The Fiat Punto, a new car you can buy from a UK showroom today, has been awarded the lowest crash test rating of all time, according to new assessments. Not a single model has received a zero-star rating since Euro NCAP started crash testing cars in 1997 - and the Punto has fallen foul of safety measures improving over the many years it has been on sale.

Security minister Ben Wallace says technology already exists to track down stolen cash and return it to victims. The computer program banks need is understood to be going through final tests. Both Mr Wallace and Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, have urged the banks to adopt the technology, but firms are treading with caution and will await the results of the tests.

On reaching 65 in May 2015, I had a meeting with my financial adviser with a view to investing my private pension which amounted to just under £200,000. During our meeting I was advised the annual management charge would be 1.54% which sounded reasonable but after adding it up, it amounted to nearly £3,000 a year. Could you please advise if the management charges sound fair and if not are you able to suggest any alternatives.

Research shows retailers pocket up to £300 million a year from cards that customers fail to spend before they become worthless, as expiry dates kick in. We reveal how long they last, including the many health clubs, hotels and restaurants flouting official guidelines - with some lasting just six months,

If you've been let down by a telecom firm, passed from pillar to post by your power supplier or left brimming with rage by a bank, this is your chance to get your own back. And in a new feature this year, we also want you to nominate your Service Star. This new prize will be awarded to the company that has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and left you beaming.

Friday 22 and Saturday 23 December could be the busiest supermarket shopping days in history, according to consumer panel Kantar Worldpanel. Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year and the last time that happened, in 2006, the Friday before was the most popular day for grocery shopping that year.

Alpine is back! After more than two decades on the shelf, Renault has relaunched the French sports car name, and the first new model to feature the badge is a peppy little sports car looking to going head-to-head with the Porsche Cayman. So is it the most enjoyable compact two-seater on the market today?

The McLaren Senna has been named after the late three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna (inset) with some of the proceeds of its £750,000 price tag going to his charity to support underprivileged children. in his home nation, Brazil. It gets McLaren's own designed dihedral doors, though this time with an additional feature. If you're happy to pay extra for it, the British-based car maker will fit the lower parts of the door panels with glass inserts so you can see the apex of the corner. It should also help when trying not to kerb a wheel when parallel parking and squeezing through width restrictions in town.

Many income investors are guilty of relying too heavily on the so called dividend stalwarts in the FTSE 100, but there are plenty of opportunities away from the big guns. We look at why investors should look to small and mid-cap companies for income, get some top fund managers' tips and find four investments to consider.

The Brexit-hit pound is forcing British holidaymakers to ditch long-haul holidays in favour of cheaper destinations closer to home, travel group Tui has warned, while reporting booming annual sales. In its annual results, the German-based travel group said it was concerned about whether or not its aircrafts would be able to continue using EU airspace freely after Brexit. The FTSE 100 group revealed it is continuing to lobby key UK and EU officials and regulators on the need for a 'liberalised and deregulated' aviation market after Brexit.

Sir Frank Lowy, who built Westfield into a global powerhouse, has struck a deal with French rival Unibail-Rodamco more than half a century after he set up the business in Sydney in 1960.

Tens of thousands of homeowners have become accidental landlords in the last year, as homes in the notoriously expensive South East and London struggle to sell. The decision by owners to keep hold of properties and let them in order to move has come despite a tax crackdown on buy-to-let - and Countrywide said one in 12 homes available in the rental market has previously been up for sale.

A living room is generally the hub of the home where households come together to relax at the end of a long working day, as well as being a prime spot for entertaining guests. We take a look at how to get living room to sell your home and get some tips from an estate agent on what buyers want.

Contactless cards are the impatient shopper's best friend and now account for a fifth of all purchases in shops by plastic. But beware - they are also proving popular with fraudsters. A recent survey found that more than a third of contactless cardholders have had direct or indirect experience of fraud or identify theft in the past year.

Warpaint is one of the fastest-growing beauty businesses, valued on the stock market at more than £170 million.The shares are 222½p and should move higher over the next few years. Appealing primarily to 16 to 30-year-olds, Warpaint uses colourful packaging, quirky terminology and cheap prices to distinguish W7 products from the rest of the industry.

Rather than waste money on the latest fad this year, why not buy your little ones a gift that teaches them about the value of money and instils some good financial habits? Putting a tax-friendly Junior Isa in your child's stocking may not be as exciting when it comes to unwrapping presents on Christmas morning, but it could grow into a welcome nest egg.

Rising house prices, more stamp duty to pay and less tax relief have all piled the pressure on to landlord finances in recent years but there are still healthy returns on offer in some parts of the UK. Research has looked at annual yields on 500,000 buy-to-let properties across Britain and found that while landlords in London are struggling to make a decent return, those letting out homes in Liverpool are firmly in the black.

The so-called 'accelerated degree' will work out 20 per cent cheaper overall and save students thousands of pounds in borrowing costs, according to Universities Minister Jo Johnson. Announcing the proposals today, Johnson told The Mail on Sunday he hopes universities will grab the opportunity to offer students more flexibility and choice by providing short-term degrees over a wide variety of subjects - in addition to traditional courses.

The UK Finance report - seen exclusively by Thisismoney.co.uk - argues that support for mortgage interest from the Government is a critical for struggling homeowners, especially the elderly. By scrapping it at the same time as axing tax credits, the banking trade association says it's 'inevitable' that more of the families who fall behind on their mortgages will be evicted.

The new DS7 Crossback is aimed as a Gallic riposte to the dominant German, Japanese and British upmarket luxury off-roaders. The bold Audi-esque grille aside, what strike you most are the finishing touches. DS bosses insist everything the customer touches will be leather, metal or wood - with no plastics to spoil the tactile experience.

Fund giant Vanguard has launched two special funds aimed at fresh-faced investors with over 40 years to go before they retire. It claims a 25-year-old investing £100 per month could end up with around £135,000 after 40 years. That means that they provide an easy option for someone in their twenties or early thirties now - the so-called millennial generation - who want to get cracking on saving for retirement.

Britain's long-suffering commuters have a problem with sky-high train fares, so what did the Government deliver? An extension of the Young Person's railcard up to the age of 30. But there is a simple solution that could at least ease the pain of people paying thousands of pounds a year to get to work - officially allow people to salary sacrifice their season tickets.

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.

The amount you can save into a pension ultimately depends on what you can afford - but the longer you leave it the more you will need to save. We tend to put ambitious targets on our hoped-for income in retirement and then underestimate how much we will need to set aside to achieve that. So how much should you save?

The Bank of England has raised the base rate back to 0.5 per cent. The move up from 0.25 per cent is accompanied by an Inflation Report, which will outline where the bank sees things moving next. Expectations are that rates will not move up swiftly after this first rise, This is Money will bring you the details of the Inflation report and analysis imminently.

Compare your pay to the national average and see whether your employer treated you to a pay rise in line with the the rest of your profession. Farmers, care and air travel assistants were big winners on the pay scales in 2016. Travel agents, careers advisers and probation officers lost out.