European Commission

The European Commission may be about to kill two very big birds with one stone. The ‘stone' it is casting from Brussels is the snappily named Regulation on Short Selling and Certain Aspects of Credit Default Swaps.

CONTRARIAN INVESTOR

SHORT OF THE MARK

The European Commission has revised GDP forecasts for the UK slightly upwards, while the EU as a whole has also seen its figure boosted.

The City watchdog is considering whether Britain can claim exemption from European laws that will introduce the toughest pay restrictions in the world.

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

Newton's head of fixed income Paul Brain is concerned about the European Union's system for bailing out struggling countries.

The spread on Spanish government bonds over German bunds reached an all-time high today on continued economic concerns for the Mediterranean country.

The Czech Republic President has hit out at the eurozone bloc, saying the union has failed to bring meaningful economic benefits to its members.

Overseas investors piled into UK gilts in February and March, buying up £28bn worth of assets - more than the inflow for the whole of 2009, according to the Bank of England.