Italy has had its sovereign debt rating cut by ratings agency Standard & Poor's as the European debt crisis rumbles on.

The FTSE 100 sold off sharply in early trading alongside indices across Europe as fears over a break-up of the region swept across markets once again.

Swiss banking giant UBS has raised its estimate of the losses allegedly caused by rogue trader Kweku Adoboli to $2.3bn (£1.5bn).

Inflation climbed marginally in August as expected, driven up by higher utility bills.

Stocks in the US and Asia rallied overnight after Italy turned to China for help with its debt crisis.

J.P. Morgan's Private Equity limited has completed the purchase of a range of assets held by the former Arch cru funds.

Banks led markets sharply lower in early trading after a long-awaited report from Sir John Vickers and the Independent Commission on Banking proposed a radical shake-up of the sector.

Platform giant Cofunds has asked fund groups to commit to developing commission-free share classes by November as it moves to align itself with RDR.

Average bonuses for directors of FTSE 350 companies soared by 187% since 2002, despite companies' share prices failing to follow suit, a new report has revealed.

First State is to soft-close Martin Lau's Greater China Growth fund as well as four other emerging markets offerings.