Poverty among pensioners has fallen by nearly a third in eleven years, driven by increased uptake of private pensions, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The FSA has fined Derbyshire-based firm Sett Valley Insurance Services and its two partners £49,000 for failing to treat customers fairly and exposing them to "unsuitable advice".

Aviva has relaunched its wrap and SIPP platform, over two years since it was forced to close its Lifetime operation to new business because of service issues.

The pound has lost ground against other currencies following the release of GDP figures showing the UK economy grew just 0.1% in the last quarter.

The dangers posed to savers and investors by falling gilt values far outweigh the risk of rising inflation, according to Martin Bamford of Informed Choice.

Japan has kept interest rates on hold at 0.1% as the world's second largest economy tries to overcome deflation.

The National Skills Academy for Financial Services (NSAFS) is urging financial services companies to recruit school leavers as the UK Government looks to plug a skills gap by raising funding levels.

December figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) show mortgage lending grew by £3.5bn in December 2009.

Investors seeking investment or savings solutions are shunning advisers and taking matters into their own hands, research suggests.

Skandia has added the Iveagh Wealth fund to its investment solutions platform and life and pensions fund range.