Federal Reserve

Gold has climbed to its highest level in more than five months as speculation the next round of QE in the US is just weeks away pushed the precious metal higher.

QE3

UK shares were making tentative moves higher in mid-morning trading, ahead of the Jackson Hole speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke later today, with other markets also rising.

PIMCO's Bill Gross said the US economy needs to grow by 3% and upwards for several quarters in order to avoid another round of QE.

Barings' Khiem Do has said the chances of the Federal Reserve carrying out QE3 are remote, with economic indicators in the US still "reasonably strong" and by no means justifying further action.

The spot price of gold climbed by over 1% to $1,655 an ounce as the Federal Reserve said it is likely to ease monetary policy soon unless there is a sharp change in economic data.

US Federal authorities are reportedly investigating RBS over possible dealings with Iran, the latest case of a UK bank coming under scrutiny from US regulators.

Standard Chartered could face up to $700m in fines if found guilty of allegations it helped Iranian clients conduct money laundering.

US

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, branded LIBOR "structurally flawed" in his first remarks since Barclays was fined £290m for attempting to rig the inter-bank lending rate.