It’s been another tough day for sterling but fluctuations in the currency markets can be turned to a business’s advantage, according to FC Exchange managing director Nick Fullerton.

Ever-increasing regulation is often cited by finance directors as the thing that most hampers their work. But Scarborough Building Society finance director Robin Litten believes new rules in the financial services sector has helped his operation.

As financial institutions across the globe continue to feel the effects of the sub-prime fall-out, money markets remain alarmingly volatile. But Lesley Batchelor, chair of the Institute of Export, believes busineses should take advantage of the uncertain climate.

The former FD of Northern Rock, Bob Bennett, has said the now-nationalised lender would never have gone to the Bank of England for emergency funding if he was still in charge of the finances.

Edward Menashy, the chief economist at Charles Stanley Stockbrokers, tells us what he thinks about the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the base rate by a quarter point to 5.25 per cent.

A new study claims the importance of the FD to workplace pensions will continue to grow as changes to the system, such as the rise in popularly of defined benefit schemes, occur.

It’s clear that many of the recent trends we have seen in corporate pensions are long term: companies transferring risk onto their employees as they shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes.

Credit-impaired customers can be risky for a business but not for Brighthouse, says the company's FD, Giles David.

The strength of the euro is already having an impact on some UK businesses. Gardiner Brothers FD James Gardiner says the footwear distribution company will hike up the price of its euro-based products next year.

The strength of the euro against the dollar could be one of the big political issues for 2008, according to Mark O’Sullivan, the head of trading at Currencies Direct.