Updated 11.20am: The FTSE 100 is up more than 100 points in early trade, despite weaker news from the US overnight with the Dow closing below the 10,000 mark.

Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, will testify next week before a US panel on the role of ratings agencies in the financial crisis.

Nearly two-thirds of mortgage brokers expect to do more mortgage business in the second half of 2010 than the first.

Sammon Mortgage Management, a new mortgage brokerage, has launched to service clients in Central and Greater London.

After days of political back-stabbing and intrigue, the new coalition government was finally unveiled last week.

House purchase lending increased 45% year-on-year in March, while remortgaging fell 29% annually, according to the CML.

Chancellor George Osborne will today create an independent fiscal watchdog to rectify what he claims are "fixed" Treasury forecasts.

The Government is unlikely to push for the break-up of the UK's major banks and instead will favour new guidelines to govern the relationship between retail and investment arms.

Prudential will tell investors next week it plans to auction off a number of Asian assets in the wake of its $35.5bn (£24bn) acquisition of AIA, in an attempt to calm shareholder nerves over the deal.

Economists are warning the new coalition government may have to impose £50bn of tax rises only months into its tenancy including a hike in VAT.