Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported operating profits of £713m in the first three months of the year, rebounding from a loss of £1.35bn for the same period last year.

A hung parliament will have a detrimental impact on the progress of the RDR and stall the UK's economic recovery, say advisers.

UK banks risk having their credit ratings downgraded because of the poor state of the country's public finances, warns ratings agency Moody's.

The FTSE has plunged in afternoon trading and the euro slumped to a 14-month low against the dollar on fears Greece's financial troubles will spill over into neighbouring states.

Goldman Sachs was reported last night to be considering settlement talks with the US regulators over the fraud charges brought against it last month, reports The Times.

Greece may have to temporarily leave the euro currency bloc in order to shore up its finances, a member of Germany's junior coalition party said today.

Greece has sent a formal request for its 45bn euro EU-IMF debt rescue package to be activated as its financial predicament worsens.

The Cautious Managed sector continues to dominate inflows on Cofunds, accounting for nearly a third of net sales in Q1, with property also prominent.

The FTSE has made modest gains in early trading, boosted by the buoyant performance of US stocks yesterday and strong economic data from China.

The cost of borrowing in Greece's rescue package is too high and the country still risks falling into a "debt spiral", says George Soros.