Economics / Markets

European markets have opened very strongly this morning with the DJ Euro Stoxx 600 up 1% and the FTSE All-Share up 1.3%.

Royal Bank of Scotland could be made to sell more than 300 branches by the European Commission as a penalty for receiving billions of pounds of state aid.

UK inflation has fallen to its lowest level in five years, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The multibillion-pound self-certification mortgage industry, in which customers are not required to provide proof of income, is set to be banned by the financial regulator.

Stock markets in the US and Europe rose today with fresh optimism on company profits at the start of the earnings season.

RBS shareholders are considering a £9bn legal claim as shares in the troubled bank plunge.

The FTSE 100 benchmark index shot to its highest level since the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy last year.

The Dow Jones benchmark index in the US looked set to cap a week of gains, moving up 25.5 points to 9,812.34.

The UK has been hit so hard by the recession it now sits below developing countries Nigeria and Panama in the financial stability rankings, says a report by the World Economic Forum today.

The OECD says its leading indicators for August 2009 continue to point to recovery in all major economies including the UK.