Friends Provident has unveiled a programme to encourage members to take a more active interest in their defined contribution scheme investments.

The FTSE 100 dipped below the 5,000 mark today for the first time since 5 October.

Lloyds will exit the Government's Asset Protection Scheme (APS), reducing the capital risk faced by taxpayers by over £300bn.

The US economy has come out of recession, with annualised growth of 3.5% in the third quarter of 2009.

Advisers may be forced to bear the cost of outsourcing structured product advice to third parties post RDR, following a damning FSA report into failings in the sector.

The number of complaints against IFAs has fallen in 2009, at a time when complaints against most other financial services firms are rising.

Specialist mortgage lender, GMAC-RFC, has been fined £2.8m by the FSA for unfair treatment of customers who were struggling with their repayments.

A national register of IFAs willing to provide annuity advice for people with small pension pots should be created, according to the Pensions Income Choice Association (PICA).

The popularity of occupational pension schemes increased last year, despite the recession.

Aviva has challenged the FSA's proposed ban on provider factoring in its response to the latest RDR consultation. The insurer argues any move to ban factoring for regular premium business will damage the UK savings market.