Defined benefit pension scheme deficits have more than doubled over the past year, with a shortfall of £155bn in November, according to figures from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

The Government's decision to cut VAT and then raise it again could add around £3bn to defined benefit pension liabilities, Watson Wyatt warns.

Home buyer interest climbed for the first time in more than two years this month, figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) show.

New Star chairman and founder John Duffield has categorically denied reports he is set to resign from the troubled fund manager.

Alliance Trust will no longer accept new business for its Full SIPP from 12 December, due to concerns over poor administration.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has demanded the Government bring to an end the "conflicting and incoherent" demands being placed on lenders.

HSBC has confirmed it will lend up to £15bn in mortgages to UK homeowners in 2009, an increase of 20% on its lending this year, and almost double what it lent in 2007.

BlackRock vice chairman Bob Doll has tipped US GDP will fall by at least 5% on an annual rate in the fourth quarter, following the near economic "freefall" experienced after September's Lehman Brothers collapse.

Labour's natural supporters are returning to the fold, giving the party a nine-point lead over the Conservatives as the most trusted to deal with the recession, a poll for The Times reveals.

Home sellers must have a confirmed Home Information Pack (HIP) in place before a property is put on the market, Margaret Beckett has confirmed.