News

The government could scrap the 50p top rate of income tax within the next two years - possibly replacing it with a 45p rate - according to reports.

Updated: The FTSE dropped more than 3% in the first six minutes of trade on Friday as it tracked US and Asian markets sharply lower amid the ongoing global sell-off.

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management has agreed to purchase the investment management activities of national law firm Clarke Willmott in a deal worth up to £6m.

Old Mutual saw profits climb in the first half, driven by cost cutting measures and the performance of its South African banking arm Nedbank, while Skandia saw its profits fall by nearly a third.

Prudential saw a first-half boost in sales thanks largely to a 20% jump in corporate pensions new business, but inflows at the group's investment business fell sharply.

The number of Brits hospitalised abroad has increased with Spain handling the most cases (1,024) followed by Greece. Proportionally Brits are most likely to be hospitalised in Thailand.

The Qatar office of international financial advice firm Guardian Wealth Management (GWM) has seen its first candidate pass through the group's professional internship programme.

The Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries (AMII) has applauded the latest Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) complaints statistics as a success for the health insurance sector.

A power cut at platform Skandia's London HQ meant advisers had to send client trade requests via fax on Thursday.

The FTSE is on track to hit its lowest closing level in almost a year amid fresh warnings the eurozone crisis will engulf Italy and Spain.