UK

ON BONDS

EQUITIES

Gilt yields have fallen to another record low as investors' appetite for UK debt remains strong amid eurozone woes.

St James's Place (SJP) welcomed £5.2bn worth of new single investments in 2011 as the wealth manager boosted total funds under management to £28.5bn, up 6% over the year.

The UK may have to fork out £17.5bn to plug a funding shortfall at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the organisation warned yesterday it needed additional funds to tackle the eurozone crisis.

UK unemployment rose by 118,000 in the three months to November to 2.69 million, the highest level since 1996.

Fears we are facing a period of prolonged inflation are "unfounded", said Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Adam Posen, speaking on a day when UK inflation dropped sharply.

The UK and the US could be dragged into a eurozone-style sovereign debt crisis if they waver on austerity plans, said Invesco's John Greenwood.

Standard Life Investments' Harry Nimmo is set to run a significantly overweight position in the UK when his Global Smaller Companies fund launches on 18 January.

The yield on gilts tumbled near to record lows this morning as investors piled into any sovereigns which have retained their AAA-status after widespread EU downgrades.