Economics / Markets

Speculation about Middle East investment in UK property firms has boosted the FTSE, which hit a ten month closing high yesterday.

US stocks fell in early trading today after unnerving sales figures from retailers.

The French and German economies are no longer in ‘official' recession after experiencing growth in Q2, new figures suggest.

The FTSE soared in early trading thanks in part to better-than-expected results from insurance giant Prudential.

The Dow Jones is seeing upward movement as investors await the Fed's interest rate decision due later today.

The UK faces a slow recovery from recession as the financial crisis continues to impact on public and private spending, according to the Bank of England.

Lloyds' decision to sell Insight Investment to the Bank of New York Mellon for £235m and bring the rest of its asset management business under Swip saw its share price fall 0.3% to 90.72p in early trading today.

The FTSE 100 has moved ahead in early trading this morning, boosted by news Friends Provident has agreed a merger with Clive Cowdery's Resolution consolidation vehicle.

In the US, the largest stocks began a retreat after weeks of gains with the benchmark Dow Jones down 19.34 points to 9,350.73 in early exchanges.

The FTSE 100 has fallen sharply in opening exchanges following reports Lloyds may tap shareholders for funds to reduce the cost of participating in the Government's toxic asset scheme.