UK Mortgages rates and deals

Leading UK shares close at their highest level for almost seven months on better-than-expected corporate results.

House Democrats have declined to subpoena available records that might reveal whether other members of Congress got discounted VIP mortgages from subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp. similar to the sweetheart deals given Democratic Sens.

JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs paid the most million-dollar bonuses in 2008, while two banks that lost almost $28bn each last year, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, also made hundreds of their employees millionaires, according to a newly released report on bonus payments by government-supported banks

Avaazorg posted a photo:

L’AQUILA, ITALY - JULY 09: Youth climate change activists deliver two giant Copenhagen postcards to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (r) on the morning of the second day of the G8 summit on July 9, 2009 in L’Aquila, Italy. The postcards invite him and other world leaders to personally attend the December climate summit and make their G8 climate pledge a reality. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

US equity benchmarks were trading at new highs for the year, as investors were increasingly optimistic that aggressive cost-cutting by companies places them in a strong profits’ position once the the economy recovers

By some indicators, previous downturns were more severe. But none since World War II has caused so much pain on so many fronts.

Rising payouts to investors usually means a company is strong right now and confident about its future. These 7 pay out more and more, year after year.