In this week's roundup we look at the impact of a new political leader in Greece, an historic blizzard hitting Wall Street and a credit rating downgrade for Russia, as well as the latest FTSE news.

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Last week I attended a lunch held for one of the Bank of England’s management, Richard Sharp. The Bank, as you probably know, is the second oldest central bank in the world (after Sweden) and is responsible for many aspects of financial policy and regulation in the UK.

The past week has seen UK stocks advance and the pound weaken, while it has also been revealed retail spending in December slowed after the Black Friday boost. Further afield, we look at why oil prices have continued to fall.