Treasury

The FTSE 100 climbed this morning and Asian and US markets rallied strongly overnight as the Federal Reserve announced it would hold interest rates at close to zero until 2013.

From a near-term point of view the downgrade of US sovereign debt is a distraction and the actual impact on US Treasuries will likely be small, according to the chief investment officer at Barclays Wealth.

SIPP providers, advisers and life offices have written to the Treasury pressuring it to allow simpler transfers of assets between savings vehicles.

Retirement Planner's round up of the week's key pension stories

The Treasury will invite key industry figures to two workshops during the next fortnight to discuss the possible linking of liquid savings and pensions.

A new joint committee of six MPs and six peers is to enquire about consumer responsibility under the new 'twin peaks' regulatory system as it begins its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Financial Services Bill (FSB).

Despite last month's significant price movements in US treasuries, yields are still below the levels seen at the end of last year.

The first of the Equitable Life compensation payments will be sent out today.

The financial services industry has failed to learn from mis-selling mistakes of the past, Hector Sants said today as he reflected on four years as chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

A Trades Union Congress (TUC) document leaked to the BBC has revealed unions do not believe today's negotiations with ministers will avoid industrial action.