Markets

HSBC shares have fallen almost 5% after full-year results failed to meet market expectations.

Pension fund managers will be forced to fully disclose details of hidden costs associated with their products under new government plans, according to reports.

Three of the top ten dividend payers globally in 2013 were British companies, while financials accounted for the greatest proportion of payouts, according to a new study by Henderson Global Investors.

Berry Asset Management is to become Border & Cie (UK) as it adopts the name of its parent company ahead of a UK expansion.

Legal & General has agreed to acquire US investment group Global Index Advisors in a $50m deal.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to cut 30,000 jobs as it scales back operations to become a more focused bank.

A leading Bank of England policymaker has said the base rate is likely to rise in "spring 2015" in unusually revealing comments made this afternoon.

High valuations have made many wary of the UK market, but Alex Wright, manager of the Fidelity Special Situations fund, insists there are still plenty of unloved opportunities.

The passing of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) into law has made it compulsory for UK investment firms to disclose the total cost of their investments to their clients.

Vodafone's sale of its 45% holding in US peer Verizon Wireless could see an extra £10bn invested in UK equities in the coming weeks, according to reports.