LOSSES

UK banking shares dragged the FTSE 100 lower this morning as sentiment struggled following J.P. Morgan's revelation that it lost $2bn in a trade which went awry.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has resisted calls for further quantitative easing after leaving its programme of stimulus unchanged, with interest rates also kept on hold.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has ruled against an adviser who recommended clients invest in cells of the Stirling Mortimer fund range.

Spain has taken a 45% stake in Bankia, the country's third largest bank, following another day of sharp falls in the country's equity markets and gains in its bond yields.

Yields on UK government debt were trading at an all-time low on Wednesday amid fresh panic in Europe, which sent equity markets reeling.

M&G Investments, the country's largest asset manager, saw its net inflows rise 5% to nearly £1.8bn in Q1, as parent company Prudential also reported a jump in sales.

The gold spot price fell to a four-month low of $1,596 on Tuesday after the dollar strengthened significantly against the euro and other leading currencies.

Peter Smith, head of investment policy at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is leaving the regulator.

Société Générale strategist Albert Edwards has warned investors who own Australian government debt they face the 'mother of all hard landings' if China's economy slows down as they expect.