Papers

THIS MORNING'S papers are all reporting on the new pensions deal which has been agreed between the prime minister and the chancellor to re-link the state pension increases to earnings and raise the retirement age to 68.

THE BANK OF ENGLAND quashed lingering hopes of another interest rate cut yesterday as it signalled that it now expects its next move to be an increase in borrowing costs, reports the Times .

AMICUS HAS CALLED for an investigation into moves by Kvaerner to abandon its UK pensions liabilities, as it emerged the Norwegian conglomerate's parent had already left 700 workers at another British company without the benefits they had been promised,...

HUNDREDS OF MUSLIM families could be forced to sell their houses to pay inheritance tax bills as a result of changes to the way trusts are taxed, reports The Guardian .

THE BREAK-UP of Equitable Life has moved closer following the launch yesterday of a vulture fund, Synesis, backed by some of the City's most powerful institutions, to buy out distressed annuity and pension liabilities, reports The Guardian .

RESOLUTION IS IN talks to buy Abbey National's life insurance business in a deal that could be worth up to £4bn, reports The Guardian .

INSURANCE MUTUAL Standard Life has won the largest single piece of new business in its 181-year history just two months before it is due to float on the London Stock Exchange with a £5.5bn price-tag, reports The Daily Telegraph .

AVIVA, BRITAIN'S largest insurer, has sold parts of its RAC roadside recovery business, including fleet management and administration, to support services group VT Group for £87m in cash, reports The Times .

SANDY CROMBIE, chief executive of Standard Life, yesterday claimed it was "patently obvious" many of the group's policyholders "had no idea how their products worked", reports The Scotsman .

PRUDENTIAL IS UNDERSTOOD to have ruled out any move on Standard Life as the Edinburgh mutual prepares for its £5bn stock-market flotation, believing that the UK market would not generate the returns to justify a big-money outlay, reports The Scotsman...