Economics / Markets

The Bank of England has revealed it is in talks with the People's Bank of China about agreeing a currency swap deal to help ensure greater financial stability.

The FTSE 100 tumbled nearly 2% in morning trading after the US Federal Reserve spooked markets yesterday by warning it may slow its asset purchase programme.

The pound has moved towards a year low yesterday against the dollar, its recent weakness having been exacerbated by the revelation Bank of England (BoE) governor Sir Mervyn King voted for further stimulus this month.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating whether insider trading took place in Heinz shares ahead of the food giant's historic deal with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Sir Mervyn King voted to increase quantitative easing (QE) by a further £25bn at February's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, latest minutes reveal.

The UK's blue chip index has climbed to a five-year high above 6,400, surpassing the peak of 6,376 seen before the financial crisis.

Pressure is mounting on the boss of Lloyds to give up his bonus after the bank was rocked by yet another hit relating to a mis-selling scandal.

FIVE THINGS

A group of MPs has criticised government attempts to stimulate the economy, including quantitative easing, for being "expensive experiments".

Lord Myners, the former City Minister, has condemned lobbying of the government by the financial services industry, which has made fund managers rich at the expense of companies.