Mark Hardingham, Suffolk's deputy chief fire officer, said the financial position over the next five years was "still looking very challenging".

BBC: Suffolk fire crews in Ipswich town centre

But New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said the financial incentives available to All Blacks stars moving to UK and French teams were too good for the players to turn down.

BBC: Newcastle sign All Black Hayman

The Lloyds trading update came after James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS, resigned as deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority after a former employee of HBOS said his warnings that the bank was growing too fast were ignored.

BBC: Lloyds shares tumble after update

Fourth, on the assumption that Lord Turner, the chairman of the FSA, becomes the new Deputy Governor for Financial Regulation (my sense is that the chief executive of the FSA, Hector Sants, is planning to leave the regulatory fray next year), we'd see the start of a compelling contest to succeed Mervyn King as Governor in 2013.

BBC: Tories to outline banking reform

In addition to his role as Deputy Director for Management at OMB, he worked as the Controller for OMB and as the Chief Financial Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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