News

Adam Posen, the Bank of England policymaker, has predicted inflaton will fall to 1.5% by mid-2012 as the government's austerity drive and a weak economy will curb consumer spending.

Taxes will be increased on expensive houses, allowing the government to fulfil its longer-term promise to scrap the 50p top income tax rate, Nick Clegg has said.

Renewed fears over efforts to cool Japan's nuclear reactors have lead to a sluggish start to the week for European markets.

Punch Taverns' bondholders are seeking to halt the ailing firm from selling pubs in its estate and instead arrange a debt for equity swap.

Artemis' Jacob de Tusch-Lec has taken exposure to emerging markets from around 4% underweight to 4% overweight in his £27m Global Income fund since the beginning of the year following falls in share prices in the past six months.

AXA Investment Manager's Julian Thompson has cut exposure to financials by more than 4% in his £224m AXA Framlington Emerging Markets fund, based on concerns over growth in Turkey and valuations in Indonesia.

Strategic bond managers are adopting a defensive stance on their portfolios, cutting duration and selling down risk assets on fears over the global economy.

Aberdeen's multi-manager team has restructured its £95m Constellation fund into a portfolio of 20 equally-weighted best ideas, in a bid to differentiate it from the range's £66m Equity Managed fund.

Japanese investment trust discounts have drastically tightened, with investors confident the area's long-term growth prospects remain in place despite the earthquake's impact on share prices.

LGIM's Richard Hodges believes the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would be "lunatics" to raise interest rates in May as it will put the UK at risk of a double-dip recession.