Financiers who bought 'distressed' Greek debt insist on making vast profits from the crisis

Spain and Italy gave financial markets a boost as they successfully raised nearly €22 billion ($27.98 billion) in two keenly watched debt auctions that showed renewed investor confidence in the countries' attempts to get a grip on their debt problems.

Pension liabilities among British businesses swelled to a record £255.2bn in December as the Bank of England waded into the market to buy government bonds, the latest figures from the Pension Protection Fund revealed yesterday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel met the International Monetary Fund's managing director Christine Lagarde in Berlin yesterday for talks dominated by the worsening Greek debt crisis and Athens's race against time to avoid a disorderly default in little over two months time

How about this for a sign of the times: while many brokers have already released their top buy recommendations for 2012, Panmure Gordon decided yesterday to do something a little different and publish a list of its least-favourite stocks. A rather unusual move, the firm's "top sells" list for the year came in the wake of increased demand from clients who wanted to know what they should avoid amid the current market uncertainty.

The euro fell to a 15-month low against the pound today as pressure in the eurozone intensified.

Britain's safe-haven status triggered the sharpest spike in gilt purchases by foreign buyers since the Lehman Brothers collapse, Bank of England figures showed.

Gilt prices trump even German bunds and US Treasury bills with a 17 per cent return

Greenergy, the UK's third biggest private firm by turnover, will offer staff share options in the business, paving the way for a £500m-plus flotation.

The Analyst

Italy saw investors more willing to part with their cash today as it raised 10.7 billion euro in a pair of auctions, a sign that market jitters may be easing as the country presses ahead with its austerity measures.