Economics / Markets

The Dow Jones shrugged off surprisingly weak US manufacturing data today to sneak ahead after a choppy start.

In London, share prices moved upwards as markets opened this morning, though the index is volatile following signs of economic weakness in the US.

Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, says RBS and HBOS were within hours of a liquidity shortfall on 6 October 2008, and the day after, as the country's financial system came to the brink of collapse.

The US dollar has fallen to a one-year low against the euro ahead of the G20 and Federal Reserve meetings.

Wall Street shares rose slightly ahead of the Fed's latest interest rate decision, with investors hoping for clues on how the Fed will control inflation.

Regulators around the world will be handed new powers to limit the share of profits that banks can spend on bonuses under a compromise deal to be tabled in Pittsburgh this week at the G20 meeting of leaders of the largest economies.

London trading got off to a positive start this morning after the Dow Jones narrowed a large deficit over night.

US shares dropped almost 1% in early trading as a fall in commodities prices drags on the benchmark Dow Jones.

Top UK stocks drifted lower in a quiet start to the session as investors locked in gains after the FTSE reached a new 12-month high before the weekend.

Royal Bank of Scotland is to consider a £3bn-£4bn share issue to reduce the stake it would hand to the government for joining its toxic assets insurance scheme and has approached its biggest investors about the idea, the FT reports.