US

Neptune Investment Management has closed four funds including three in its Max Alpha product range.

Global markets soared on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve inadvertently released minutes from its latest policy meeting five hours earlier than planned.

The FTSE 100 has shed almost 2% after US employment numbers for March came in well below expectations.

Global equity markets across the board have posted a strong start to the year, but there have been some clear winners in a quarter which saw many markets rise to multi-year or record highs.

The largest equity markets in the US have reached new record highs after an uptick in manufacturing data boosted investor sentiment.

Japanese shares have slumped in this morning's trading as equity markets struggle to consolidate gains seen in the first quarter of 2013.

Q4 2012 US GDP has been revised up from 0.1% to 0.4%, though the figure remains the lowest level of quarterly growth seen since Q1 2011.

The pool of government bonds rated AAA by the three main rating agencies has shrunk by more than 60% since the financial crisis, according to new analysis.

Giles Hargreave has been boosting his stakes in online gaming companies, to capitalise on a relaxation of legal restrictions on internet gambling in the United States.

Société Générale strategist Albert Edwards has urged investors to stick with their core government bond holdings in the face of a threat to US profit margins which could hit equity markets.