Earnings at Aegon UK declined in the second quarter as the insurer continues to pay millions in customer redress following administrative problems at Scottish Equitable.

The FTSE 100 dipped below the 5,000 mark this morning after a short-lived rally at the start of trading.

Prudential saw a first-half boost in sales thanks largely to a 20% jump in corporate pensions new business, but inflows at the group's investment business fell sharply.

US - A vote on a Republican bill to raise the US's debt ceiling and prevent it from defaulting for the first time has been delayed.

UK/AUSTRALIA - Investment management boutique J O Hambro Capital Management is to be acquired by Australian fund manager BT Investment Management (BTIM) in a £209m ($337m) deal.

IRELAND - Ratings agency Moody's has cut the Republic of Ireland's debt rating to junk status.

Buyout vehicle Resolution expects to have £500m of excess cash to return to shareholders over the next 12 months after completing its work examining the cash and capital position of Friends Life, its new proposition formed from the merger of Friends Provident...

UK - Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the government will implement a single-tier state pension.

The UK economy will grow by 1.7% this year, significantly below previous estimates, George Osborne announced today.

EUROPE/JAPAN - Major European indices suffered triple-digit losses on Tuesday after a third explosion at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant raised fresh radiation fears and sparked a 1,000-point plunge on the Nikkei 225.