Economics / Markets

The Federal Reserve plans to reinvest principal payments on its mortgage holdings into long-dated treasuries in an effort to revive the stuttering US economic recovery.

Mike Riddell, member of the M&G bond team, explains why the UK is now starting to face a slowdown.

US stocks opened sharply lower today as investors await a crucial statement from the Federal Reserve which could signal further quantitative easing measures.

Prime Minister David Cameron has outlined the extent of the cuts to be revealed in the Government's October Spending Review.

Forecasts used by the Bank of England to set interest rates are biased and contain little useful information, according to a Financial Times audit.

Prudential is expected to palm off part of the cost of its aborted £24bn bid for Asian rival AIA on to the UK taxpayer.

The FTSE 100 opened strongly at the start of the week, boosted by Friday's late rally on Wall Street and positive corporate news.

UK industrial output declined 0.5% between May and June, driven by a hefty fall in oil and gas production, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The FTSE 100 has fallen sharply this afternoon on news 131,000 jobs were shed in the US last month.

Markets are braced for more gloomy news on the western economies with US data expected to confirm a poor outlook for jobs and shaky confidence.