Economics / Markets

The US federal reserve could pump up to $1trn of extra QE into the economy to battle unemployment and encourage growth.

The US economy grew at a 2% annual rate in the third quarter, faster than in the previous three months.

Germany has agreed to give the EU's €440bn (£383bn) bail-out fund permanent status rather than letting it expire in 2013 as planned.

A poor session in Asia this morning and unconvincing display on Wall Street overnight weighed on the FTSE 100 as it opened four points down at 5,673.

The FTSE advanced in early trading on Thursday following two days of losses as Shell posted bumper Q3 profits.

The deputy governor of the Bank of England, Charles Bean, has admitted that the recession "highlighted shortcomings" in the Bank's economic forecasting models.

Pimco's Bill Gross, manager of the world's largest bond fund, says quantitative easing has called an end to the 30-year bull market in bonds and labels current monetary policy as a ‘Ponzi scheme'.

Shares pulled back further on Wednesday following a blow for miners and lacklustre performances on Wall Street and in Asia.

The FTSE is down over a percentage point in afternoon trading with better-than-expected growth figures failing to lift investors as concerns over the banking sector weigh on sentiment.

VIDEO SPECIAL: WARD ON QE