Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has signalled the government is ready to loosen its austerity drive with a "massive" increase in state-backed investment into housing and state infrastructure.

House prices will continue to move sideways over the next five to ten years, insisted an industry expert.

More UK households say they are struggling to pay bills, compared to last year.

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's said UK building societies have survived the financial crisis in better health than the UK banking industry as a whole, in a report.

At a summit, a group has called for industry-wide standardization of the PPI claims process to fight "unscrupulous claims management firms," and simultaneously took a side swipe at government inaction.

Deputy governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England Charlie Bean has said lower inflation next year should both support the mortgage market and consumer spending.

Stonebridge Group, the mortgage and insurance network, has introduced a new life and protection panel to run alongside its existing whole of market (WOM) offering.

Leadbay Media Group's assets will be sold without liabilities tomorrow at midday, leaving brokers roughly £200,000 out of pocket and outstanding debts of over £600,000 to November 2010.

Professional indemnity (PI) insurance premiums are set to soar, due to the "unregulated" status of some of the industry and the relative ease with which a brokerage can be established, said Tenet Group.