- Wednesday, December 21, 2011, 12:44
- Featured, Housing & real estate
Risky mortgage lending played a significant role in the credit crunch that sparked the financial meltdown of the past four years. Ever increasing house prices in the boom years prior to 2008 meant banks were forced to lend more money to people with smaller deposits if they wanted to expand their home loan ...
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- Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 12:36
- Charity, Featured
Britain has become the fifth most charitable nation in world, according to a new survey by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
The study, called the World Giving Index 2011, ranked the charitable behaviour of people from 153 countries in three areas - ‘giving money’, ‘volunteering time’ and ‘helping a stranger’. The UK moved up from eight ...
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- Thursday, December 15, 2011, 13:24
- Featured, Housing & real estate
Buying a home is now cheaper than renting in all but three of the UK’s largest towns, according to zoopla.co.uk.
Demand for privately rented properties from first-time buyers and record low interest rates have helped to make renting an average of 15% more expensive than owning a home, up from 10% this time last year.
It ...
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- Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 16:33
- Economy, Featured
Who would have thought back in 2008 – at the beginning of the “credit crunch” – that we would still be facing the prospect of financial meltdown and recession some four years later? Well, we are.
In fact, some commentators are forecasting that 2012 could provide a new low point in western capitalism’s lost ...
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- Monday, December 12, 2011, 12:51
- Consumer rights, Energy, Featured
Complaints about the “big six” energy suppliers rocketed by 26% in the three months to the end of September, according to figures published by Consumer Focus.
Every company except Scottish Power recorded a rise in the number of complaints received, with French-owned EDF Energy posting a 91% year-on-year increase in the number of disgruntled customers it ...
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- Friday, December 9, 2011, 12:33
- Economy, Featured
The number of couples getting divorced has risen in the UK for the first time in nearly a decade, according to figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Both the ONS and a number of relationship and marriage experts suggested the country’s perilous economic situation could have been a major contributor to the ...
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- Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 13:28
- Featured, Shopping
A BBC Panorama investigation screened on Monday accused the UK’s big four supermarkets of confusing customers with misleading pricing and less than transparent special offers. The program claimed its findings could leave the stores open to prosecution and enforcement action from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Reporter Sophie Raworth skulked around branches of the big ...
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Money is one of the biggest causes of quarrels among couples aged over 40, according to a new study by Prudential.
A survey by the financial services firm found 27% of middle-aged people said finances were the most common cause of arguments in their household, despite the fact that one in five admitted they felt uncomfortable ...
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- Monday, December 5, 2011, 12:22
- Featured, Shopping
Today will be the biggest online pre-Christmas shopping day of the year, according to Experian Hitwise.
The online consumer behaviour intelligence service, which has dubbed today ‘Cyber Monday’, predicts consumers will make 85 million visits to retail websites throughout the course of the day, 15% higher than this time last year.
Some 350 million hours will be ...
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- Friday, December 2, 2011, 12:48
- Consumer rights, Energy, Featured
Fraudsters are attempting to sell rogue energy saving devices that could cause fire or electrocution to elderly home owners.
The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) has urged consumers to be on the lookout for bogus telephone cold callers trying to offload plug-in devices they claim can reduce electricity costs by as much as 40%.
The TUI issued ...
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