UK

The average stock in the UK's FTSE 250 index delivered 222% to investors over a turbulent ten years to 2012.

BlackRock has broken its silence over the proposed merger of commodities giant Glencore and miner Xstrata, saying it will back the deal.

Facebook will permanently stop trading of its stock on private secondary markets at the end of this week ahead of its initial public offering in May, the FT reports.

Neil Woodford's love of pharmaceutical companies has been well publicised over the past few years, but the income investor has been particularly excited about the prospects of a company using pieces of pig to regrow human tissue.

They have had a rocky ride, but ultimately investors with nerves of steel who backed the UK's biggest commodity stocks over the last ten years would have been rewarded for their patience.

John Clougherty, chief executive of Aviva Investors' UK funds business, has left the group.

Gary Shaughnessy, head of Fidelity's retail business, is leaving the firm.

Bramdean's Nicola Horlick is launching a fund to raise as much as £2m for film development projects.

MAM Funds has returned to the dividend register for the first time in four years, as it reported a £3.5m rise in cash on its balance sheet during 2011.

THE BIG QUESTION