Mortgages

House prices rose for the second month in a row, according to the Halifax House Price Index.

The FSA has cancelled the permission of Peter David Alexander Crane, trading as David Crane Mortgage Broker, for unpaid fees.

The chief executive of Goldman Sachs yesterday called the mounting public fury over bankers' pay "understandable and appropriate", reports the Independent.

Searching for new clients and replacing lost income topped an RBS poll assessing mortgage brokers' most pressing concerns.

Confidence in the property market is growing, with more people buying properties rather than remortgaging their existing home, according to figures from moneysupermarket.com.

Mortgage schemes available to intermediaries have dropped by 78% compared to the end of August 2008, according to monthly figures from Mortgage Brain.

Gross lending by building societies hit a year high last month, but remains more than 40% below the figure recorded in July 2008.

Adviser reaction is mixed following the launch by HSBC of one of its cheapest-ever mortgage deals.

One quarter of pensioners are missing out on benefits, which could boost their income by an average of £232.

Bankers blamed for the global financial crisis will see their pay packages limited under a blueprint for steering the international economy towards recovery, according to the Independent.