bonds

The FTSE 100 Index has risen 19.7 points, or 0.4%, to 5642.5 so far this morning led by commodities companies BP, BHP Billiton and Anglo American as oil trades near $60 a barrel and gold prices increase.

With-profits funds have suffered extremely bad press since the stockmarket fell in March 2001 and consumers woke up to the fact the all-important ‘bonuses' they thought were guaranteed were actually just "on loan" while the good times rolled.

Consumer interest in the investment market gained a little more ground in May but the bulk of those retail sales were placed in bonds, according to the latest statistics from the Investment Management Association.

A ‘no' vote in France and the Netherlands on the European Constitution, along with Britain's shelving of a referendum, is likely to see European bond spreads widen in the medium term and weaken the euro on the back of political instability, say fund houses....

Fidelity FundsNetwork is launching a ten-week re-registration campaign offering cash incentives to persuade investment advisers to consolidate clients' legacy investments onto its platform.

Around £40bn of pension fund assets was shifted from equities to bonds between 2003 and 2004, losing a potential £6bn in returns, even though listed stocks offered the best investment returns, says the IMA's annual survey.

PENSIONS CAMPAIGNERS have labelled the government's plans for the Financial Assistance Scheme "no more than a first step" and suggest more needs to be done to compensate 85,000 victims of wound-up pension schemes, says the Daily Telegraph.

Officials at the insurance giant Legal and General have this afternoon expressed their sadness and condolences to the family of John Monckton, after he was fatally stabbed by intruders at his Chelsea home yesterday.

Poor current yields on 10-year US Treasuries relative to equities suggest strong demand relative to supply, yet this does not square with other data showing US investors are still bullish on equities.

Pressures to shift holdings away from UK equities to primarily corporate bonds will continue to drive strategic holding decisions amongst pension fund trustees and life assurance companies, according to Legal&General research.