UK - Rumours are escalating in the City that fund manager Gartmore could be ripe for a takeover approach, as its share price languishes more than £1 below its December 2009 flotation price.

US - The US Senate has approved the largest overhaul of financial regulation since the Great Depression, aimed at averting a repeat of the recent credit crisis.

US - Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs will pay a record US$550m fine to settle the SEC's fraud probe into mortgage-backed securities.

Aegon has named former ABN Amro Asset Management chief and ex-Artemis director Sarah Russell as the new chief executive of its asset management business.

The UK's planned gilt sales in 2010/11 have been revised down by £20.2bn to £165bn due to the Government's debt reduction programme outlined in the Budget.

The credit market is pricing in a 36% chance BP will default within five years as the oil giant deals with the fallout from the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Jupiter's IPO has been more than 2.5 times oversubscribed after a strong take-up from both institutional and retail investors.

US - US fraudster Bernie Madoff has mocked the investors he swindled out of US$65bn, reportedly saying he "carried them" for 20 years.

Jupiter has set the price range of its IPO at between 150p and 210p per share, valuing the asset manager at £718m to £868m.

Updated 10.52am: The FTSE is falling in mid-morning trade after Chancellor George Osborne unveiled details of the coalition government's £6.2bn spending cuts.