The Tories would transfer UK financial regulation to the Bank of England within a year of taking power, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury says.

Friends Provident reported a 2% increase in life and pension sales for its international business in 2009, to £465.2m, compared to the previous year.

A UK collaborator in a £1.5m Spain-based boiler room operation has been jailed for 33 months.

Hector Sants is being headhunted by the Tories for a top job at the Bank of England or the Treasury, according to reports.

UK inflation is likely to have risen to around 3.5%, exceeding the Bank of England's (BoE) target for the third time.

Hector Sants exits the FSA having fostered an environment of collaboration and consultancy within financial services, the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) says.

Hector Sants' replacement at the FSA needs to better balance consumer protection and interests with care for those working in the industry, the Association of IFAs (AIFA) says.

Hector Sants' departure as chief executive of the FSA will have no bearing on the RDR, despite it coming just two years before the 2012 implementation deadline, the Personal Finance Society (PFS) says.

Traders are making record bets against the euro, underlining the mounting alarm over the region's debt crisis.

Aviva Life International is exiting the offshore bond space on 26 February amid deteriorating market conditions and a lack of consumer demand.