Markets

Mervyn King, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, has warned central banks risk becoming more politicized as a result of their efforts to tackle the banking crisis and subsequent recessions.

A new academic paper suggests an influential study used to argue the case for austerity contains a number of flaws - including a simple Excel spreadsheet error.

Financial services will never rebuild trust with consumers or affect a change in the sector unless custodial sentences are imposed on those guilty of criminal wrongdoing, Chuka Umunna, shadow business secretary has said.

George Osborne's austerity plan came under attack today from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it downgraded the outlook for UK growth by more than any other advanced economy.

UK stock markets and their European counterparts continued to sell-off today as ongoing worries about global growth and a sharp fall in the US overnight weighed on sentiment.

UK consumer prices index (CPI) inflation remained unchanged at 2.8% in the year to March, after a slight rise during February.

Chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Andrew Bailey, has said it is "more than odd" that the top bosses in control of failed banks have avoided formal charges.

The US' three major equity markets dropped overnight after a bomb blast at the Boston Marathon shook markets and weak data from China continued to weigh on stocks.

Weaker than expected economic data from China has caused a sell-off in risk assets, especially commodities.

The European deleveraging process is five years behind that seen in the US and may obstruct a further rise in equity markets, according to Invesco Perpetual's Neil Woodford.