Halifax

The Government is today expected to unveil an overhaul of the way the City of London is regulated in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, reports The Telegraph.

Halifax has published its latest house price index, revealing house prices across the UK fell by an average of 1.9% in March.

House prices fell 2.3% in February, negating the 2% increase in prices in January, according to the latest Halifax index.

Halifax has dropped a controversial clause on its tracker mortgages which prevented it from passing on interest rates once the bank rate fell below 3%.

The value of ISA savings in the UK has rocketed seven fold in the last eight years, from £28.6bn in 1999/00 to £207.8bn at the end of the tax year 2007/08, according to the Halifax.

The Bank of England's move to cut interest rates by 0.5% to 4.5% today is starting to filter down to consumers as several mortgage lenders announce rate cuts.

An apparent price war between the UK's two biggest lenders represents "great news" for the stalled housing market, experts argue.

Halifax will launch a new range of broker-only tracker products on Monday, 2 June, with reduced rates of up to 30 basis points and reduced fees.

HBOS has increased rates on a range of its two-year fixed rate and tracker deals despite calls from Gordon Brown to follow the Bank of England's rate cut lead.

Halifax will raise mortgage borrowing costs for customers with a deposit of less than 25% from next Monday.