The FTSE 100 index rose by 0.7% to 5063.7 points in early trading led by Royal Bank of Scotland, which edged closer to significant asset sales.

Miners are among the early fallers on the FTSE as European markets tumble following a ban on naked short-selling in Germany.

The head of Schroders' European equities team and manager of two of funds, Gary Clarke, has left the firm to join JP Morgan, Investment Week understands.

Skandia UK reported a 150% rise in net inflows in Q1 compared to last year, which it attributes to the popularity of its platform and Spectrum fund range.

Cazenove Capital Management has appointed George Adam from Aegon Asset Management as a UK discretionary sales manager for the north of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The FTSE was flat in early trading this morning at 5345.24 points as Europe's markets regained some composure after going into temporary freefall over the past two days.

The FTSE was off 0.83% at 5365.96 points this morning despite the largest miners regaining some of the ground they lost yesterday.

The FSA is meeting senior officials from Goldman Sachs today over the bank's involvement in structuring complex debt intruments during the financial crisis.

This year's ISA season was the strongest since 2002 with Q1 the best ever for net retail sales, according to IMA figures.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.16% to 5,774.29 in early trading, despite British Airways shares rising this morning.