Markets

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has told the country's 50 leading payday lenders that they have 12 weeks to change their business practices or risk losing their licenses.

Sir Mervyn King, the outgoing Governor of the Bank of England, has written to a small business owner to offer his sympathies after the man's own bank refused him a loan.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average - one of the two most quoted indices in the US - has hit a record high above 14,200 points, surpassing its 2007 peak.

ONE TO WATCH

The UK's blue chip index is trading back near a five-year high this morning after a near 1% gain, as a bumper set of results lift shares.

Some of the largest funds in the IMA Global Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific ex Japan sectors have significantly increased exposure to Indian equities over 12 months to the end of January.

China's stock market has rebounded slightly on Tuesday after its worst day for 18 months, as the country's parliament begins its annual session.

Banking stocks continued to pull back the FTSE 100 on Monday, as the losses announced by Lloyds Banking Group last week continued to dog the group and its peers.

A leading equity manager warning on equity markets, the overhaul of the IMA's Absolute Return sector and Skandia's latest plans all made our top ten list of the most read stories last week.

Gold has suffered the longest run of monthly falls since 1997 after the metal declined for the fifth month in a row in February.