FTSE 100

Alan Custis and Alan Clifford have stuck with insurers amid early signs the sector is rebounding from the sharp falls sparked by Chancellor George Osborne's move to change the pensions landscape.

Vince Cable has attacked the salaries paid to the executives at the top of FTSE 100 companies and warned the government may intervene if boards do not rein in 'excessive' payouts.

While markets across Europe took a break over the long Easter holiday, Asian markets fluctuated between gains and losses, weighed down by expected weak Chinese manufacturing data to be released this week.

GlaxoSmithKline, the UK's largest pharmaceutical group, and rival AstraZeneca, saw shares jump sharply - with the latter up 10% - as a series of deals in the sector boosted prices.

Invesco Perpetual's Martin Walker tells Dan Jones why now is the time to stick with insurers, and how the rich pickings across the equity market have dried up somewhat.

Another day of losses yesterday has left the UK's main mid-cap index down almost 7% since the start of March - underperforming both large and small caps as warnings on valuations made at the start of the year ring true.

CONTRARIAN INVESTOR

The FTSE 100 was down nearly 1% this morning, while gold was in the ascendency, as investors sold down BP amid the latest developments in Ukraine.

The five best-selling UK All Companies funds saw more than £1bn in collective inflows in the first two months of the year, confirming UK equities are back at the top of investors' wishlists.

UK EQUITIES