News

Silvio Berlusconi's pledge to resign has failed to calm investor nervousness on Italian sovereign debt, with yields on 10-year bonds rising above the crucial 7% mark this morning.

The FTSE 100 dropped sharply mid-morning as investors fretted over the future of Italy following a spike in the country's bond yields to record levels.

The FSA has fined a Dubai-based private investor $9.62 (£6m) for manipulating the closing price of securities on the London Stock Exchange, in the largest fine imposed by the FSA on an individual.

Millionaires favour hedge fund manager Paul Singer, CEO of Elliott Management, as the manager they trust most with their cash, according to an investment club survey.

Shares in HSBC were down over 5% mid-morning after a trading update revealed underlying pre-tax profits fell from $4.6bn (£2.86bn) in Q3 2010 to $3bn for the same period this year.

The head of the IMF pleaded with China to support the eurozone as she warned the global economy is heading for a "lost decade".

Global markets received a much needed shot in the arm overnight as Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's resignation offer reassured investors an end to the country's problems may be in sight.

Friends Life has today announced the creation of Friends Life Investments (FLI), a new inhouse asset management business which will launch in the second half of 2012.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi faces renewed calls to resign after he failed to secure a parliamentary majority in a budget vote among MPs.

The Investment Management Association(IMA) has created new Short Term Money Market and Money Market sectors.