As the first anniversary of Northern Rock's near demise approaches, analysis by Fidelity International shows that the credit crunch has led to increased concentration among Britain's blue chip companies.

Guido Stiel has joined the Allianz RCM BRIC Stars fund as director and senior portfolio manager of emerging markets.

BlackRock's UK Absolute Alpha fund has been added to Standard Life's insured product range and its life counterpart to FundsNetwork's investment bond fund range.

F&C has revealed a first half profits slump of 58pc, while assets under management fell by 7pc over six months to £96.5bn at end of June.

FSA chairman Sir Callum McCarthy, who is due to leave the regulator in September, has been appointed as a non-executive board member of the Treasury.

Skandia UK and Offshore has seen an increase in profit of 14pc to £91m for the first six months of 2008, though the group registered an overall dip in life assurance and funds sales.

Skandia UK was able to increase underlying profits in the first six months of the year despite seeing mutual fund and UK life assurance sales fall more than 20% during the period.

Halifax has teamed up with house builder Persimmon to offer first time buyers the chance to double their deposit savings.

Schroders is set to launch an Agricultural Land fund in September, designed to offer investors exposure to the long-term returns of agricultural land.

The credit crunch has seen pension scheme funding of FTSE100 companies fall by more than £50bn in a year, Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP) research suggests.