Economics / Markets

London's top stocks have given up some of yesterday's triple-digit gains in early trading, with the FTSE 100 down 0.72%.

HSBC reported profits doubled to £7bn for the first half of the year, with gains in every region apart from North America.

UPDATE: The FTSE has bounced back from heavy losses earlier this afternoon on the back of weak GDP figures from the US.

The FTSE was down in early trading at 5311.91, representing a drop of 2.04 points (0.04%), ahead of US GDP data.

The prospect of a double-dip recession in Britain is increasing with every month as consumer confidence dwindles to recession levels, a long-running study shows.

Metro Bank, the first high street bank to launch in the UK for a century, opens its doors today but none of its products have made it onto best buy tables.

Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mervyn King has issued a stark warning to MPs "not to read too much" into recent strong GDP figures.

George Osborne's emergency Budget has increased the chances of the British economy sinking into a second recession next year, a respected think tank says.

Banks are once again leading the FTSE 100 gains in early trading, after a number of stocks soared upwards of 10% yesterday on the relaxing of Basel III rules.

The Bank of England has made a £5.5bn full-year loss on the assets bought under its quantitative easing (QE) programme to prop up the battered UK economy.