US

US FISCAL CLIFF

UBS Asset Management is to close its US 130/30 Equity fund, as well its Asian Equity fund, due to the uneconomical size of both portfolios.

London's FTSE 100 had sold off around 0.6% just before US GDP figures were released on Friday, with mining stocks bearing the brunt of the sell off.

The US economy grew by 2% in the third quarter of 2012, beating forecasts despite ongoing fears the US elections and the impending fiscal cliff are putting businesses off from spending heavily.

Apple, the world's largest company, revealed profits in the fourth quarter missed analysts' estimates, prompting a share price drop of 1.5% in after-hours trading.

The US government has postponed the start date of incoming tax regime FATCA to give businesses more time to comply with the rules.

Markets across the US and Asia closed sharply lower overnight as investors switched to risk-off mode en masse.

Facebook, the social networking giant, saw its shares jump 14% after the US market closed yesterday following an update from the group which showed a major revenue boost from mobile ads.

Investors across Europe and the US are in flight-mode this afternoon, with US markets opening sharply lower as the weak corporate earnings season continues to plague sentiment.

A new paper, 'Buffett's Alpha' claims to have identified the main factors that have driven Warren Buffett's extraordinary record in investment.