Global stocks rallied on Friday on better eurozone news and stronger-than-expected manufacturing numbers in the US.

Savings in stocks and shares ISAs were worth £178bn in 2009/10, beating £172bn in cash ISAs, according to ONS figures.

An increase in jobless claims in America exacerbated negative investor sentiment on Thursday, sending global stocks lower.

1st Exchange has added investment management company Brooks Macdonald Asset Management (BMAM) to its list of bulk valuation services providers.

George Osborne has been accused of undermining the Treasury's new economic watchdog by appointing one of his own officials to run operations.

An increasing number of advisers are seeking information about RDR-compliant qualifications, according to research from unbiased.co.uk.

Fund manager Martin Gray has attacked the failure of governments to adequately overhaul financial regulation.

Dr Andrew Sentance remains the lone member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee to argue for an increase in interest rates.

FSA chairman Lord Turner has warned regulators will have the power to cap mortgages using credit control powers last enforced in the 1980s.

Hargreave Hale is to hold a seminar on inheritance tax planning and investments for IFAs in the Lancaster region.