Snow bound a couple of weeks ago, I set to musing about the FSA's paper on pension switching advice and the recently issued suitability assessment template.

The number of critical illness claims (CICs) declined at Friends Provident due to the illness not meeting the definition rose in 2008, results show.

Claims management firm Cartel Client Review has warned that the misselling of self-certification mortgages is set to spark the next wave of controversy in the financial services arena.

The Dow is marginally up despite US consumer confidence plummeting to its lowest ever.

Trigold is offering a free two-month trial of its sourcing software to users of Mortgage 2000's Encore system, after the latter announced it would be exiting the sourcing market.

Members of the Royal Mail Pension Fund could see their benefits slashed by 50% if plans to privatise part of the company are not pursued, the trustees warn.

Vision Network is offering to include investments and pensions via the Crytal's new Momentum Financial Planning software.

Personal Accounts will cost UK businesses almost £3bn each year after 2012, according to consultancy firm, Mercer.

Clerical Medical has launched an ISA transfer kit in its latest bid to help advisers manage their clients' investments more simply.

The average rate of interest paid on Euro offshore savings accounts has plummeted 1.71% to 1.85% in the past three months, according to Investec Bank (Channel Islands).