UK

Aegon's asset management capabilities in the UK has officially been re-branded as Kames Capital today.

A lawyer representing about 2,700 investors in the suspended Arch cru funds said today's letter from Capita detailing possible offers they could receive only created "more confusion not clarity".

Business secretary Vince Cable said UK banking reforms will go ahead despite criticism from industry leaders the plans threaten the economic recovery.

The government's plans to ringfence UK banks' retail businesses are 'barking mad' and could threaten the fragile economic recovery, the chief of a leading British business association has said.

Cazenove's Paul Marriage said the short positions in his Absolute UK Dynamic fund have helped limit the effects of the August sell-off but warned September could be "similarly tough".

Legg Mason is expanding its retail range for UK investors with the launch of a US equity income fund, previously only available to US investors and run by New York-based subsidiary ClearBridge Advisors.

ON UK INCOME

The immediate future of the UK economy will not be dependant on a further round of quantitative easing (QE), a member of the Bank of England's rate setting body said yesterday.

Former Invesco gilt specialist Jack Loudoun has joined Deutsche Asset Management's London-based fixed income team.

Dramatic stock market movements and disappointing economic data have caused leading economists to downgrade their growth forecasts, but they are still not predicting a recession, the FT reports.