Vanessa Donegan has taken on the newly created role of head of Asia and global emerging markets at Threadneedle as Julian Thompson, the head of global emerging market equities, leaves the group.

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras has raised $70bn (£45bn) yesterday in the world's largest ever share offer.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has made a U-turn from his previous stance as an "uber bull", saying he now thinks the US is "still in a recession".

Ireland's GDP contracted 1.2% in the second quarter and confounded analysts' expectations of 0.5% growth, according to an initial estimate released today.

UK public borrowing rose to a record high in August, at £15.9bn, dwarfing the £12.51bn economists had predicted.

The Republic of Ireland saw its €1.5bn (£1.3bn) bond issue snapped up at auction today, pointing to investor confidence in the strength of the economy.

Barclays Wealth has developed a risk-graded fund range as part of a push into the intermediary market.

Investec is planning to securitise £250m worth of ‘non-standard' mortgages, including self-certified and subprime home loans in the UK.

The FTSE 100 climbed 0.8% or 44 points to 5,584 this morning following yesterday's slide on the back of disappointing retail sales figures.

The pound dropped this morning on the news UK retail sales fell by 0.5% in August, surprising economists who had expected a 0.3% rise.