Market volatility a key driver of business for spread-betting giant IG Group

Shares in Hargreaves Services, the coal haulage company, slide as it admits it is in merger talks with UK Coal

Fund manager F&C Asset Management had its first net inflow of funds for more than two years during January, almost three years after it was put up for sale by Friends Provident

Chime Communications, the firm behind the CompareTheMarket meerkat advertising campaign, announces a 14% jump in pre-tax profits to £18.8 million

Countrywide, Britain’s largest estate agent, has linked up with auction house Sotheby’s to sell multi-million pound homes in London and beyond

Terry Smith’s interdealer broking firm Tullett Prebon is forced to admit it has received a takeover approach

EMI is plunged into more turmoil as its private equity owner Terra Firma parts ways with Elio Leoni-Sceti as chief executive

The boss of construction giant Costain says work on the start of the Crossrail tunnel at Paddington is going to plan

Banks may have to disclose the number of employees who earn more than £500,000 under draft government plans

Lonely Planet's Tom Hall answers your questions on worldwide travel. This week: is Colombia really a safe destination and can you do Cairo in a day?

Email Tom for help planning your next trip

Why is it that we hear so little about Colombia? I know that they had trouble years ago with drug gangs etc, but I've heard that it's settled now and is an absolutely beautiful country. A couple of friends have travelled away from the usual coastal areas to the main coffee area around Armenia and said the Andean scenery was stunning. I'm thinking of going in the summer and would like to go to the central area, not the touristy coast. Can you help?
Name and address supplied

Once the South American country to avoid, Colombia is continuing a recent come-back, and is now far safer with a wild mix of destinations that take in the Andes, the Caribbean, the Amazon and the Pacific. The Guardian listed it as one of the destinations of the decade, and its South America correspondent only warned against the remote areas.

One of the great Andean destinations, actually, is Bogota, one of South America's most engaging capitals. The cobblestone core of La Candelaria is a student-filled area with a wonderful free museum of Botero's plus-sized sculptures and cafes selling canelazo tea (spiked with aguardiente), and the sushi bars and salsatecas around northern neighborhoods like Zona Rose and Parque 93 are for the dress-up crowd.

The classic Colombian route still hugs the coast, taking in Cartagena, Caribbean beaches and then hitting an island or two. If you'd rather take in the attractions of the interior, you could do a loop out of Bogota first heading north via colonial towns like Barichara and Mompos (or Mompox) to Cartagena. If you want to do the jungle trek to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City), then you can head north-east from here to Santa Marta to arrange the hike. Then you can head back south to Medellin to explore the Zona Cafetera – the coffee lands that your friends were rightly raving about - and the nature reserves around Manizales and the Valle de Cocora outside Salento. You can reverse again at Cali, after you've visited the archaeological ruins at Tierradentro and San Agustin, before returning to Bogota via the striking landscape of the Tatacoa Desesrt. Ciudad Perdida is an ancient Tayrona site you trek in to over three days.

Provided you don't go too far off the beaten track, you're likely to come away thinking Colombia feels as safe as anywhere else in South America, though frequent military checkpoints are a reminder of a less stable past. Apart from the Colombian tourism authority's snappy assertion that "The only risk is wanting to stay", the main concern is of theft when out and about in big cities. Take taxis after dark and seek local advice on any no-go areas.

Are there any Buddhist monasteries near Nara in Japan that people can visit and then stay the night? If so, can you recommend an authentic one?
Marie Hynes, Ireland

Here are a few authentic options to try near Nara, recommended by the Japan National Tourist Office
• The temple at Hosenji, 40 miles and a couple of hours by train.
• Closer is the Soto International Zen Center at Nanyoji, 10 miles from Nara.
• Taizoin is located in north-west Kyoto but gets good reviews.
• The Temple Lodging in Japan website lists a number for Nara.

I am travelling to Cyprus in May and was considering going to Cairo on a daytrip. Is it safe for westerners and can you recommend a tour company?
James Mullaney, by email

These tours take advantage of Cairo's proximity to Cyprus – flying from Pafos takes less than an hour. It's a pretty breathless day, requiring an early start and taking in the Pyramids and the Sphinx before lunch. After a bite to eat, usually in a centrally-located hotel, it's off to the Egyptian Museum, sometimes with time for a quick Nile cruise and a couple of compulsory stops at shops for "demonstrations" of their wares. You'll get back to your hotel in the small hours. The trips run during the summer season. Cairo is a safe and exciting city and there's certainly no risk involved other than frustration at the time you spend stuck some of the Egyptian capital's traffic jams and not having longer to explore further. Regency Travel is the main company running this tour, charging around £324 for the all-inclusive day trip, but I don't have any experience of using them. If any readers do, please get in touch.

Your help would be hugely appreciated to plan our summer holiday. We would like to spend two weeks in Austria over the summer. A rough itinerary would be Vienna or Salzburg for two-three days, around eight days hiking (with some rest days in between) and then finish up in a really nice hotel for three days for some well needed R&R. For the hiking, we would like to see the best that Austria has to offer - stunning mountains, lakes, meadows, rural villages etc. We are both quite fit but don't want any hiking that would involve a lot of experience or technical climbing skills. We would like to stay in authentic Austrian B&Bs with homely food or stunningly located serviced mountain huts. What areas/rough itineraries would you recommend?

Also, do you have any recommendations for companies that transfer your luggage, as this is on option we are seriously considering? And we would like to finish up in a really nice hotel with spa and excellent food in a gorgoeous location ...
Carol Houlihan, by email

I asked Austria expert and guidebook author Neal Bedford for a few suggestions. He says:

"If they're looking for lakes and mountains, then they have the choice between Carinthia or the Salzkammergut. Both will be busy in July. The Salzkammergut is easily accessible from Salzburg, and offers some great hiking, for instance around Dachstein (near the former celtic settlement of Hallstatt), where there are cable cars to high altitudes and mountain huts all around. Or, if they're travelling by car, they could traverse the Grossglockner road in Osttirol, while heading from Salzburg to Carinthia, and end their drive at Weissensee."

The location, with a lake at 995m and chairlifts into the mountains with hiking all around is both fit for your purpose and and very traditionally Austrian.

"From there, they could drive east to Styria/Burgenland and the region's thermal spas. Bad Blumau was designed by noted Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser and is a pretty funky place, but cheaper options include spas at Loipersdorf and Bad Waltersdorf. From there, it's an easy couple of hours by car or train to Vienna."

For more on Austria, visit: austria.info/uk

• Colombia
• Austria
• Cairo
• Egypt
• Walking holidays

Tom Hall
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Fears of a double-dip recession resurface after factory output unexpectedly fell early this year, hitting the pound again

Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar triumph with The Hurt Locker has had an instant effect, with DVD rentals of the movie more than doubling

Heathrow-owner BAA reports its first rise in domestic passengers in two years, as Britons return to pre-recession routines

Melrose, the manufacturing investor, beats profit forecasts and said it would focus on acquisitions rather than disposals this year

Standard Life ups the pressure on rival Prudential, insisting there are huge opportunities in the UK

Tullow Oil net profit crashes by 92% to £19 million, with the firm blaming lower oil and gas prices and output

Bookmakers stop taking bets on a 6 May general election after Gordon Brown makes the date a near-certainty with Budget announcement

Alistair Darling is to announce the date of the Budget amid intense speculation that it will be held on 24 March

Barclays is shopping around for a large US retail bank as it looks to boost its presence on the high street, it is reported

Sainsbury's is to open the country's first bakery college for a supermarket