UK

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group reported a small £9m net profit over the first half of the year, after recording a £1.14bn pre-tax profit in the six-month period.

BP's shares rose 2.36% to 425.45p at 3.15pm following the news almost three-quarters of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been cleaned-up or broken down by natural forces.

The Lloyds Banking Group has returned to profitability after posting a £1.6bn before tax profit in the first half of the year.

Nationalised lender Northern Rock has returned to profit in the first half of the year.

Former New Star fund manager Patrick Evershed can proceed with a lawsuit over claims he was bullied by company founder John Duffield, a London court said.

Cazenove has promoted Rob Thorpe to the newly-created head of UK retail position.

Simon Murphy on why investors should run with the bulls

Spanish banking giant Santander is planning to list its UK operations on the London Stock Exchange as soon as this autumn in a deal worth an estimated £3bn.

Investors should switch out of equity income offerings from Axa's George Luckraft and Jupiter's Tony Nutt following underperformance, according to Principal Investment Management.

The UK is still in danger of losing its prized AAA rating despite the fiscal tightening measures unveiled by the new coalition Government last month, Standard & Poor's says.