Record-breakers in the news today

Enrico Letta looks all set to become Italy's new prime minister, after accepting President Giorgio Napolitanos request to form a coalition government.

The appointment of Mr Letta, currently deputy leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, could signal the end of two months of parliamentary deadlock following an inconclusive general election in February.

The 46-year-old will be looking to now form a cabinet that can win cross-party support, with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing People of Freedom Party indicating that they are ready to form a coalition under a figure like Mr Letta.

Media tycoon Berlusconi holds the world record for richest prime minister, having amassed a personal wealth of $10 billion (£5 billion) according to Forbes in 2004.

Wimbledon officials have announced the biggest increase in prize money in the history of tennis with the All England club hiking up the tournament pot by 40 per cent.

The move will see winners of the men and women's competitions each take home $2.4 million.

The highest annual earnings for a tennis player record is held by Roger Federer (Switzerland) who pocketed a staggering $54.3 million from July 2011 to July 2012.

Staying with sport and huge finances, it emerged today that the US government has served disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong with a £78m lawsuit.

The 41-year-old, who has admitted to doping during all of his seven Tour de France wins, is accused of violating his contract with his former team and is said to have been "unjustly enriched" while cheating to win the Tour de France.

"The US Postal Service paid about $40m [£26m] to sponsor the USPS team from 1998 to 2004," the court document said.

The largest fine imposed on an individual for an individual fine is $200 million (£122 million), which Michael Milken (USA) agreed to pay on 24 April 1990 in settlement of a criminal racketeering and securities fraud suit brought by the US government.

In addition, he agreed to settle civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commision. He was released from a 10-year prison sentence in 1993.

The FBI is investigating after hackers changed a news agency AP’s Twitter feed to say the White House had been attacked.

The hoax sent markets diving, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling130 points, or 0.9%.

The largest percentage decline in a day's trading on the New York Stock Exchange was 22.61 per cent when the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index measuring conditions on the exchange, dropped 508 points on 19 October 1987 (Black Monday) to close at 1,738.74.