PIMCO, the world's top bond fund manager, gained about $50 million on an inflation-related trade that resulted in losses to the trade's counterparty Morgan Stanley... more
Spanish and Portuguese bond yields and the cost of insuring against defaults on these hits record highs, amid growing fears the Irish debt crisis will spill over into the rest of the eurozone... more
It was a long, slow and slightly scary climb up the side of Battersea Power Station in a builder's hoist on Monday afternoon as dusk fell and the wind blew... more
Mobile phone users are accustomed to rogue emails and text messages, claiming to be from their phone company, but actually containing nasty software from a nefarious third party. What they’re not so used to is getting nasty stuff from the phone company itself.. ... more
A drive to tackle soaring levels of stress in the workplace was launched amid research showing the credit crunch was putting extra pressure on staff... more
Southern Cross, one of the two largest care home operators in Britain announced that it has successfully negotiated a re-financing with its bankers. The news follows the other big player, Four Seasons, saying that it has been given an extension on its considerable loans until 22 January... more
Analysis: It appears increasingly likely that Barack Obama will win the US Presidential election - and if that does come to pass, who will be the winners and losers?... more
Just five years ago, American Insurance Group was worth more than the combined value of the eight largest insurance companies in Europe the likes of Axa, Allianz, Generali, Aviva and take your pick of four more. ... more
RSA Insurance provided one of the few beams of sunshine in a gloomy market, jumping 7.2p to 165.5p on rumours that another foreign predator, this time Germany’s Allianz, is sniffing around... more
Beleaguered German bank Dresdner is poised to split off its London investment banking arm Dresdner Kleinwort as the bank's supervisory board held a day-long meeting to decided its future... more
Lawyers, investors and regulators are meeting next month to devise a "lighttouch" regulation scheme for the rapidly growing market in litigation funding... more
Lloyds TSB is undoubtedly the least burnt of the big British banks. As the others scrabble for capital and/or make multi-billion-pound write-offs, it sails on in relative serenity... more
Sound check: German industrial metal band Rammstein literally play with fire in their live performances - and now they are about to unleash their singeing spectacle on London. Watch out for your eyebrows
Morning:
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