Old Mutual is preparing to cut 30 jobs as it merges Skandia Investment Group and Old Mutual Asset Managers into a single division.

BlackRock's absolute return manager Mark Lyttleton is taking an extended break from the industry for family reasons.

Bank of England policymaker Adam Posen will step down from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on 31 August when his three-year term comes to an end.

HSBC is to cut 2,000 jobs in the UK by the end of next year as part of its cost-cutting drive, according to reports.

James Murdoch is to step down as chairman of UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB, but will remain on the board.

Ireland fell back into recession in the last quarter of 2011, according to official figures released on Thursday.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will revise up its growth forecasts for the UK economy in Wednesday's Budget, reports suggest.

The UK is already back in recession and will not see any interest rate rises until at least 2016, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

(Updated 11:15am) The FTSE 100 is trading more than 1% higher in mid-morning trading on Tuesday afte closing 2011 down 5.5% for the year.

Invesco Perpetual's head of investment Neil Woodford said his favoured defensive blue chip names have recently delivered some confident trading updates, despite tough macroeconomic conditions.