The pound has gained against the euro ahead of Wednesday's Bank of England inflation report, which is expected to show inflation has hit over 4%, increasing pressure on the Bank to cut rates.

HSBC Global Asset Management has launched two emerging market debt funds for its latest hire Guillermo Osses, head of GEM portfolio management.

Templeton's emerging markets expert Mark Mobius says he is still 'very positive' about Egypt's investment prospects, believing political turmoil will spur long-term reform.

The telecoms sector has turned a corner, with topline growth starting to emerge after 10 years of almost no growth, says Jacob de Tusch-Lec at Artemis.

Tracker funds have seen the highest net retail sales since 2000, totalling £1.2bn last year compared with £406m in 2009, according to the IMA.

Inflation will stay "stubbornly high" this year, pressuring the Bank of England to up interest rates from the second quarter, according to the Confederation of British Industry.

Gravis Capital Partners is launching a zero coupon bond fund secured against property, set to generate annual returns of over 10%.

Threadneedle's CIO Mark Burgess has reduced holdings in Asian and emerging markets in expectation of inflationary pressures, adding instead to European banking stocks and Japanese equities.

Inflation-linked gilts are "very attractive" as a defensive allocation in portfolios, despite low real yields, says Chris Iggo at AXA Investment Managers.

The Egyptian crisis has boosted the price of oil to a two-year high but sent equity markets lower, causing some managers to warn of contagion risk to the global economic recovery.