RBS to ask shareholders for cash

Britain's second largest bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, is to ask shareholders for about £10bn of extra cash to improve its financial position.
RBS will raise the money from existing investors through by far the biggest rights issue in UK corporate history.
The global credit crunch has meant banks worldwide are keen to shore up their capital positions - and it is thought others may follow RBS's move.
RBS, owner of NatWest, Ulster Bank and insurer Direct Line, has not commented.
In a statement, it would only confirm that it would give a trading update next week as planned. The update is due ahead of its annual meeting on Wednesday.

It's the quid pro quo for the Bank of England's new scheme to pump money into the banking system
Robert Peston, BBC business editor

"I understand that next week they will announce a massive rights issue, that's a demand for new cash from their shareholders," said BBC business editor Robert Peston.
Analysts stressed that this was not something that should worry people with accounts at any RBS banks.
"This is not a customer issue, it's a shareholder issue," said Justin Urquhart Stewart from Seven Investment Management.
'Sharing pain'
Heads of many of Britain's biggest banks, including RBS, had a meeting at Downing Street on Tuesday to discuss the continuing effects of the credit crisis.
WHAT IS A RIGHTS ISSUE?
Companies issue extra shares to raise money
They are offered to existing shareholders, usually at a discount to the current share price
Shares are offered in proportion to existing holdings, so if you own 10% of the old shares you are offered 10% of the new ones

The Bank of England is considering a plan to start accepting UK mortgage-backed securities in return for government bonds in an attempt to get banks lending to each other again, which in turn should ease up lending to individual borrowers.
Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable supported the idea of a rights issue in addition to the Bank of England's proposals.
"It's positive and it's necessary and it's got to happen for all of the big banks," he told the BBC.
"Essentially this is all about sharing pain - shareholders have got to accept that any losses arising from the credit crunch accrue to banks and not to the taxpayer."
The government and the Conservatives declined to comment.