Southern Solar went into administration after 13 years in business as the removal of crucial Government subsidies sent the sector staggering further into crisis. It follows the collapse of Mark Group and Climate Energy, which employed nearly 1,000 and 128 workers respectively and also blamed the sudden withdrawal of state support announced in the last Budget.
The number of estates being hit by inheritance tax is on the rise - largely driven by the rise in house prices over the past two decades. Here are our experts offer advice to help you save money
The current crop of cheap buy-to-let fixes could see a landlord pay £230 a month but a homeowner pay £630. Yet landlords should be warned the relatively near future may not look like right now.
The spotlight is on the privatisation, but it could be worth thinking about other ways to gain exposure to Lloyds - or even rival big banks. We get the thought of fund managers - including four who like Lloyds and potentially other banks and a rather famous one, Neil Woodford, doesn't like the big banks at all.
Comparison websites are once again under the spotlight from Ofgem as it launches a probe to determine whether some breached competition laws over paid search advertising.
A massive 90 per cent of VW drivers surveyed in a new study said they should be compensated if their cars are affected by the emissions cheating scandal.
New-style 'defined ambition' and 'collective benefits' schemes, and a plan to allow workers to take small pots with them when they change jobs, are on hold for now.
The property in Essex is a rare find as it costs marginally more than the average annual salary. Most properties in the area cost £300,000.
New M&S; loyalty scheme will reward shoppers for visiting stores and posting reviews online
But 'members club' offers no cashback.
Why Neil Woodford is BUYING shares when everyone else is selling
We interview fund star
The big Tesco sale continues
Supermarket giant sells off 14 of its mothballed sites to property developer for £250m.
One in five in their thirties think they're okay to drive after six or seven beers
'But officer, I've only had seven pints!'
Do your tenants have a right to rent?
How to make sure your buy-to-let doesn't break new immigration rules.
How to boost your state pension by £1,300 a year
New scheme to help 12 million people who will miss out on flat-rate reforms.
Ferrari reveals F12tdf - a 211mph monster that costs as much as a house
Thunderous and devastatingly fast:
How to check if you are under-insured
Are your life's most precious possessions at risk? Sponsored
Jaguar Land Rover sales hit by Tianjin blast
Car maker loses 5,800 vehicles stored at the Chinese port.
Stephen Fry backs TV plug-in device that aims to bring 'music streaming to the masses'
Is Electric Jukebox for you?
Savers benefit from booming buy-to-let loans
Challenger banks are upping their rates so they can lend more.
Company car tax changes could drive more diesels onto our roads
Despite the Volkswagen emissions scandal
Barclays took weeks to pay back £850 it squirreled away from an account which I hadn't used for 15 months
ASK TONY.
Fashion house Burberry saw its shares plunge as it revealed falling sales amid a slide in demand for luxury goods sparked by the economic slowdown in China. Shares in the trendy trench coat maker dropped 12% as it said trading worsened in its second quarter, with like-for-like retail sales falling by 4% in the three months to the end of September as Chinese shoppers reined in their spending. But the wider FTSE 100 Index broke a recent losing streak, rising 69.1 points to 6338.7, helped by miners and strong gains from consumer goods giant Unilever after a bullish update.
Property investment firm Meyer Bergman bought the sites, which are mostly in London and are among the 50 sites earmarked by Tesco earlier this year as surplus to requirements.
Demand for luxury goods in the world's second largest economy has tailed off following the recent Shanghai stock market rout and this has directly affected the British fashion house.
The latest infantile craze for adults - after reading Harry Potter, buying £20 burgers in top restaurants and wearing trainers to work - is apparently for those that cannot handle modern life.
Sales of Jaguar and Land Rover models dropped one per cent in the last quarter, driven by a slowing Chinese economy and the Tianjin explosion in August, which destroyed 5,800 of its cars.
Unilever, which owns ice cream brands Magnum and Ben & Jerry's as well as Dove soaps and Lipton tea, said underlying sales grew by 5.7 per cent in the three months to September.
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FIVE FAVOURITE ISAS
This interactive map by credit rating firm ClearScore allows you to search average credit scores by postcode and how it compared to the national average. It shows that the top two districts by credit score are in Scotland, while the majority of the lowest ranking areas are in London. Those living in Kirkwall in Scotland's Orkney Islands have the best credit rating at an average score of 454, closely followed by Lerwick residents at 453.
One in five in their 30s said they thought they'd be safe to drive after drinking six or seven glasses of beer or wine, a survey has found. New research also revealed which area is worst for careless drivers.
There were 5.1 million incidents of fraud and 2.5million cases of computer crime including hacking and spreading viruses, as the scale of the problem was laid bare for the first time.
A claims firm has been fined more than half a million pounds after using high pressure tactics to coax hundreds of customers into using its services to retrieve 'mis-sold' PPI.
Young graduates based in Berlin have on average 64 per cent of their net pay left at the end of the month, but those in London have only just less than a fifth.
The deal It is open to men born before April 6, 1951, and women before April 6, 1953, who live in the UK and already receive a state pension or are entitled to one. You can buy between £1 and £25 extra a week by paying Class 3A voluntary national insurance contributions.
Lloyds, which is 13 per cent taxpayer-owned, abandoned old-fashioned sales targets after mis-selling scandals cost them billions but bosses have now told staff to ramp up financial-product sales.
Britain's biggest clothes retailer M&S; is launching a new loyalty scheme aimed at encouraging customers to visit its stores more frequently.
With his first independent fund - Woodford Equity Income - Neil Woodford has turned every £1,000 invested into £1,157 over the past year when his rivals have only managed to make an average £5. Had you put £1,000 into his Invesco Perpetual High Income fund when he took the helm in 1988, you would have had £22,286 by the time he left last year. Holly Black gets his thoughts on the investing world.
The ONS said the fall in unemployment more than outstripped recent rises and has led to some economists calling for a interest rate rise as early as January 2016.
Dr Gertjan Vlieghe, who joined the central bank's monetary policy committee last month, warned that inflation is 'very weak' and Britain is at risk from turmoil around the world.
I'm a pensioner with a modest bank account held at Barclays. On August 10, I called at my branch to withdraw funds, but was shocked to be told there were none available. After about 15 minutes, the bank clerk told me she had traced the money and discovered the account had been closed because it hadn't been used for the past 15 months.
Several landlords were fined during a pilot last year, so how can you make sure your tenants have the right to remain in the UK?
Many new banks do not offer mortgages to ordinary homeowners, so instead the profits on the savings they bring in come from other types of loans.
A new plug-in and play device which slots into the TV and is controlled by a wireless wand with a microphone is aiming to bring 'music streaming to the masses.' Electric Jukebox, which launched this morning at an event in London, has been backed a raft of celebrities including Sheryl Crow, Robbie Williams, Alesha Dixon and Stephen Fry.
The removal of the three per cent Benefit in kind (BIK) surcharge on diesel cars in 2016 will make them much more affordable for company car drivers to tax, despite the VW emissions scandal.
For the first time, an insurer has been able to use the information from the black box technology - known as telematics - to successfully prove in court that an accident was a sham.
It can be a huge blow when household disaster strikes but knowing you are properly insured can help soften the impact on your wallet at least.Therefore making sure you have sufficient buildings and contents protection if the worst happens should be a top priority.
Ferrari's latest creation can accelerate from 0-62mph faster than you can tie your shoe laces, has a top speed of 211mph and more power than nine superminis put together. Just 799 F12tdf examples will be built and each one is expected to cost in the region of £275,000.
VW admit UK cars fitted with emission 'defeat device' did cheat EU tests and says the majority of models can be corrected with a software update. However, some models will take longer to fix.
Receive alerts to tell you when your car is due for tax renewal, when an MOT is soon to be required and when the next service in imminent. This new AA tool should take the hassle out of car ownership.
The company, owned by Spanish giant Iberdrola, is struggling to clear a logjam of complaints triggered by a botched £200 million computer upgrade. More than 18 months after Money Mail revealed it was having problems, complaints are still pouring into Money Mail's postbag. Among the disgruntled customers are Lynne McCaughey and her daughter Cate, 12, (pictured).
The chain said its Mobile by Sainsbury's service will end on January 15 - just two and a half years after it set up the joint venture with Vodafone.
The startling figures show how new rules, which made it easier to get money from a pension, coincided with the amount snatched by fraudsters soaring to more than five times normal levels.
I want to get a new credit card to put some of my regular spending on and get some rewards for it. I travel often and so am considering an airline credit card. What do I need to consider when looking for one?
The Bristol-based group attracted a 47 per cent increase in new business inflows for the three months to 30 September compared to the same period last year. Total active client numbers rose by 24,000 to reach 760,000, up from 736,000 in 2014.
Virgin Money said its gross mortgage lending rose 38 per cent to £5.5billion in the nine months to the end of September, while net mortgage lending almost doubled to £2.6billion from a year earlier.
Former managing director David Smith, former finance director Robert Peto and Thomas Wright, an assistant director at Better Capital are charged under the Trade Union and Labour Relations act.
A day after Worldpay's £6.3bn public offering, retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone and dividend processor Equiniti both announced float plans.
Jes Staley, a former high-flyer at Wall Street giant JPMorgan, is understood to have been chosen as the man to replace ousted chief executive Antony Jenkins.
Hayward will be best remembered by shareholders as the boss who went off yachting around the Isle of White while the company's value drained away following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Walmart's shares slid by 10 per cent after the world's largest retailer said profits would fall 12 per cent next year because of increased spending on its online service and on staff wages.
Our money gives these fund managers enormous power. For every share they buy, they get a right to vote on that company - and when you buy as many as they do, you have a very loud voice. They could be advocates for social responsibility; keep outrageous executive pay in check; campaign for transparency and better corporate practices.
Those affected, are receiving state help with their mortgage repayments, face being forced to hand back the cash they receive, plus interest, under a £600m cost-cutting drive.
To see how much interest they earn, your child will have to grapple with different rates depending on whether the account was opened before or after October 6.
Last week, This is Money reported that Sky was hiking line rental prices. It follows other telecoms providers who have made similar increases in recent months. It has left us - and many of our readers - asking if Ofcom will look into soaring costs, and do anything about it
Shoppers are making their money go further by tapping into loyalty cards, discounts and vouchers, with one in eight saying it was a way to boost disposable income before they got paid.
Barclaycard is targeting those with an existing annual percentage rate (APR) of at least 11 per cent, keen to put big-ticket goods such as a TV on their card.
Can you explain how bond funds work (I thought they were the 'safer' option) and what effect 'derivatives' might have on the risk now and if I should consider switching out of these old-style investments? I thought derivatives were to blame for the banking crisis that pushed us all into recession!
The rate of inflation has been at or around zero for the majority of the year, and today's figures will go further to reduce pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates in the near future.
The UK currently builds around 1.5million cars a year, but the SMMT says this will continue to grow and reach new record highs of two million a year by 2020.
I bought a home insurance policy a few weeks ago. Today, I received an email warning to say the price will increase next month because of an increase in insurance premium tax laid out by the Government. Is this genuine and what exactly is IPT?
Accord Mortgages has unveiled a two-year fix at 1.84 per cent for those with a 40 per cent deposit but you would pay a hefty £2,625 in fees.The broker arm of Yorkshire Building Society is offering the record low deal to new borrowers or those remortgaging with a 40 per cent deposit.
A fresh bout of fixed rate mortgage cuts has arrived - along with claims of a potential end-of-year price war - just months after lenders started raising rates in expectation of a Bank of England interest rate rise. Experts say that banks and building societies trying to hit year end targets could cut rates to pull borrowers in.
Would you like to set up a business from home and perhaps even turn it into a runaway success? In our new series, we meet people who did just that, starting with Niamh Barker. Eight years ago, she set up the Travelwrap Company in her spare room. Now, it is now an international brand, beloved of celebs and royals alike.
Self-balancing 'hoverboards' which have been increasingly popular this year are actually illegal to ride in public, according to official guidance released by the CPS.
The average price of a home bought by a first-time buyer rose by another 3.8 per cent over the year to August, rising to £215,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The business owner in Wales gave out an incorrect sort-code to a customer, which meant the payment ended up in the account of another HSBC customer in Bristol. However, because the recipient is not responding to messages from HSBC, the banking giant says it is not able to claw the money back from their account.
How British Gas can help you
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Find tenants today for FREE
To clear the average national household debt of £13,000 at 6% interest with a monthly repayment of £100 will take around 17 years. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear your debt - or boost your savings - in less than a year. This is Money's top 50 - updated - money-saving tips may appear light-hearted but are deadly serious.
Learning more about money is a good way to keep hold of it and make more of it. Here are some simple but important things I'd teach people.
Here is a list of the name and address for the chief executive of Britain's largest consumer facing companies: big banks, building societies, utilities companies, telecoms and mobile networks.
Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.
We highlight the world's cheapest and most expensive stock markets, measured on three popular valuation tools and where the UK sits.
If you are new to investing then the huge number of funds and investment trusts on offer can be confusing. Fortunately, This is Money's experts have some ideas to get you started.
Income investing can let you draw on your portfolio or reinvest dividends to build solid growth over time. Our experts give their fund and investment trust recommendations.
If you're looking to add some flair to your investing Isa with emerging markets, This is Money's experts have some ideas to get you started
Unemployment has increased for the second month in a row, adding weight to the arguments of ratesetters in the lower for longer camp. This follows the outlook for when interest rates will rise shifting forwards slightly to about February 2016 in the recent inflation report.
We pick our five favourite cash Isas for savers. This is essential Isa reading and is kept up-to-date throughout the year
How hard does your bank account work for you? Here's our pick of the best accounts to make your money work harder, cut down on fees, or get free stuff.
For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips
After a slowdown earlier this year, the London market appears to be continuing to push ahead of the rest of the UK. We look at the latest figures.
Some of the absolute cheapest mortgage rates have been pulled, as banks look to squeeze a little more from borrowers, but rates remain historically low.
The influence of financial services on the economy is spelled out again as City brokers steal top spot in this year's official list of highest earners. According to the detailed 2014 annual salaries survey, brokers pocketed around 40 times more this year than those at the bottom of the list - the people responsible for keeping children safe on the way to school. Lollipop crossing patrols earned around £3,400.
| Prize value | Winning bond No. | Area |
|---|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 70QM718428 | Cambridgeshire |
| £1,000,000 | 232XW865135 | Derbyshire |
| £100,000 | 250WP039785 | Sefton |
| £100,000 | 218MS986343 | Surrey |
| £100,000 | 178ZW377000 | Liverpool |
| £100,000 | 142LZ553221 | Inner London |
| £100,000 | 141RV744928 | West Midlands |
| £50,000 | 82PW665039 | Norfolk |
| £50,000 | 40QG075028 | Lancashire |
| £50,000 | 251KV606619 | Hereford and Worcester |
| £50,000 | 251BY155686 | Devon |
Thousands more solar power jobs at risk as withdrawal of state subsidies kills off third firm in a week and...
Why home-spun inheritance tax planning doesn’t always work: Six IHT questions answered
SIMON LAMBERT: Dirt-cheap mortgages are tempting investors into buy-to-let, but beware the triple whammy of...
Four top fund managers who like banks - and the famous one who doesn't: How to invest in Lloyds away from...
Price comparison websites under scrutiny once again as Ofgem probes whether they’ve breached competition...
Nine in 10 Volkswagen drivers affected by emissions scandal want compensation - and half wouldn't buy a VW...
Plan to let workers take small pension pots with when changing jobs scrapped as Government mothballs three...
Dreams of owning a property near London can come true! Buy a home of your own within the M25 for just...
FTSE CLOSE: Footsie rises with commodity stocks up on better China news; Burberry drops 12%
The big Tesco sale continues: Supermarket giant sells off 14 of its mothballed sites to property developer...
Burberry shares nosedive as China's nouveaux riches tighten their purse strings and stop buying luxury...
Ballooning craze for adult colouring books helps WH Smith post 8% hike in profits - with Fifty Shades of...
Jaguar Land Rover sales hit by Tianjin blast after car maker loses 5,800 vehicles stored at the Chinese...
Strong demand for ice cream during hot European summer helps boost Unilever sales
How well do your neighbours manage their money? Interactive map reveals average credit scores by postcode
£152,000 A DAY: What conmen snatched from savers in the first month of the pensions revolution
More than five times normal levels.
The little black box under the bonnet which can now be used to expose crash for cash scams
Whiplash fraudsters snared by telematics.
Bungling Scottish Power still owes customers thousands months after it won our wooden spoon winner
Lynne McCaughey and daughter Cate are disgruntled customers.
Now Bank of England says interest rate could be CUT
Move may be needed to boost economy and combat deflation.
Families of UK pensioners who get state help paying mortgages face having to hand back the cash plus interest when they die
Is regulator Ofcom ever going to do anything about the landline rental rip-off?
Telecoms providers ramp up prices year on year, says LEE BOYCE.
We trust fund bosses with hundreds of billions of pounds...
- that's why they should be savings champions, says JAMES CONEY.
AA launches a free personalised PA service alerting you when your car needs attention
Never miss a car tax renewal or MOT again.
Who are the savviest savers?
Survey reveals Londoners bag £1k a year in discounts... while 98% of shoppers base spending habits around bargains.
I hold bond funds because I thought they were safe but it seems they include derivatives...
- aren't these the risky bets that caused the banking crisis?
British households see average prices fall again as UK inflation turns negative by 0.1%
Deflation is back!
First-time buyers must find another £8,000 to buy a home compared with last year
Property prices hit a record £284k, according to the Office for National Statistics.
My home insurer says it's pushing up my premiums because of a new tax
- is this legit?
Are borrowers set to profit from end-of-year home loan price war?
Fixed-rate mortgages cut again.
Now buy-to-let mortgage rates fall below 2%
Record-low landlord loan arrives as market continues to boom.
Tesco launches new price match promise to cut bills at the checkout
Immediate discount if shopping is cheaper at Asda, Sainsbury's or Morrisons.
'Crash for cash' scam concerns lead number of car drivers using dash cams to double in a year
Firm left £3.3k out of pocket after handing out a slightly incorrect sort-code
- and HSBC says it cannot retrieve the money...
The Investing Show: Reasons to be cheerful and should you buy Lloyds shares?
Watch the latest show
Self-balancing 'hoverboard' scooters popular with celebrities are illegal to ride in public
Crown Prosecution Service warning.
I remarried after my first wife died. If I outlive my second wife, will my estate enjoy three nil rate bands upon my death?
How to bag a bargain in the US
Stocks, shops or even a home...
You book a holiday based on a flattering write-up... but can you trust it?
Secrets of the online review sites unmasked
'I'm still grateful the neighbours helped me when we had no food'
Singer Oritsé Williams may have a £2.7m home, but knows value of money
'I'm using one pension to fund a trip to Hong Kong'
Six months into the pension revolution, what are your options?
The top 10 tips for decluttering your home, according to the 'KonMari craze' sweeping the world
Purge sentimental tat and get rid of every 'joyless' item...
What still puzzles you about the pensions revolution?
Savers' top 10 queries revealed - as well as the answers...
Who's lord of the estate?
Skoda launches Superb Estate in bid to unseat the luxurious Mercedes-Benz E-class
Obsessed with property prices?
How to find out how much your house is worth without using an estate agent...
Fraudsters target Barclays Pingit customer in 'smishing' scam
Bogus messages appear as if sent by a bank.
How to unlock growth from the world's fledgling stock markets
MAIKE CURRIE highlights four things you should know about frontier markets.
UK economic slowdown on the cards
Construction slumps and China crisis dents exports.
Toyota to unveil bonkers hot rod buggy at the Tokyo Motor Show
And an astronaut robot will be able to talk you round it
How to prepare your buy-to-let property for winter
From avoiding damp to beating frozen pipes
| Currency | Rate | Buy now |
|---|---|---|
| Updated 15 Oct 2015. | ||
| Euro | 1.327 | Buy Now |
| US Dollar | 1.519 | Buy Now |
| Australian Dollar | 2.0545 | Buy Now |
| Canadian Dollar | 1.9523 | Buy Now |
| Chinese Yuan | 9.4277 | Buy Now |
| Croatian Kuna | 9.9184 | Buy Now |
| Czech Koruna | 35.44 | Buy Now |
| Danish Krone | 9.7447 | Buy Now |
| Egyptian Pound | 10.545 | Buy Now |
| Hong Kong Dollar | 11.672 | Buy Now |
| Hungarian Forint | 401.45 | Buy Now |
| Israeli New Shekel | 5.6522 | Buy Now |
| Japanese Yen | 179.89 | Buy Now |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 6.2624 | Buy Now |
| New Turkish Lire | 4.3186 | Buy Now |
| New Zealand Dollar | 2.2074 | Buy Now |
| Norwegian Krone | 12.084 | Buy Now |
| Polish Zloty | 5.4935 | Buy Now |
| Singapore Dollar | 2.0763 | Buy Now |
| South African Rand | 19.821 | Buy Now |
| Sterling | 1.0 | Buy Now |
| Swedish Krona | 12.167 | Buy Now |
| Swiss Franc | 1.4332 | Buy Now |
| Thai Baht | 52.49 | Buy Now |
| UAE Dirham | 5.5406 | Buy Now |
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Find out how much you can afford to borrow and the difference between repayment and interest-only
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