Inside Money
The Bargain Hunter: Romantic rush
With the big day only 48 hours away, Asda has slashed the price of flowers on its specialist Valentine's microsite. Flowers delivered by post can be purchased for as little as £9.75, while bouquets delivered by courier start at just £19. Aesthetically, the stand out choice has to be the ES Pink Signature arrangement, available for £36 including delivery. Visit Asda's website at http://bit.ly/epihLJ to view the full range.
Mortgage lending falls again
The number of mortgages advanced to people buying a property dropped for the fifth consecutive month during December as activity in the housing market remained subdued.
Consuming Issues: Who can you trust for sound debt advice?
Debt advice is becoming crucial as more and more people sink into a financial morass. But Coalition cutbacks mean free help – from the likes of Citizens Advice – will become relatively scarce. The charity said last week it is being forced to get rid of 500 advisers. So where does that leave all those people who need help with their debts?
Equitable members to get just a fifth of losses
Equitable Life policyholders were told yesterday that they will receive only about a fifth of the money they lost when the insurer collapsed.
Pensions safety net surplus hits £42bn on market rise
The bailout fund for company pension schemes reported a sharp rise in its funding surplus to £42bn yesterday, thanks largely to the 14.4 per cent rise in the value of the stock market over the past year.
Record numbers file online tax returns
A record 6.9 million people filed their tax returns online by the January deadline, HM Revenue & Customs said yesterday.
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