Money Box - 22/05/2010

In his first interview as Minister for Pensions, Liberal Democrat Steve Webb talks to presenter Paul Lewis about his policy priorities.He said he wants pensions to be simplified and that people should be able to access the money in their pension pot if they need to. And he responds to a letter of advice from a former pensions minister, Labour's Malcolm Wicks. Financial markets: European markets have been falling, with London's FTSE 100 dipping below 5,000 for the first time since November 2009. Paul Lewis interviews Max King, an investment manager at Ivestec Asset Management. The falls have been put down in part to Germany's ban of the so-called naked short-selling of shares. Financial expert Paul Willmot explains the practice and why it is controversial. Poorly-performing funds: Best Invest has released its new research into which actively-managed funds are the worst performers. Is your money in what it calls the "dog funds"? Paul Lewis interviews the financial advice firm's senior investment adviser, Adrian Lowcock. Home Information Packs: It came as no real surprise when the coalition government announced this week that Home Information Packs were being scrapped immediately. Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had made that commitment in their manifestos. Since their phased introduction in 2007 - people selling a house in England and Wales have had to pay from £250 to £500 for the sellers pack - which included title deeds, local searches and detailed information about their property - before they could legally show their home to potential buyers. Paul Lewis interviews property expert and TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp. Producer: Ruth Alexander.