Markets

Germany's GDP slumped by the most in four years in Q4 2012, with French, Italian and Japanese growth also contracting more than expected on the quarter.

Legg Mason has appointed Joseph Sullivan president and permanent chief executive, after he served four months as interim chief executive.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee will tolerate missing the inflation target for the next two years in order to support the UK recovery, said Bank governor Mervyn King.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has uncovered evidence of incompetency among investment advisers at a number of banks and building societies - resulting in unsuitable advice in some cases - following a mystery shopping exercise.

Attempts by the world's seven major economies to calm the growing tensions over exchange rates triggered by the weakening yen have failed, as currency markets suffered a second day of volatility.

Barclays shares rose almost 9% on Tuesday and ended the day up more than 7%, buoyed by news of a £1.7bn cost-cutting plan, announced in its strategic review.

The UK will avoid falling into a 'triple-dip' recession but external forces still pose a danger to the economy, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The managers of the Ruffer investment trust fear the portfolio's strong performance in January may be a sign assets are correlated and will all plummet at the same time in a down market.

Psigma Investment Management has teamed up with TwentyFour Asset Management to seed a new fund for its clients - the TwentyFour Asset Backed Income fund.

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