Economics

Risk is a hot topic at the moment. The turmoil on the stock exchange has seen a big increase in market risk while Standard and Poor's has lowered their opinion of the US's credit risk.

Proposals to ring-fence UK-based banks could dent profits by up to 15% within three years, according to Morgan Stanley research, the Telegraph has reported.

US IS NOT FACING ANOTHER 2008

The US Commerce Department has said US GDP rose at an annualised rate of 1% in the second quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3%.

The FTSE opened more than 40 points lower on Friday as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke gears up to deliver a key speech on the ailing US economy.

The US is in much worse shape than Japan and could face three to four decades of slow-growth, Jim Rogers told the BBC today.

The immediate future of the UK economy will not be dependant on a further round of quantitative easing (QE), a member of the Bank of England's rate setting body said yesterday.

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is gearing up to deliver a key speech on the ailing US economy today - with markets looking on for hints of further stimulus.

Japan's beleaguered prime minister Naoto Kan has resigned after a turmoil-filled 15 months in office, clearing the way for the country's sixth leader in five years.

Felix Martin, economist in the Thames River global credit team, responds to the Bank of England's August Inflation Report.