Markets

Weaknesses in the Bank of England's forecasting process have been highlighted in a review by an ex-Federal Reserve official.

Hopes that Aberdeen Asset Management could announce a "significant" dividend hike in its forthcoming annual results have sent the group to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard.

UK think-tank NIESR has revised down its growth forecast for the UK next year, despite a strong third quarter which has seen the economy emerge from recession.

Jupiter's Tony Nutt has opened a new position in BT Group in his £37m split-cap Dividend & Growth trust.

Pension and severance payments totalling £412,000 handed to the former chief executive of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) have been ruled "irregular" by the National Audit Office (NAO).

Royal Bank of Scotland has posted a pre-tax loss of £1.2bn in the third quarter, as it sets aside a further £400m to cover PPI mis-selling claims.

US stock markets powered ahead after the opening bell as private sector jobs data released today painted a much brighter picture than analysts had expected.

PRESSURE POINT

The Swiss central bank "aggressively diversified" into UK gilts in the third quarter, providing a boost to sterling, but the end of this process could be damaging to the currency, according to analysts at Nomura.

Liontrust is to launch an offshore version of its popular Special Situations unit trust early next month.