London has seen a surge in building work in the past six months despite the UK's slide back into recession, as developers look to cash in on a shortage of office space.

UBS, the banking giant still reeling from an extraordinary rogue trading scandal, recorded another tumble in profits yesterday and said it was cautious about global markets.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Weir Group? Events across the Atlantic have been knocking the pump manufacturer recently, prompting the stock to drop by around 25 per cent in just two months. Yesterday, however, the firm was attempting a rally amid claims the run of bad news is drawing to a close.

Could it be time for Kesa Electricals to bid arrivederci to Italy? Having recently managed to exit the UK by selling its struggling Comet chain for the nominal price of £2, yesterday the retailer was under pressure to get out of another European country.

George Osborne may want to hold off taking Stephen Hester's advice any time soon. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss was piling the pressure on the Government earlier in the week to start selling down its stake in the bank, but yesterday the group closed near the top of the Footsie on claims the next year or two will see its share price soar.

Punters may have been flocking back to Capita recently, but last night the brakes were put on the outsourcing giant's rally. The group – which had managed to add nearly 19 per cent over the previous six sessions – was left in the red after City scribblers warned there were still causes for concern.

It has been 15 months since Marc Bolland unveiled his three-year plan for Marks & Spencer and – judging by the market's reaction – investors have hardly been blown away. Since the boss of the high street institution, who had started the job just six months earlier, announced an ambitious, £900m investment program in November 2010, its share price has dropped more than 10 per cent.

British Land has opened the gap in London's skyscraper race as it forges ahead with its £1.1bn development programme in the capital, its chief executive, Chris Grigg, said yesterday.

Carsten Kengeter, head of investment banking at UBS, has given up his bonus for last year after the Swiss bank lost more than $2bn (£1.3bn) following alleged fraud by the London trader Kweku Adoboli.

It may have been boom time in the Square Mile, but not everyone was along for the ride. While the Footsie closed last night at its highest since last July, Cairn Energy was among the stocks missing out on the rally amid fears the oil explorer is about to come under sustained pressure.

Pharmaceuticals blue-chip GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has replaced Hoare Govett as one of its brokers, putting more pressure on the Royal Bank of Scotland's corporate broking arm.

Morgan Stanley, one of London's biggest investment banking employers, is to axe 1,600 staff around the world in the first quarter of next year, it announced yesterday.

Economic justice campaigners who have been camped outside St Paul's Cathedral for weeks announced today that they have occupied an abandoned office block owned by investment bank UBS.

The first City boss to be fined for failings by his subordinates is challenging what his employer UBS describes as an “unwarranted” £100,000 penalty issued by the City watchdog in what is being seen as test case before an independent tribunal.