Smith & Williamson Investment Management has merged its UK Growth fund and its Opportunities fund into the group's UK Equity Growth trust.

Barlcays is to cut around 450 jobs in the UK, including a third of its private bankers.

Tim Guinness, chairman and CIO of Guinness Asset Management, said natural gas is an excellent buying opportunity after a dramatic fall in value caused by the US' recent move into shale gas.

Invesco Perpetual has implemented a dilution adjustment to the price of Neil Woodford's Income and High Income funds, moving to bid pricing on both portfolios after a recent surge in outflows.

Two traders working at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have been suspended in connection with an investigation surrounding the possible manipulation of foreign exchange (forex) rates, according to reports.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has temporarily suspended 11 of Co-op Bank's bonds on the request of the company, pending an announcement of a rescue plan by parent company Co-op Group.

Business volumes in the investment management sector were broadly flat in the three months to September, with growth expectations for the next quarter the weakest since 2011, according to PwC.

Markets across Asia have fallen on news the US government may be headed for its first shutdown of services in almost 20 years.

The recovery of the British economy is now "sustainable and self-confirming", according to David Miles, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee.

Neptune's profits before tax fell nearly 40% in 2012, with assets under management down 7.5%, after what the group called an "extremely difficult year for equity investors".