Employers to freeze pay <> Half of all employers intend to freeze pay despite the worst of the downturn seemingly having passed, according to research conducted by the CBI and Harvey Nash... <> Buy-to-let recovery on cards <> There are tentative signs that the buy-to-let sector might be about to enjoy an upturn in fortunes, according to Moneyfacts Group. .. <> FTSE 100 hits pre-Lehman levels as optimism spreads <> The FTSE 100 index returned, at last, yesterday to levels last seen before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September last year. ..   more »

Stamp duty holiday extension urged <> The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has called on the Government to extend the stamp duty holiday currently scheduled to end in December or risk damaging the recovery in the housing market... <> Six months of house price rises <> The average price of residential property transactions completed in England and Wales has increased for the sixth consecutive month, according to Acadametrics... <> FSA treats mortgage lenders like 'drug dealers' <> Britain's financial regulators see lenders as drug-dealers at the school gates, the head of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said in an astonishing attack on the Financial Services Authority...   more »

100 MPs push to turn Northern Rock back into a building society <> The pressure on the government to consider turning the bailed out bank Northern Rock back into a building society rather than sell it off increased yesterday as 100 MPs from all political parties signed a motion supporting the move... <> Tories keen on Sants for deputy governor's job at Bank <> The Conservatives are attempting to recruit Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, to become a deputy governor of the Bank of England, should they win the next election and press ahead with plans to merge regulators..   more »

First time buyers avoid stamp duty <> One third of first time buyers escaped paying stamp duty in September as a result of the Government's temporary £175,000 nil-rate threshold, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML)... <> Insurers at the fore as Footsie pushes towards 5,300 level <> Insurers were among the top performers yesterday as the FTSE 100 tested its highs of the year. ..   more »

Sellers returning to property market <> House prices have continued to rise despite an increase in the number of new instructions received by agents, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). .. <> Make banks pay for crash, says TUC <> The TUC is today throwing its weight behind Gordon Brown's plans for a levy on financial institutions, proposing a tax on UK banks to spare the country from tax increases and public spending cuts...   more »

FSA says cultural change key to reform <> Reform in the financial services industry will only come if both the regulator and the regulated are committed to genuine change, the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has suggested...   more »

Five house hunters per property <> Demand is far outweighing supply in the UK housing market, with five house hunters for every available property.. <> Bank of England says financiers are fuelling an economic 'doom loop' <> The banking sector must be overhauled as profoundly as in the wake of the Great Depression or financiers will "game the state" over and over again, the head of the Bank of England's financial stability arm has warned. ..   more »

Base rate held but QE receives further boost The Bank of England base rate of interest has been frozen at 0.5% for the eight month in succession, but the programme of quantitative easing (QE) has been extended by an additional £25 billion, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has announced...   more »

Rate cut on 10.1% of accounts <> Over one in ten (10.1%) savings accounts have had their rates reduced in the last seven months, despite the Bank of England's base rate remaining static since March, research conducted by Moneyfacts Group has revealed... <> Government overcharged Rock £445m <> As part of the European Commission's agreement to the state aid bailout package of the Rock, it has been agreed that the government charged a premium rate for the original £27billion lifeline. .   more »

'End game' near for final salary pensions <> The "end game" for final salary or defined-benefit pensions is rapidly app-roaching, the EEF, the manufacturing employers' association, said yesterday as its latest annual survey showed a continuing fall in the number of schemes... <> Splitting banks will backfire, warns FSA boss <> Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, has warned that breaking up Britain's banks could make the system more risky not less. ..   more »

Rent schemes are leaving people homeless <> Unregulated firms offering sale-and-rent -back deals which exploit vulnerable homeowners are operating illegally, the housing charity Shelter has warned. .. <> Lenders threaten to sue valuers for negligence <> Mortgage lenders are using 'no win, no fee' solicitors to threaten property surveyors with negligence claims for valuations on homes that have since suffered steep falls in value and been repossessed. .. <> House prices record first annual rise in 19 months <> Homeowners received mixed news yesterday when the Nationwide said house prices were now higher than they were a year ago - the first annual increase in 19 months - but warned that the rate of growth had started to slow...   more »

Inheritance tax benefits enjoyed by married couples could soon be extended to co-habitués under proposals drawn up by the Law Commission.   more »