News

The US supercommittee's failure to agree a debt reduction plan means the country faces a second rating downgrade by the year end, an economist has warned.

Europe's biggest banks have been warned they could face a debt buyers' strike by the Association of British Insurers, amid an increasingly bitter feud over controversial changes to their bonds.

The head of Aviva's wrap Nicholas Burton has stepped down to pursue a career in teaching.

A Financial Policy Committee member has branded lobbying tactics by banks against tighter financial regulation as "intellectually dishonest and potentially damaging".

The Treasury is preparing to water down a key recommendation in the Vickers report that would protect savers in the event of a bank going bust, according to reports.

Fears of a financial crisis hitting the UK are at their highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bank of England research has revealed.

Long-term care funding has a lot to learn from "how the pensions debate has moved on", says Association of British Insurers director of general insurance and health, Nick Starling.

Unum has completed the roll-out of its fully electronic income protection (IP) application and underwriting process that means the vast majority of cases will be processed on the spot.

3.10pm: US markets have shrugged off poor third-quarter GDP results with trading muted early in the session.

Mistakes are commonly made when using life expectancy figures, as real lifespans are likely to be higher than quoted examples of life expectancy, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has pointed out.