FSA calls end to ban on short-selling

Practice widely blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis is to be allowed, with conditions, from mid-January

HBOS retirement funds at risk, says trustee

Risk of 79,000 people not having their pensions paid in full by takeover partner Lloyds TSB as trustees try to block the deal

US regulator questioned over Madoff scandal

SEC chief to face grilling for failure to spot alleged Madoff fraud despite investigating the fund eight times in 16 years

US banks drawn into Madoff scandal

Case of reportedly unwitting victims puts the role of lenders in the $50 bn investment scandal under question

Linklaters crowned king of global M&A

UK firm advised on $365 billion of deals in 2008 to claim first place in M&A leauge tables ahead of US rival Sullivan & Cromwell

FSA pressured to extend short-selling ban

Vince Cable, the Lib Dem's economics spokesman, yesterday led calls for the ban to be maintained beyond January 16

Tell us your holiday plans, banks insist

Cardholders are being told to register their foreign travel plans to combat fraud, or face having their accounts frozen

Knowles and Lewis knighted for services to law

Nigel Knowles, joint chief executive of DLA Piper, and former Norton Rose senior partner David Lewis are honoured

Divorce lawyers braced for busiest week ever

Experts warn that the 'double whammy' of Christmas and the financial crisis will see a record number of break-ups

Troops will face more robust courts martial

The reforms come after the collapse of charges over the death of an Iraqi held by British Forces in Basra

Mosley raises stakes over invasion of privacy

Max Mosley’s campaign to set record straight on secretly filmed sadomasochistic sex session will confront taboos in court

Heterosexual wins harrassment case over 'gay' taunts

A father of three whose workmates called him a 'faggot' because he lived in Brighton has won a landmark court case

Iraqis await court ruling over Basra murders

Judgment due in the case of two Iraqis held in Basra since 2003 on charges of murdering British soldiers

Top judges refuse to rule on pre-nuptials

In a test case, the Privy Council said the legal status of such agreements between couples was a matter for Parliament

Straw given approval to pardon jailed fan

Court rules that the Justice Secretary has the power to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy in Bulgaria attack case