Money

Fundsmith Equity has developed a considerable fan club of investors and it is not difficult to see why. The fund has returned 266 per cent in a little over seven years. Manager Terry Smith's idea was to deliver a fund with a clearly defined and simple investment philosophy, investing in companies around the world that had the power to turn cash into consistent profits. We look at why it has proved so popular.

We were given rare behind the scenes access to Ikea and visited Älmhult, Sweden, to see its design studios and testing labs, while staying at its only hotel. We discovered robotic testing buttocks, where the wood comes from and why each catalogue cover varies, depending on the country. And yes, meatballs were consumed - but of the moose variety.

The fallout from the Carillion collapse could cost the taxpayer more than £1 billion, a senior insider at the company has said. Fees paid to liquidation advisers PwC could also run into hundreds of millions, the source added.

Bargain-hunters are still scouring the shops in the hope of picking up discounted clothes, gadgets and white goods in this month's sales. But banks and other financial institutions are also getting in on the act, launching special deals on a range of products. If you are looking to take out a new current account, savings account, loan, credit card or mortgage

My dad invested £45k of his pension plan in storage pods. He has now been contacted by KB Financial Solutions, which has a website at karelbesta.com, with an offer to buy his pods for £60k. But he needs to pay £16k for insurance which he will get back when the deal goes ahead. I have told him this is a scam and not to send any money.

More of us are shopping online. Last month, there was a 3.5% annual decline in footfall on the high street. We take a look at the shops who could still thrive, despite the gloom - and others who have a worrying future. Included in the round-up are M&S;, Debenhams, Mothercare, B&M; and Joules.

Official figures due out this week will show that fraud and hacking is now the most common crime in England and Wales. Reported cases of fraud are running at a frightening two million a year - with a staggering £2m a day being lost to criminals.MPs on the Public Accounts Committee recently concluded that Government, the financial services industry and the police are failing to keep pace.

In a move to clear a key regulatory hurdle, we understand the broadcaster has offered to make concessions on its highly regarded news channel, such as putting it in the hands of an independent trust. It comes as markets eagerly await updates on the firm's battle against online streaming newcomers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Sky - which will publish its half-year results this week - is ramping up spending on its own programmes as part of a fightback against the upstarts.

The RBS chief is also for the first time giving his public backing to The Mail on Sunday's campaign for a body to provide independent redress for entrepreneurs.At present, only the very smallest businesses have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the rest are faced with a black hole in protection. 'I am absolutely in support of your campaign, in principle,' he says.

The zero-emissions hatchback will, Nissan says, travel 50 per cent further, deliver 38 per cent more power, and cost up to £1,500 less than the original. But does it live up to the high-voltage hype? This is the real deal; designed for the real world, less than £30,000, and a smart car that owes much to a new 'pedal power' system.

Hedge funds are tipping the share prices of Debenhams, Sainsbury's and pet supplies chain Pets At Home to plummet as the High Street continues its struggle against online competition. They can make hundreds of millions - or even billions - of pounds by betting that the businesses' share prices will fall.

Joe split his £600 savings between bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin. However, several weeks later and sitting on a loss he still has no idea what they are and how they work. He has a suspicion, though, that he is no more ignorant than the vast majority of people who have been buying into cryptocurrencies in recent months.

'My wife will need to work a further three years due to poor communication of child benefit changes...' A reader asks This is Money columnist Steve Webb how to get lost state pension credits back, and the Government explains why it only backdates them for three months when parents fall into this trap.

Britain's private pensions were once the envy of the world. Long gone are those days of widespread world-class final salary schemes, but many still have some promises due and they are worth holding on to. The problem is that many people are worried about how safe their company's pledge to pay them is.

Investors have been buoyed recently but markets in which everything seems to be going up, but that doesn't mean that they should not be more choosy about where to put their money in the year ahead. Ben Kumar, of 7IM, discusses the best places to invest for 2018 with Simon Lambert, of This is Money, and Richard Hunter, of Interactive Investor, on the latest Investing Show.

Used car buyers are to be offered the low monthly payments usually seen on new car finance deals after the RAC launched a flexible loan that mimics PCP deals. Similar to the hugely popular personal contract plan finance used to sell brand new cars, the RAC's Flexiloan offers the chance to put a deposit down and get lower monthly payments over a set period thanks to a larger set deferred final payment.

There is no obligation to have a smart meter installed and it is up to the consumer whether they agree to have one or not. But even if you've said you don't want a meter fitted, what happens if you move into a property which has one already?

One of the major attractions of Shell is that it pays a good level of income to shareholders. At the moment it is paying 5.7 pence for every £1 invested. Much of Shell's future success is tied to the price of oil, which plummeted to less than $30 (£22) a barrel in 2016 but has since recovered to nearly $70 (£50.80).

In a controversial move the supermarket giant has written to customers to tell them that they can now only boost their points value up to a maximum of three times with some partners rather than four under when swapped for vouchers.

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?

All nine Bank of England policymakers voted to leave interest rates unchanged in December as they said inflation should start easing back next year. The Bank also said that different economic indicators suggested growth was likely to have slowed down as they year ends.

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.