Last week the yield on UK gilts dropped below US treasuries as the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme continued to impact the market.

Brussels is proposing new rules to prevent the manipulation of LIBOR as part of a crackdown in the wake of the rate-fixing scandal.

Barclays boss Bob Diamond has resigned from the bank with immediate effect, just one day ahead of a parliamentary hearing into his conduct following the LIBOR scandal.

The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter, the final official reading has confirmed.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted five to four to maintain quantitative easing at £325bn this month, overruling the governor and three colleagues who called for further expansion.

The current crisis in Spain will result in Spanish bank bondholders taking severe haircuts, after a similar scenario in Ireland last year, Henderson Global Investors says.

The Bank of England's monetary policy committee has resisted calls for further quantitative easing and has left its programme of stimulus unchanged, while holding rates.

Sir Nigel Rudd, the former Citigroup banker, is in the running to become the next chairman of Prudential.

Barclays has bowed to pressure from shareholders before its annual general meeting by putting a new clause into boss Bob Diamond's bonus package which could cut his payout in half.

The UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) climbed in March as higher food and clothing prices pushed inflation up to 3.5%.