As the FTSE 100 this week tantalisingly fluttered at the 7,000 mark, investors have been increasing their investments in funds promising exposure to the stock market's surge. The amount that savers are holding in tracker funds has more than doubled in just four years, according to figures from the Investment Association.

The country's banking system is swamped with debt and in a scenario that has uncanny echoes of David Cameron's downfall, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has called a referendum. If the vote goes against the centre-left premier it could even lead to 'Quitaly' - an Italian exit from the European Union. Analysts do not believe that is likely in the short term.

Pensioners who live in other EU countries or hope to do so in future have had retirement plans upended by the Brexit vote - and it might be years before they can make decisions with any certainty again. A deal on pensions will be crucial to retirees trying to decide whether they can still afford to live in an EU country after the UK's departure from the bloc. Nothing is certain, but there are real fears that EU expats will join the legions of other British retirees around the world stuck on frozen state pensions.

A drop top gives any car added glamour but for the love of cars not just any old motor with the roof removed will do. If you appreciate style over sterility, passion over practicality, we have been looking at five of the not so usual suspects. Meet some modern classic convertibles with charisma for less than £10,000, or half the price of a boring family car.

For those who shudder at the prospect of haggling, one entrepreneur has set out to take the awkwardness out of car buying. Meet James Hind. His Carwow website turns the tables on dealers and makes them fight it our for your business. He reveals how he created the idea, got started and grew his business.

Forget puzzling over whether to take a two or three-year fix, how about locking in your mortgage at less than 2 per cent until you get a seven-year itch? Coventry Building Society has launched a seven-year fixed rate mortgage at 1.99 per cent for those with a 50 per cent deposit to put into the deal.

For smart savers hunting for a better return on their cash than the pittance paid by most savings accounts, high interest current accounts have been the only game in town. As Santander slashes its 123 account rate in half, more are sure to follow, but this is a game that should still be worth playing.

The simple act of posting an advert to sell her home online triggered a chain of events that left Adrian Fielder and her husband Graham embroiled in a court case and at risk of losing thousands of pounds. The couple believe they were victims of a so-called 'piggyback' estate agent. This is a reference to companies that trawl classified sites looking for homes for sale, use the details to find a buyer and then charge homeowners a hefty fee.

Figures from investment brokers show the amount being pumped into gold investments this month is around three times as high as a year ago. The World Gold Council says that demand hit record highs in the first half of 2016 - and the Royal Mint enjoyed a surge in customers when the Bank of England cut interest rates at the beginning of August.

The firm, privately owned by entrepreneur Peter Simon, is ditching a plan to lump its Monsoon and Accessorize chains together under one roof.

The talk in the market is that the pension fund, approached the business before the referendum on whether it should leave the European Union about taking the company private. It is said that before Brexit the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan had indicated it could be willing to offer about £1.3billion or 618p a share for Lancashire Holdings.

Two decades of property inflation has lifted families to millionaire status who never would have expected to get there, and that means many more are now hit by inheritance tax. New rules will save up to £140,000 on family homes passed on to children and grandchildren, but they are not straightforward. We answer questions you might have.

Santander has slashed the rate on its hugely-popular 123 Current Account to 1.5 per cent, disappointing the many account holders using the deal to beat paltry savings rates. A major attraction of Santander's 123 was that it paid 3 per cent on up to £20,000. The question now is should you ditch your account in protest for a rival?

Last September, I ordered a mobile phone costing £269.99 from Very. Before it was delivered, I realised it was going to be a bit complicated, so tried to cancel it. I was told it was too late, so took delivery, but immediately sent it back with the return receipt. When I received my statement, it said 'item not delivered', so I called to tell them it had been delivered and I'd returned it. On my November statement, they had credited the cost of one phone, but added the cost of another.

After the EU referendum, there was a bit of a panic that property prices could fall sharply. As a result, a lot of savers with cash in property funds started trying to get their money out. For an open-ended property fund, this is a big problem as buildings can take time to sell. In July, several property funds decided to suspend trading.

Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb is This Is Money's Agony Uncle. He is ready to answer your questions, whether you are still saving, in the process of stopping work, or juggling your finances in retirement. This week, he replies to a reader who gave up full-time work due to ill health and doesn't claim benefits, but wants credits towards his state pension.

Soaring government debt has been the biggest millstone around the necks of the young since 2000, but mounting pension liabilities have had the most significant impact over the past year, a study finds. The Intergenerational Fairness Index, which analyses nine separate indicators affecting young people - including housing, jobs and health - shows they are worse off on many fronts since the turn of the millennium. However, their overall situation has remained almost constant since 2013, according to the Intergenerational Foundation thinktank.

Of course opting for a slightly older model or sticking with your current phone is always going to save the most cash, but if you are after a top-of- the-range handset This is Money has taken a look at some of the cheapest ways to get hold of it it.

Energy firms are contacting affected customers and the regulator has said they must give refunds to those who have overpaid. The billing error happened because some firms were confusing the way they recorded energy usage between older imperial meters and modern metric ones. Initial investigations have begun by all the main energy providers to work out how many customers are affected and starting the process of paying refunds.

Most homeowners rely on an estate agent to buy or sell a property, but now many seeking privacy are turning to a new kind of ultra-discreet professional. Increasing numbers of properties are being bought 'off market' without the traditional for-sale board or advertising. Buying and selling this way, using a 'buying agent' used to be the preserve of the rich and famous.

Brexit worries coupled with a summer holiday slowdown saw the average asking price fall by £3,602 in August, as questions hang over the housing market. But while  property listing website Rightmove said the Brexit vote had knocked sentiment, it added that the month-on-month decline in asking prices was in line with the traditional summer lull.

The compact two-berth Bailey Approach Compact motorhome is based around the popular Peugeot Boxer van cab, engine and low-slung chassis. It costs £38,000 or you can rent one for short term for holidays. Mine had almost everything - including kitchen sink, cooker, compact bathroom with loo, washbasin and refreshing shower.

When an employee of one of Hampshire's most picturesque golf clubs logged into its business account one afternoon, she thought it would be a formality. Just another invoice to pay. But she did not realise that fraudsters were watching her every cyber move. By the time she logged in again the next morning, she was 'horrified' to find that £90,000 had been plundered from the club's funds.

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.

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.

Now that we've voted ourselves out of the EU, it's time to work out how we're going to trade in future with all its 27 member countries - and the other 27 countries it has deals with. So how do other non-EU members trade with the bloc and would any of their models suit us?

Asked on Radio 4's Today programme if there was a real prospect of a further cut in rates before the end of the year, the Bank's Ben Broadbent said, 'that's true'. Bank rate was cut yesterday to 0.25 per cent from its already record low level of 0.5 per cent, where it had remained for more than seven years.

Musicians have seen pay rises averaging nearly 20 per cent in 2015, while cleaners are getting 17.8 per cent more, and window cleaners 12.3 per cent. Artists in general are earning 14.6 per cent more in 2015 than 2014, according to the huge annual data dump of pay scales by the Office For National Statistics highlights.