More people are applying for loans but fewer are securing one, and those banks that are lending are only doing so to their existing customers

British Airways signalled the start of a protracted battle with the Pensions Regulator over the price tag on its retirement obligations, the outcome of which will be crucial to its tie-up with Spain's Iberia

Bankers should count themselves lucky they are being hit by a mere 50 per cent additional tax on bonuses, a report argues, because their benefit to society is negative

Seven out of ten wealth advisers warn that capital gains tax will almost certainly be raised in a pre- or post-election Budget

Fund managers, stockbrokers, and even some financial advisers will be hit by the new 50 per cent levy on "bankers'" bonuses

Hundreds of thousands more taxpayers could be drawn into the 40 per cent income tax band over the next few years, accountants say, following a freeze on the higher-rate threshold and personal allowances in Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report (PBR) this week

The inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate band is to be held at £325,000 in 2010, while the elimination of two loopholes in IHT rules may result in closer scrutiny of funds that are transferred into trusts used for IHT purposes.

High earners are being advised to make contributions to their pensions now, before higher rate tax relief is scaled back further from 2011

Tax avoidance and evasion are under siege as the government has introduced a range of measures to clampdown on both practices.

A boiler scrappage scheme and an exemption of all electric cars from company car tax for five years are part of a range of green measures to encourage consumers and businesses to become more energy efficient

Investors are taking a lower level of income from their pension investments in the stock market as a result of the economic climate, according to new research

Banks and building societies are withdrawing many of their best savings deals, with fixed-rate products disappearing the fastest.

House prices rise year-on-year for the first time since mid 2008 in November as sales continued to pick up, in a sign of the rapid recovery in the housing market

The number of mortgages provided to homebuyers has reached its highest level for 22-months, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML)

Investors took fright at the perceived timidity of the government's plans to balance the books with one of the biggest sell-offs of British gilts this year