UK

Yields on UK government debt were climbing early this morning following Moody's decision to downgrade the UK's credit rating to Aa1, but equity investors shrugged off the news to send markets higher.

Moody's decision to strip the UK of its AAA credit rating on Friday night will have a further negative impact on sterling and could hit gilts too, analysts have suggested.

Moody's has stripped the UK of its AAA credit rating on fears over rising government debt and years of slow economic growth ahead.

The FTSE 100 has moved back above 6,300 as investors shrug off a dismal Thursday to end the week on a more positive note.

The price of gold may have struggled recently but a peak price level remains an "unthinkable" development, according to Angelos Damaskos, CEO at Sector Investment Managers.

CONTRARIAN

Standard Life Investments' Thomas Moore, manager of the £105m UK Equity Income Unconstrained fund, has sold out of UK pharmaceuticals amid fears the sector faces further earnings downgrades this year.

Firms argues split-cap crisis was caused by poor management not by structure of zero dividend preference shares.

The UK will avoid falling into a 'triple-dip' recession but external forces still pose a danger to the economy, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

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