A US judge has thrown a lifeline to investors who may have been duped in one of Wall Street’s biggest alleged frauds.

The list of investors who say they were duped in one of Wall Street's biggest pyramid schemes is growing, snaring some of the world's biggest banking institutions and hedge funds, the super rich and the famous, pensioners and charities.

GRIM warnings that the FTSE-100 could yet plunge to 3,000 in the current uncertain global economic climate were made yesterday by a top fund manager in Britain.