Economics / Markets

The UK will narrowly escape a triple-dip recession with economic growth for Q1 forecast to be 0.1%, acccording to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research(NIESR).

FIVE THINGS

Portugal's constitutional court has ruled against the country's planned austerity programme, putting its £78bn bailout package in jeopardy and creating a fresh crisis for the eurozone.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has warned of the continuing negative outlook for the UK economy, but reaffirmed its triple A rating for the country.

Business secretary Vince Cale is pushing forward on plans to ban three former HBOS directors from acting as company directors.

Prudential paid its chief executive officer Tidjane Thiam £7.8m last year despite him being reprimanded by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over a bid for AIA Group.

The Bank of England has opted not to implement further quantitative easing and held interest rates at 0.5% for the 49th consecutive month.

SOAPBOX

The senior executives of collapsed bank HBOS will come under fire from MPs on Thursday with the publication of a damning report on the failed bank.

The largest equity markets in the US have reached new record highs after an uptick in manufacturing data boosted investor sentiment.