UK

Bank shares have deepened losses after the downgrade of 12 UK financial institutions by Moody's, pushing the FTSE 100 into negative territory.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has described the current financial crisis as the "most serious" the UK has seen for at least 80 years.

Prime minister David Cameron has appealed for Britain to emulate the optimism seen in emerging economies such as China and India instead of being overwhelmed by the onslaught of negative data.

UK business managers are preparing for a double-dip recession and also warn the private sector will fail to replace jobs lost to public sector cutbacks.

Economists have predicted the MPC will leave the UK's base rate at 0.5% this week, despite mounting speculation it may slash it to 0.25%.

Leading UK asset managers have warned against the implementation of a new tax, which could be imposed Europe-wide on all financial transactions.

ON UK INCOME

ON UK GROWTH

Tobacco group reports a 2% increase in net revenues as UK managers concur Imperial Tobacco is a key holding in their portfolios.

ON UK INCOME