Markets

Europe's leading equity markets took a beating yesterday as elections in Italy resulted in political deadlock.

The On-Line Partnership Group, which owns the IN Partnership and Whitechurch networks, has signed a strategic partnership with London & Capital (L&C), making the discretionary's range of managed portfolios available to its 500 advisers.

Henderson Global Investors saw underlying profits fall 8% last year as it struggled in a challenging sales environment and moved to streamline its business.

The Bank of England's deputy governor Paul Tucker has raised the prospect of introducing negative interest rates to boost lending and support the UK economy.

The UK should still be a AAA credit by current definitions as the risk of a default is virtually non-existent, Henderson's Simon Ward has said.

Moody's has cut its rating on the guaranteed debt of Barclays and Lloyds following the downgrade of the UK's credit rating last week.

Royal London Asset Management's Ivor Pether will take over management of the £405m RLAM UK Equity fund following the departure of the firm's head of equities, Jane Coffey.

Yields on UK government debt were climbing early this morning following Moody's decision to downgrade the UK's credit rating to Aa1, but equity investors shrugged off the news to send markets higher.

Moody's decision to strip the UK of its AAA credit rating on Friday night will have a further negative impact on sterling and could hit gilts too, analysts have suggested.

Moody's has stripped the UK of its AAA credit rating on fears over rising government debt and years of slow economic growth ahead.