S&P

Shares in US investment banks fell sharply yesterday as a number of Standard & Poor's (S&P) credit downgrades sparked fears of fresh write-downs and further losses in second quarter trading.

The popularity of asset allocation funds, such as those in the Cautious, Balanced and Active Managed sectors, rose significantly last year during turbulent times for the markets, S&P says.

Bond investors breathed sigh of relief today as insurer MBIA retained its top credit rating.

Fund management firm Ashburton is celebrating after its American Equity fund was awarded an A-rating by Standard & Poor's.

A £1.5bn bail out of its hedge fund by Goldman Sachs' and huge losses incurred by hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns should not detract from overall strong performance in fund of hedge funds, says S&P.

Standard & Poor's has announced it will start rating new fund launches using qualitative criteria.

A new Absolute Return sector has been launched by cru Investment Management and Trustnet in defiance of the IMA.

Rising oil prices on cold weather has helped the FTSE up about 6 points to 6,234 this morning.

Fidelity FundsNetwork has added 'traffic light-style' enhancements to its PortfolioPlanner tool, to help IFAs stay-up-to-date about potential risks to a client's asset allocation.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has given Standard Life Assurance Ltd a long-term ‘A' credit rating, and its parent plc a ‘BBB+' rating.