US

The boss of a futures brokerage has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $100m from 24,000 customers in the US state of Iowa.

Experts have questioned how effective the latest round of quantitative easing (QE) in the US will be, with the chances of success "finely balanced".

Shares across the globe fell overnight as renewed fears about Germany's likelihood of approving rescue plans plagued investors once again.

Apple shares hit a new record of almost $681 a share in US trading overnight as investors continued to digest the fallout from a $1bn patent lawsuit.

The spot price of gold climbed by over 1% to $1,655 an ounce as the Federal Reserve said it is likely to ease monetary policy soon unless there is a sharp change in economic data.

Victims of Bernie Madoff's huge Ponzi scheme have been accused of greed over their demand for interest to be paid on their compensation.

US Federal authorities are reportedly investigating RBS over possible dealings with Iran, the latest case of a UK bank coming under scrutiny from US regulators.

Standard Chartered has agreed to pay a $340m (£217m) fine to US regulators after it was accused of trying to hide up to $250bn of transactions with Iran.

Pershing has begun hosting its practice management programme in the UK for the first time, giving firms an insight into regulation, buying, selling and merging businesses, technology and changing client demands.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned that most crowdfunding schemes should only be targeted at sophisticated investors, amid concerns about their risk and complexity.