Acquisitive IFA Bradbury Hamilton is backing moves to introduce qualifications for paraplanners.

Nearly every complaint about payment protection insurance (PPI) is being found in favour of the consumer, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Sourcing system Mortgage Brain is set to include direct-only products following consultation and feedback from intermediaries.

Rathbone is merging the High Income fund into its UK Blue Chip and Growth fund, with current manager Hugh Yarrow set to leave the firm.

Repossessions soared 68% in 2008 while the number of loan accounts in arrears steadily increased, according to the latest mortgage lending data from the FSA.

Invesco Perpetual fund manager Neil Woodford believes the UK and US stockmarkets are bottoming.

Standard Life has cut surrender and transfer values on a number of its with-profits pension and endowment plans.

Advisers are being warned not to become reliant on equity release business to make up for falling sales in other areas.

Friends Provident made a loss of £871m during 2008 as individual pensions and protection sales plummeted, and new investment business was almost wiped out.

Barclays Bank obtained a court order early today banning the Guardian from publishing documents which showed how the bank set up companies to avoid hundreds of millions of pounds in tax.