Markets

The impact of new political regimes

The FTSE 100 has moved above 7,000 for the first time in its history this afternoon, as a strong open on Wall Street helped the UK's blue chip index finally reach the landmark figure.

Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to sell its shareholding in TSB to Spanish bank Sabadell, in a deal which will value the bank at £1.7bn.

Sterling slumped against the US dollar after the Bank of England's chief economist Andy Haldane said the UK has an equal chance of seeing a rate cut as a rate hike, contrary to consensus expectations.

Several years on from launch, retail fund buyers are showing increasing interest in a strategy which seeks to bridge the gap between passive and high alpha portfolios.

The FTSE 100 has hit a fresh record high after the US Federal Reserve signalled renewed caution on its path towards raising interest rates from their record lows.

Global macro funds could receive a performance boost following a difficult year, as divergent central bank policies create a favourable environment for top-down investing, according to GAM's Charles Hepworth.

The government has announced a number of changes to the tax it collects from UK-based businesses, including financial advisers.

'Gorgeous George' morphs into 'Steady George'

Lower inflation, driven by a fall in oil prices, has helped the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) upgrade UK growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016 and given the government room to move on near-term borrowing.