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News and comment

Welcome to our on-line news and comment. This service is regularly updated to bring you news of important developments in financial matters.

The news stories on this page have been written and produced by a third party and neither nor its representatives can be held responsible for the accuracy of the content/information contained within these stories.

Citywire Investment News

• 'Man from the Pru' relaunches and targets 200,000 clients
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:27:37 Z
  Life company Prudential has relaunched its direct sales team, previously known for its ?Man from the Pru?, with plans to target 200,000 clients.
  

• Charlie Parker: like it or not, we should listen to Alan Miller
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:10:27 Z
  It is easy to brand Miller as a poacher turned gamekeeper, but his campaign for transparency raises issues that the fund management industry most respond to urgently.
  

• Cumming and Buxton to vote against Glencore/Xstrata deal
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:05:50 Z
  (Update) Glencore and Xstrata have agreed a $90 billion all-share merger but Standard Life Investments' David Cumming and Schroders' Richard Buxton plan to vote against it.
  

• Forecast-beating BP delights dividend hunters
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:29:41 Z
  Patience has proved to be a virture for BP shareholders with the oil giant raising its dividend for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon disaster on the back of bumper profits.
  

BBC Business News

• Glencore-Xstrata in $90bn merger
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:49:51 GMT
  Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata announces a $90bn merger with Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader.
  

• Euro 'could survive Greece exit'
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:46:30 GMT
  EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes piles pressure on Greece to agree tough reforms, saying a euro exit would be "no man overboard".
  

• Empty shop numbers 'set to rise'
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:19:22 GMT
  The number of empty shops on the UK's high streets is set to increase this year, a survey says, as economic conditions get tougher.
  

• Stores offer warranty concessions
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:59:38 GMT
  Dixons, Comet and Argos have pledged to improve the way extended warranties for electrical goods are sold, the Office for Fair Trading says.
  

BBC News

• Glencore-Xstrata in $90bn merger
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:49:51 GMT
  Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata announces a $90bn merger with Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader.
  

• Russian envoy in crisis-hit Syria
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:49:25 GMT
  Syrian pro-government crowds greet Russia's foreign minister as he meets President Assad in Damascus, amid rising violence in the country.
  

• Chinese workers 'freed' in Sudan
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:49:20 GMT
  A group of Chinese workers kidnapped by rebels in Sudan has been freed and flown to Kenya, a statement from Sudan's foreign ministry says.
  

• Plaid MP leads stalking law call
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:48:19 GMT
  A Plaid Cymru MP leads calls for a new law making stalking a specific offence in England and Wales to stop harassment resulting in violence.
  

Citywire News

• From Norway to Greece....government bonds ranked by safety
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:42:38 Z
  Is France a better bet than Japan? Do you dare touch Thailand? Asset manager compares 44 governments? bonds.
  

• Savings rates rise as ISA battle begins
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:33:50 Z
  The average interest rate on the top cash ISAs has risen to 3.03% compared to 2.83% this time last year.
  

• Xstrata shareholders demand more from Glencore
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:10:04 Z
  Schroders and Standard Life threaten to block the proposed merger between Citywire Top Stock Xstrata (XTA.L) and Glencore (GLEN.L).
  

• The mega deals reshaping the biotechnology sector
  Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:01:14 Z
  A flurry of mergers and acquisitions mean the biotechnology sector is getting smaller. We talk to David Pinniger, chief investment officer of the International Biotechnology Trust.
  

Citywire Money, Tax and Property

• House prices rose 0.6% in January, says Halifax
  Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:54:16 Z
  The average UK house price is now £161,000.
  

• The 20 postcodes most 'at risk' of burglary
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:35:34 Z
  The areas in the UK that see the most home insurance claims for theft or burglary, and the postcodes that are least at risk.
  

• House prices flat as market 'dogged by uncertainty'
  Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:01:00 Z
  January marked the eighteenth month that house prices did not rise, according to Hometrack.
  

• Buying a house is now cheaper than renting one
  Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:01:00 Z
  Buying a house is over £100 a month cheaper than renting, according to Halifax. Wales is the exception.
  

CFS Independent Financial Advisers ia a trading style of Connacht Financial Services, which is an Appointed Representative of the M&E Network Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The M&E Network is entered on the FSA register (www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/register/) under reference 150643 . Connacht Financial Services can also be found on the FSA Register, under reference 178813. Partners: Patrick Walsh: Helen Walsh (Non-advising).