Papers

LONDON'S LARGEST investment banks are to face a wide-ranging probe into their measurement and management of collateral amid concerns some may not be properly prepared for a sudden market downturn, according to the Financial Times .

The first bust company pension schemes to be bailed out under the recently-formed Pension Protection Fund were named today, says the Daily Telegraph .

Scottish Legal Life has confirmed it is in exclusive talks with Scottish Friendly about a merger of the two Glasgow-based mutuals, says the Scotsman .

Just Retirement, the life insurer whose products are aimed at people in or entering retirement, has raised £87m from its flotation on Aim, says the Daily Telegraph .

Pension buyouts have received a ringing endorsement from Mike Samuel, the chairman of a new pensions advisory group, reports the Daily Telegraph .

Mortgage lenders could be tempted into making riskier home loans as they search for new sources of revenue amid fierce competition, a new report by a credit rating agency suggests today, says the Financial Times .

The social networking phenomenon fuelling the rapid growth of websites such as YouTube and MySpace could be about to threaten the dominance of the big banks, says the Guardian .

Rachel Lomax, the Bank of England's deputy governor for monetary policy, cast further doubt over the likelihood of another interest-rate rise by voting against this month's rise from 4.75% to 5%, reports the Times .

The housing market is likely to burst within the next few years, a prominent economist and former adviser to Gordon Brown will warn today, says the Daily Telegraph .

Radio adverts claiming people with money problems can escape up to 80% of their debts are misleading and unethical, debt management company Debt Free Direct said today, reports the Guardian .