Economics / Markets

European sovereign debt contagion, lacklustre growth in developed economies and inflation in the East are all weakening investor sentiment. But what is the real threat to your clients' investment portfolios?

Shares in RBS and Lloyds fell today as Moody's downgraded the senior debt and deposit ratings of 12 UK financial institutions, and said it expects the government will allow some smaller institutions to fail.

Billionaire investor George Soros has lost his appeal to have a 2002 conviction for insider trading of Société Générale shares thrown out.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has described the current financial crisis as the "most serious" the UK has seen for at least 80 years.

The Bank of England's (BoE) second round of quantitative easing (QE) will be a "Titanic disaster" for pension schemes and members, Saga says.

Sterling and gilt yields have dived following the surprise announcement by the Bank of England it is increasing its quantitative easing programme by £75bn.

The FTSE 100 rose today after the Bank of England (BoE) voted to inject a further £75bn into the economy through quantitative easing (QE). Interest rates will remain the same, at 0.5%.

George Osborne is set to face tough questions today about the coalition government's economic strategy after the Bank of England expanded quantitative easing by £75bn, a move he has previously called "the last resort of desperate governments".

David Cameron said yesterday he is "sympathetic" to the financial services industry, which should not be cast as social "sinners".

Dire data from households and its impact on retailers, strike action talks, heads roll at UBS, and advice from the PM to Britain to reject "can't do sogginess" for the drive of China. Our round-up up of the nationals.