Legg Mason's fixed income specialist subsidiary Western Asset Management has boosted its Asian fixed income team with four hires.

China bull Mark Mobius, manager of the £10bn Templeton Asian Growth fund, said the country need not fear a hard or soft landing as the authorities will step in once more to manage economic growth.

The Brazilian government has unveiled a R$133bn($66bn) stimulus plan designed to revive investment in the country's infrastructure and boost its flagging economy.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said the world's second largest economy can meet its growth target this year in an effort to allay concerns over recent economic data.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has appointed former of global equities William Low as director of equities following a restructure of its equities strategy.

Better-than-expected German and French GDP figures have failed to offset peripheral weakness as the eurozone contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter.

BNY Mellon is set to launch fully unbundled RDR-ready share classes across its entire UK fund range in September.

HSBC Global Asset Management has combined the funds within its multi-asset International Selection range with the bank's retail consumer World Selection offering.

Troy Asset Management's Sebastian Lyon has advised investors not to buy equities now, as stock valuations are stretched to 2007 levels.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto has suffered a 22% drop in profits for the first half of 2012 as weak commodity prices hit growth.