Friends Provident

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones followed gains in stock markets across Europe.

Clive Cowdery's consolidation vehicle Resolution returned to the negotiating table with a sweetened offer for Friends Provident this morning.

Friends Provident has sent a letter to the chairman of Resolution Limited setting out its proposed structure for a possible combination of the two groups.

The recent death of Michael Jackson started me thinking about other famous people who have died prematurely, a bit morbid I know!

In London, Friends Provident shares surged this morning as Resolution expressed interest in buying the company.

Resolution, the financial services consolidator led by Clive Cowdery, has confirmed it is considering a possible offer for Friends Provident, although the insurer rejected its initial proposals.

Friends Provident completed the demerger of F&C Asset Management today (Friday 3 July) with its controlling stake in the firm distributed to all Friends' shareholders.

London markets opened higher this morning, regaining some of Thursday's lost ground, with the FTSE 100 up 12.32 points (0.29%) to 4,246.59.

The FSA will not be able to simply read-across its adviser charging rules to the group personal pension (GPP) market, according to industry experts.

Summer is upon us and many people are making plans for the holidays. It's also the start of the wedding season, and a number of people in my team are planning to tie the knot this summer.