QE

EMERGING MARKETS

Former Chancellor Alistair Darling has warned Europe and its plethora of problems continues to pose the greatest threat to the UK unless growth returns.

Hedge fund manager John Paulson's gold fund has posted its third successive double-digit monthly loss and now stands down 65% this year, according to reports.

The Bank of England has said market expectations of future rate rises are "not warranted", sparking a drop in sterling and a 50 point jump in the FTSE 100.

The heavy sell-off in the US treasury market over the past two months could force the Fed to postpone its plans to begin reducing its asset purchase programme, according to Henderson's John Pattullo.

Leading strategic bond fund managers have cut their aggressive shorts on US treasuries, on the expectation the Federal Reserve may postpone plans to scale down QE if growth and inflation continue to undershoot.

US MARKETS

The price of gold has continued its decline, falling below the $1,200 mark on Thursday for the first time since August 2010.

A leading member of the US Federal Reserve has tried to calm markets by stressing plans to start tapering its QE programme depend on the economy recovering.

Gold is likely to suffer from further sell-offs in the short to medium term as investors remain focused on an end to quantitative easing, Steve Russell, investment director at Ruffer, has said.