Labour leader Ed Miliband is set to condemn the government's decision to scrap the 50p tax rate in a wide critique of the coalition's economic policies, as the political battle lines are drawn ahead of next month's Budget.

The banks and building societies found by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to be putting their customers at risk of receiving unsuitable investment advice should be identified, according to the Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP).

Consumers are less likely to surrender on some life and pensions products if they were sold to them by an IFA, data collected by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) suggests.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has uncovered evidence of incompetency among investment advisers at a number of banks and building societies - resulting in unsuitable advice in some cases - following a mystery-shopping exercise.

The Law Society has welcomed calls for will-writing to be subject to regulation, but argues a failure to apply similar oversights to estate administration activities could harm consumers.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is recommending that will-writing be subject to regulation after completing a two-year investigation during which it said it uncovered a "compelling case" for regulatory oversight of the industry.

VAT-ABLE?

A former Honister Partners adviser has pleaded guilty to evading tax in a case brought by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

European leaders are set to announce a long-term deal that would see the EU budget cut, in real terms, for the first time since the European Union was created.

Trevor Matthews, chief executive of Aviva UK, is to step down from the role.