Demand for shares in the run up to Facebook's first day on the stock market was intense, yet once the bell tolled, a very different picture emerged. The long-promised gold rush proved to be nothing more than a mirage in the Californian desert as the bubble burst and shares rapidly dropped.
Profits could almost double at the state-owned business as it should report a surplus of between £300m and £400m, up from the £211m it made in operating profits last year, it has been reported.
The scandal of alleged price-fixing by British oil companies has turned the spotlight on the bizarre way in which petrol prices for much of the world are set by a few people sat in a London office for 30 minutes.
Javey Botha (pictured) looked for cheaper deals after he was quoted £90 from the AA to cover his Toyota Corolla and motorbike. He chose a roadside recovery plan from the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) for just £29. ETA donates part of each premium to the Environmental Trust and uses profits to campaign for sustainable transport. Javey says: 'I like to do things that support the environment - we try to be environmentally friendly at the school too. With this policy I can do that and I saved money.'
Hundreds of thousands of students will be burdened with long-term debt, making it even harder for them to afford to buy a home, a research conducted for The Mail on Sunday suggests.
Annual salaries would increase from £65,738 to more than £75,000 in a move being considered by Commons officials.
Barney Jones, who worked for Google from 2002 until 2006, said the company has 'pulled the wool over the eyes of HMRC and the British population'.
Is now really the time for a £10k pay rise?
Proposal to give MPs bump being considered, but they say 'if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys'.
TONY HETHERINGTON: Make £3,000 in a day! Sorry, but it's a fraud
Tony investigates a currency exchange company's outlandish claims
Not bad for four months' work! Sir Stuart Rose £1.5m richer in Ocado deal with Morrisons
Shares windfall for former M&S; chief
ASK THE EXPERTS: Is my brother doing right by our vulnerable mum?
'I'm worried about some of his decisions'
'Sell in May, and go away'?
It might be better to hold on, say stock market analysts.
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Pension 'liberators' need to be put in jail
Arrests are a start, but more needs to be done to curtail this toxic practice.
Jockey Club's 4.75% retail bond open for another 10 days
Take-up romps past £15m target.
Valuables stolen on holiday?
Don't rely on travel insurance as experts warn most policies are USELESS.
£11.5bn in cuts? No, we can only manage £2.5bn, cabinet ministers tell the Chancellor
Osbornes' demand for 10% cuts challenged.
It's been months since a car crashed into my garden, so why won't Aviva pay up?
Insurer gives homeowner the runaround, until This is Money steps in
How to get a cheaper smartphone:
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I would really love to love Ocado, but I have never found myself able to do so, and a number of details about its its long-term agreement with Morrisons have taken me by surprise, says Philip Dorgan. The main one was that the supermarket signed a 25-year deal, as just 2.5 years is a long time in online retailing.
The Canadian-led consortium, whose £5billion offer for the water company was rebuffed last week, has until June 11 to submit a fresh bid under UK takeover rules.
Carr (pictured), who is the outgoing president of the CBI and was chairman of Cadbury during its £10billion takeover by Kraft, would replace Dick Olver.
While sales of plants, tools and accessories fell 25 per cent in the first three months year-on-year, the warmer weather in the first week of May boosted sales by 70 per cent.
Last week the internet retail giant faced criticism after its UK accounts showed very low levels of reported sales and profits here, despite British consumers accounting for about half its sales in Europe.
The firm, which has devised a way to remove oil from water far more effectively than traditional methods, joined AIM only two years ago but already numbers some of the world's biggest oil companies as clients.
The Co-op Group pulled out of a proposed bid to buy 632 branches from Lloyds Banking Group in April, and two weeks ago credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Co-op Bank's debt to junk.
The retailer is tipped to report on Tuesday that underlying profits for the year to March fell seven per cent to £658million. The fresh evidence of M&S;'s troubles comes after a buoyant week in which its latest women's range was welcomed by fashion pundits. Shares rose seven per cent after the launch. ...read
A source close to the company said: 'Gilbert feels shareholders will demand either he or chief executive Tim O'Toole go, and that he should carry the can rather than risk one of them being hounded out'.
The outgoing governor of the Bank of England says that George Osborne's plan to boost the housing market is in danger of replicating mistakes made in the U.S. mortgage market.
Speaking in front of The Duchess of Cornwall, London Mutual Credit Union treasurer Louis McLeod said on Wednesday that the group will deliver quick and easy short-term or 'payday' loans, following the success of a year-long trial for its CUOK ('see you okay') loan. The Duchess, who is considering joining, met members who had turned their financial fortunes around with the help of a loan and are championing the CUOK service. ...read
Trackers are supposed to rise and fall in line with the Bank of England base rate. But Bank of Ireland invoked a clause in contracts that it says allows it to scrap tracking and raise rates when it wants.
Nuffield Health, the charity that runs gyms and private hospitals, is the second organisation within a fortnight to offer small investors a high-paying bond.
Shares leapt 25 per cent on Friday after an agreement to help the supermarket set up an online grocery delivery service was announced.
Funding Circle, co-founded by Andrew Mullinger (pictured) says it's dealing with several cases of firms forced to wait months to receive funding because of hold-ups by high street banks.
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce (pictured) and Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell were all investors in film schemes that turned sour. City figures, including Caspar Shand Kydd, nephew of Princess Diana's stepfather, Peter Shand Kydd, also put in cash.
The firms will benefit from the investment in the Government agency for innovation and growth - the Technology Strategy Board.
The attempted buyout of Severn Trent by a consortium led by a Canadian pension fund highlights the extraordinary mismatch between our own pension funds' strategies and the valuable infrastructure assets of Britain.
The company, which recently signed up Romeo Beckham (pictured), will open three big stores in Shanghai this year to capitalise on Asian demand for luxury British brands.
A currency trading company claims to be so successful on the foreign exchange market that if I invest £10,000, I will get back £13,000 after just one day. Can you look into it?
My brother has lasting power of attorney for our mother, who has dementia. I am concerned about some decisions he has taken. I am concerned about some decisions he has taken. Do relatives have the right to see an attorney's paperwork or challenge their actions?
Once you scratch the surface, 'pension liberation' schemes are nearly always horribly toxic, leaving victims with a series of unexpected charges and a much-reduced income in retirement.
Stuttard's optimistic view will be welcomed by the Government, but also by Britain's small investors, who have had slim pickings in recent years.
Showing you are a responsible and stable borrower will make it more likely you will get the best interest rates on loans and credit cards, as well as minimising the chances you will be rejected outright for credit. Aqua, which provides credit card products for those with low credit scores, has identified a number of myths which became apparent following a survey of UK adults.
Entrepreneurs and shoppers are being urged to support their local street markets in a campaign running until May 29.
Tuesday sees the launch of iMember, which invites consumers to enter the names of organisations to which they belong and brings together the deals that are on offer through them.
'Failure to damp sufficiently any new shock pushing up inflation would result in inflationary expectations becoming more entrenched,' said Dr Martin Weale in a speech to the British-American Business Council. His warning was backed up by survey evidence today which showed that household's expectations for inflation are on the rise.
The assets of more and more people are finding their way into the pockets of Her Majesty, Prince Charles, or the Treasury because they are failing to make a will. Research from Pannone has found that unclaimed assets in England and Wales totalled £38.5million in 2011/12, a rise of 91 per cent on the year before.
Some four million public sector workers will see their retirement income take a huge hit as the Government looks to cut its pension liabilities by a quarter by 2065. Paying out pensions based on a proportion of average career earnings, rather than final salaries, will see workers' average pension income fall from 23 per cent of their salary to just 15 per cent, the Pensions Policy Institute has said today.
The decision follows damaging claims of the addictiveness of fixed odds betting machines and uncertainty over the rate of online gambling tax.
The move comes amid mounting speculation that an American pharmaceutical business is ready to pounce on Shire in an £11billion hostile takeover bid.
Phone deal options can seem endless - which is why when it comes to renewing or buying a new handset, most people panic and allow themselves to be talked into yet another two-year contract with the same provider, without even checking to see what else is out there. We explain how to be smarter when it comes to picking your phone.
From putting rugs in your living room to using devices that show how ravenous your kettle is for power, there is plenty you can do to make your home more eco-friendly.
There's been a fall in the number of personal insolvencies but the danger of bankruptcy is ever-present: we explains the ins and outs of bankruptcy and the alternatives.
A car crashed into my fence four months ago and although I have submitted all the necessary documentation to my insurers Aviva, they still haven't paid out for the damage.
Investment firm Alliance Trust said its UK financial reality index increased from 84.9 in the final three months of 2012, to 87.9 in the first quarter of this year - its highest level for just over three years. A return to economic growth and a lower level of personal insolvencies contributed to a general feeling of greater economic well-being, it said.
The FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest blue chip companies ended the day above 6,700 points for the first time since October 2007 – the month after the run on Northern Rock.
Normally by this time of year investors would be easing off in preparation for the usual summertime lull.
The squeeze on living is such that some 46 per cent of households said they would struggle to cope if bills and costs increased by this amount, research from Halifax found. When asked if an extra £24 or less every month would change things, 13 per cent said their finances would buckle. ...read
Take-up of the bond has raced through its £15million target as investors flocked to the offering, which the UK racecourse owner created to raise money for the redevelopment of its flagship Cheltenham course.
GraduRates allows students to borrow from a community of lenders who are paid a return on the money they lend in the latest take on 'peer-to-peer' lending that cuts out banks.
Keeping your business banking separate from your personal account means it will be far easier for you to manage. But which banks are offering the lowest fees, in-credit interest and best free perks? This is Money's five favourite business banks for start-ups
A new tax year means a fresh Isa allowance to save. We pick our five favourite cash Isas for savers, don't miss this essential Isa reading that is kept up-to-date throughout the year.
The Association of Investment Companies has analysed all investment trusts to find the 20 strongest and most consistent performers of the last decade. We reveal the full list.
The bank rate is at a rock bottom 0.5%, and one day it must rise. The big question is when? We explain the factors that will decide when interest rates rise and how quickly, including the latest forecasts from markets and economists.
Mortgage rates have hit record lows, with a five-year fix at 2.49%, but borrowers need to beware rising arrangement fees. So is now the time to lock in?
Property sales are finally on the up, while better mortgage deals are landing regularly. So what now for house prices?
For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Read our top ten buy-to-let tips
| Currency | Rate | Buy now |
|---|---|---|
| Updated 20 May 2013. | ||
| Euro | 1.0 | Buy Now |
| US Dollar | 1.5035 | Buy Now |
| Australian Dollar | 1.5128 | Buy Now |
| Canadian Dollar | 1.5166 | Buy Now |
| Chinese Yuan | 8.9823 | Buy Now |
| Croatian Kuna | 8.6515 | Buy Now |
| Czech Koruna | 29.675 | Buy Now |
| Danish Kroner | 8.5292 | Buy Now |
| Egyptian Pound | 10.045 | Buy Now |
| Euro | 1.0 | Buy Now |
| Hong Kong Dollar | 11.486 | Buy Now |
| Hungarian Forint | 330.45 | Buy Now |
| Indian Rupee | 77.377 | Buy Now |
| Japanese Yen | 152.27 | Buy Now |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 4.4219 | Buy Now |
| New Turkish Lire | 2.6802 | Buy Now |
| New Zealand Dollar | 1.8324 | Buy Now |
| Norwegian Kroner | 8.6038 | Buy Now |
| Polish Zloty | 4.7495 | Buy Now |
| Singapore Dollar | 1.8682 | Buy Now |
| South African Rand | 13.853 | Buy Now |
| Sterling | 1.0 | Buy Now |
| Swedish Kroner | 9.8319 | Buy Now |
| Swiss Franc | 1.4391 | Buy Now |
| Thai Baht | 43.425 | Buy Now |
| UAE Dirham | 5.4425 | Buy Now |
There's been a fall in the number of personal insolvencies but the danger of bankruptcy is ever-present: we explains the ins and outs of bankruptcy and the alternatives.
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GOPublished by Associated Newspapers Ltd
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Tony Hetherington
Tony Hazell