially as investors await consumer confidence data.

The FTSE 100 has opened 3% higher after the Dow Jones added 250 points overnight, with financials leading the surge.

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its growth forecast from 2.5% two months ago to 1.6%, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

Moody's downgrade of Japan's credit rating last week came as no shock to markets, while economists warned the appreciation of the yen is a more crucial issue for the country.

US markets have moved lower in the immediate aftermath of Ben Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech after the Fed chairman made no firm commitment to further stimulus.