L&G economist Tim Drayson looks ahead to 2009 on IFAonline and forecasts a sharp contraction in the US, UK and European economies.

Dunfermline Building Society has announced Jim Willens, currently chief operating officer at the group, is to become the new chief executive.

The peak to trough fall of house prices could hit 22% next year, according to housing and mortgage researcher Hometrack.

Defined contribution schemes will move increasingly to target date funds over the course of 2009 with greater emphasis on member engagement, industry experts claim.

The 'bottom' of the house price crash could arrive as early as next summer while the UK base rate is likely to fall to zero, according to property investment firm Assetz.

The FTSE 100 dipped this morning - falling 0.96% to 4,246.42 by 9.30am - with the LSE leading the losers.

The administrators to Lehman Brothers in the UK are close to selling a £900m portfolio of sub-prime mortgages, for a price of about 50p in the pound, The Telegraph reports.

The Bank of England did not understand the seriousness of the asset bubble which preceded the banking crisis and ongoing global recession, its deputy Governor has admitted.

Norwich Union has returned £10m in unclaimed assets to investors as part of a comprehensive review of unclaimed policies.

The ABI has launched a consultation on proposed guidance for life insurers, aiming to help identify when they should consider obtaining external reviews of internal actuarial advice.