A ‘mansion tax' on all homes worth more than £2m would cost the owners as much as £36,000 a year on average, according to Whitehall analysis.
Leading strategic bond fund managers have cut their aggressive shorts on US treasuries, on the expectation the Federal Reserve may postpone plans to scale down QE if growth and inflation continue to undershoot.
The government has announced new ISA rules that will make it easier for people to invest directly into small businesses.
Over the past month losses have racked up across bond sectors after comments from the Federal Reserve signalling the end of quantitative easing spooked global markets.
The Bank of England's Andrew Haldane has said a possible sharp rise in bond yields represents the biggest risk for financial markets at present.
Leading bond managers have said the US Federal Reserve could start winding down its QE programme as soon as this summer, with treasury yields jumping as a result.
The Treasury has warned an independent Scotland could have dire implications for sterling, leaving the UK pound vulnerable to speculators.
The long-term "irreversible" trends I've discussed in detail in my upcoming book, $10,000 Gold, continue to develop.
GDP data published for Q4 2012 afforded a slightly better perspective on the year as a whole.