Ben Bernanke said the US Federal Reserve could start slowing down the pace of its asset purchases �in the next few meetings�, but only if the labour market shows sustained improvement.

Wed May 22, 2013 11:03am EDT. * Market operators had expected a 0.1 percent rise. * Sales rose by 0.7 percent in volume terms. By David Ljunggren.

George Osborne yesterday revealed that the Government will set out its strategy �to return RBS and Lloyds to the private sector� after the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards' final report is published next month.

Nationwide has increased its share of the British mortgage market to a record level, helped by government-funded programmes to support housebuyers, such as the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme.

By Alistair Smout. LONDON | Wed May 22, 2013 5:07pm BST. LONDON (Reuters) - Growth sensitive sectors drove FTSE 100 to fresh 13 year highs, receiving a boost after the top U.S.