Markets

Royal Mail, which was recently floated on the stock exchange, has announced it is scrapping a total of 1300 roles in a cost-cutting drive, with shares falling as the initial cost of the cuts spooks investors.

Russia has said it expects outflows in the first quarter of this year to total $70bn as sanctions hit the country's economy harder than expected.

Andrew Cole, investment director at Barings, has warned sterling "could get ugly" during the next six months, ahead of the 2015 general election, but said it remains the best of a bad bunch for now.

The Co-operative Bank has revealed it must raise £400m via a new share issue after discovering additional costs related to PPI mis-selling.

BlackRock has warned of ‘major risks' to the UK and Scotland if Scots vote for independence in September's planned referendum.

Standard Life has tabled a reported £400m bid for Ignis Asset Management.

Russian stocks and government bonds fell today after the US and European Union increased sanctions against Russian politicians and business leaders.

Chinese stocks rebounded overnight after experiencing the biggest decline in seven months.

Former French presidential hopeful Dominque Strauss-Kahn is hoping to raise $2bn to launch a hedge fund.

Industry figures have broadly praised George Osborne's 2014 Budget, pointing to the benefits created for savers.