Money Central - Times Online - WBLG

Singed bear licks his wounds

The news that the FTSE 250 index of the UK's middle-sized quoted companies briefly broke through the 10,000 barrier this week left one bear decidedly singed. In February last year I confidently predicted that the bulls would shortly be switching their attention from the 250 index to its bigger brother, the FTSE 100. How wrong I was.

How we can help with your first home

If you are looking for a toehold on the property market and want advice on mortgages, house prices or just where to buy don’t miss our special web seminar for first-time buyers.

What’s the future for the world economy?

One veteran rune-reader believes that, with a bit of luck, we should escape with a soft landing

Why you can't trust Labour

The chancellor seems to have no understanding of the reality of hard-working families up and down the country, if his budget crackdown on trusts is anything to go by.

Labour thinks trusts are used only by the very wealthy to avoid inheritance tax (IHT), but this is simply not the case.

Chip & Pin: beware!

Following my Chip & Pin blog three weeks ago, I’m happy to say that I’m still blithely using my credit cards, and obediently entering my pin on those handheld devices which in a very short status have acquired near-mythic status. And I think that is one of the most dangerous mistakes any of us could make, for it is going to come back and bite us before long.

Debenhams: in need of promotion

Yesterday's announcement that Debenhams is to float on the stock market has set off the usual horse trading in the City. On the one hand, a huge phalanx of expensive advisers is busy promoting the store group's virtues and, naturally, its price. On the other, the would-be buyers amongst the pension funds, insurance companies, hedge funds etc. are wheeling out reasons why the flotation looks expensive.

Driving's not cheap but there are ways to save

It has been a bad week for the beleaguered motorist. The recent surge in the cost of oil has sent the average price of petrol rocketing to 94.9p a litre with many experts warning drivers to expect prices above £1 a litre in the coming weeks.

It was also revealed that a single speed camera in road works on the M62 in Manchester netted a staggering £1 million in fines in just 18 months -- that is almost £2,000 a day.

The housing market conundrum

The house price conundrum continues. According to Rightmove's latest index, prices have risen 1.1% this month and it is prime properties in London and the South that are pushing the market upwards, while aspiring buyers cannot afford to get on to the property ladder. But I'm not sure I agree.

Credit card details sold on the net

Are your credit card details really safe?

Jonathan Richards has delivered a thought-provoking report for The Times in which he found that the credit card details of thousands of Britons are being sold by criminals in internet chat rooms, after they have managed to hack into company computer systems to steal your financial identity.

The full shocking details of Jonathan's reports can be found on our Borrowing page.

Critical definitions

An insurance policy document is hardly a good bedtime read - they are long, confusing and dull. Critical illness policies, which are designed to pay out a lump sum if you die or develop a permanent illness, generally win the prize for being the most confusing, because they contain so many exclusions and conditions. But the insurance industry is at least attempting to make them clearer, even if it cannot make them more interesting. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has given critical illness insurance companies 12 months to shape up their policies.

How older travellers can cut insurance costs

Since 1993, the number of over-65s taking overseas holidays each year has leapt by 110 per cent, while the number of international travellers aged between 55 and 64 has jumped 140 per cent.

Bank charges - the consumer fights back

Last week the Office of Fair Trading ordered banks to slash penalty fees on credit cards, current accounts and mortgages to a maximum of £12, after ruling that the current fees – typically £20 to £25 – were unlawful (for more on the story click here).

The banking industry is now threatening to end the cherished tradition of free banking if the charge cap is introduced.

Gas meter mystery

Getting a gas bill you think is too high is one thing - but getting a bill for gas you're sure you haven't used is quite another.

Battle over trusts

The Chancellor's plans to alter the tax treatment of some trusts has led to an outcry in the legal and accountancy worlds.

Turning point for pensions?

After a three-year inquiry, Lord Turner of Ecchinswell today published his final recommendations for reform of the UK pension system, and in doing so heightened the growing tensions between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Lord Turner thinks the government should increase the retirement age to 68 by 2050, abandon means testing to encourage savings and link the basic state pension to earnings rather than prices.

The Chancellor considers the proposals too expensive but the Prime Minister is thought to support the plans, even though they might require higher taxes.

Bleak warning for the young

Young people were given a bleak warning by the TUC at the weekend: start saving soon or you will face poverty in retirement.

The TUC found that only just over a quarter of men aged 18 to 24 and only one-third of women have a pension, and it urged them to get one as soon as possible. You need to save at least 11% of earnings from the age of 25 to get a decent retirement income, rising to 14% if you put it off until 30 and 18% if you delay until 35.

Hidden danger of chip and pin

After the great fanfare about Chip & Pin Day on February 14, the business of punching in a four-digit number instead of scribbling an unintelligible signature when you use a credit card has gone mercifully silent. All the hoo-ha about Pins (personal identification numbers) being compulsory now is just that - I was asked for a signature just the other day, so not all retailers regard the procedure as mandatory, and some big retail chains are holding out because they have to pay for those hand-held terminals that we are all having to get used to.

But a Sunday Times Money reader has phoned in with a rather more sinsiter development. It turns out that a retailer, be it shop or restaurant, can blithely take money out of your account without authority - and you will probably know nothing about it until you get your next credit card statement.