Britain's housing market has finally "turned a corner", according to surveyors who report that rising prices and activity are no longer confined to the South East but are being seen across the whole of the UK.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is launching a major new crackdown on tax avoidance targeting the advisers and promoters of avoidance schemes - and plans penalties of up to £1m.

Aegon's net income fell 2% in the first half of this year, as higher underlying earnings were offset by losses on hedges due to rising equity markets and volatility - and an £18m loss on the sale of Positive Soltuions.

Aviva has reported a profit after tax of £776m for the first half of this year, turning around a £624m loss for the half year 2012, but said its funds business has seen outflows.

The Chancellor will not sell any of the government's stake in Lloyds Banking Group until September, dashing recent hopes in the City of a sell-off as early as this week, according to reports.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will this week set out his long-awaited strategy for interest rates with a set of policies designed to reassure borrowers rates will stay low for many months to come.

The new chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Ross McEwan, was facing his first challenge this weekend after leading shareholders in the bank signalled they would not support breaking it up even if the Treasury insists on going ahead.

Manchester based Mamucium Capital Management has launched offering what it calls a "new model" of investing based on the "science of capital markets".

Lloyds Banking group is back in the black after announcing a pre-tax profit of £2.1bn for the six months to the end of June - and said it is on course to target IFA clients "orphaned" by RDR.

Advisers "substantially underestimate" the threat from direct to consumer (D2C) businesses and are "over optimistic" about future revenues post-Retail Distribution Review (RDR), according to a wide ranging study by Cass Business School.