Lloyds Banking Group

Banks bailed out by the taxpayer during the financial crisis are telling investors they can avoid tax charges by investing in their in-house funds, a BBC Panorama investigation alleges.

Perspective Financial Group has secured a multi-million pound loan from Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, boosting its acquisition funds beyond £12.5m.

US stocks pushed ahead in early trading on Tuesday after a report showed a revival in manufacturing activity in August following a year and a half of contraction.

Firmer commodity prices lifted mining stocks and led the FTSE higher on Friday following two sessions of losses.

The UK life insurance sector still faces a tough future as sales slump across the board, but there are signs the bottom is in sight.

Lloyds Banking Group retained the top mortgage lender spot last year with a 30.3% share of the market, compared to 28.2% in 2007, Council of Mortgage Lenders figures show.

An elderly war widow has won a stunning victory against Lloyds TSB after she was advised to gamble her life savings on the stock market.

In the US, the largest stocks began a retreat after weeks of gains with the benchmark Dow Jones down 19.34 points to 9,350.73 in early exchanges.

The FTSE 100 has fallen sharply in opening exchanges following reports Lloyds may tap shareholders for funds to reduce the cost of participating in the Government's toxic asset scheme.

The Dow Jones has tumbled in early trading, down 0.65% on the back of data showing US companies have cut more jobs than economists estimated last month.