Discretionary fund manager (DFM) Parmenion said it has witnessed a surge in new funds under management since the start of the year due to increased appetite among advisers to review their investment propositions.

Manufacturing has begun to contract in the US and China for the first time since the Lehman crisis, raising fears of a synchronized downturn in the world's two largest economies.

Britain's top companies had a torrid 2012 as nearly a third of their profits were wiped out while revenue growth was sluggish at best, a new report has revealed, and profits would need to bounce back by 40% to justify the recent market surge.

One worker in five is putting nothing aside for retirement, a report warns. A further third of Britons are not saving enough to avoid a dramatic fall in living standards in old age.

Fidelity FundsNetwork has appointed Personal Finance Society (PFS) director Jon Everill head of advisory services.

ERRORS

A group of 16 MPs has pledged to support investors in failed scheme Arck in their fight to get redress from Yorkshire Bank.

Positive Solutions raised concerns with three clients about the advice to invest in Harlequin Property in 2010 after deeming the Caribbean property scheme to be too risky for a pension.

GOOD GOLD

Households and businesses should be told that borrowing costs will remain at rock-bottom levels until the economy is motoring again, the International Monetary Fund has said.