London's leading share index has started the week firmly lower, with global sentiment knocked by worse than expected Chinese manufacturing data which had already sparked yet another slump for Japan's stock market.

Schroders has moved to fill its vacant head of UK equities position following Richard Buxton's departure, handing the role to its head of European equities Rory Bateman.

Invesco Perpetual's Neil Woodford, manager of the group's £25bn suite of UK income products, has described his heavy underweight position to the mining sector as one of the biggest drivers behind his outperformance over the past year.

The incoming governor of the Bank of England (BoE) has warned Europe must change tack and introduce significant reforms to avoid a Japanese-style lost decade.

Invesco Perpetual's Neil Woodford has suggested the FTSE All Share's bright start to 2013 could soon be derailed as the rally has not been driven by an improvement in fundamentals.

Fund closures and mergers in the UK have soared to a record high in the past six months as groups cull smaller or underperforming funds amid pressure on margins.

Cazenove Capital's shareholders have approved the proposed acquisition of the business by Schroders for £424m.

Premier Asset Management has streamlined its fund range in a move to broaden its appeal in the wealth management market.

First State Investments has formally announced the soft closure of Jonathan Asante's £4bn GEM Leaders fund.

TOP PERFORMERS