Money

NEW The City will have its eyes firmly on the escalating trade war between China and the US today after a retaliation from Beijing sent global markets into free fall on Monday. In company news, Vodafone has swung to a £6.6billion loss and and slashed its shareholder dividend payout. Bakery chain Greggs said it expects its profits this year to be 'materially higher' than previously slated, thanks to strong sales of breakfast items and coffee. And Amazon has partnered up with Next so shoppers can collect their parcels from the fashion chain's stores.

I am a little confused with the gov.uk website on pensions. It says: ' You can take up to 25 per cent of the money built up in your pension as a tax-free lump sum. You'll then have six months to start taking the remaining 75 per cent, which you'll usually pay tax on.' I have not been able to find any other reference to the six months in the legislation, and everything else I read says that you should be able to pay in £40,000 so long as you do not take any taxable payments.

Figures from estate agents Hamptons International show that landlords who sold a property last year did so for £79,770 more than they paid for it. But that hefty profit is overshadowed by the sums landlords are making in London - the most profitable area to sell up - where the average investor cashing in rakes in £248,120. That is 21 times the profit made by landlords in the North East, who made the smallest average gain of £11,810.

Jeff Prestridge (pictured) has turned 60. Here, he explains all the the financial treats he is now eligible for. He says: The first 'treat' I latched on to was discounted train travel. As a passionate football supporter (West Bromwich Albion is my team), I spend most Saturdays during the season sitting on a train either travelling up to The Hawthorns (home of WBA FC) or watching Sheffield United (newly promoted to the Premiership) where my eldest son is head of sports science. It costs a small fortune but from now on, it is going to cost a little less - a result of the purchase of a 'senior railcard' costing £30 a year.

It is a homeowner's dream - to be mortgage-free with no monthly payments to worry about ever again. For winners of a new prize draw to be announced tomorrow it is about to come true. The draw, for new borrowers with Halifax bank, follows one held in April that saw three main winners have their home loans paid off (up to a maximum £300,000), while 100 customers received a £1,000 cash windfall.

The troubled bank has faced weeks of questions over whether it can secure the extra money as its share price plummeted. But in a highly unusual stock market announcement over the weekend, Metro said its bid to secure the extra cash is on track. Metro suffered a huge sell-off in January after admitting it had miscalculated the riskiness on about £1billion worth of property loans, and profits plunged as commercial customers pulled out.

Belvoir is the UK's second largest letting agency and last year saw profits rise by 40 per cent to £5.5million, a number that continued an unbroken run of 22 years of growth. True, the rental part of the housing market has held up much better than sales during the recent downturn, but much of Belvoir's improvement can also be attributed to self-help measures carried out by the company.

With warm weather on the horizon, now is the time to embark on a blitz around the home. By following our eight-step guide, you could slash electricity and gas costs by at least £500 a year.

The county court at Staines found in my favour in an action against Booking.com and the company was ordered to pay me £702 within 14 days. That was last November and to date Booking.com has failed to honour this judgment. I have contacted them numerous times by email and sent a letter to chief executive Gillian Tans which was signed for when it was delivered. It is so frustrating that Booking.com can ignore not only individuals, but the legal system and a court judgment as well.

Interest in exchange-traded funds is increasing among investors looking for new ways to make money. The amount invested in such funds has risen almost threefold over the past five years and now stands at £304billion, according to new research for The Mail on Sunday by data collector Morningstar. A key appeal is that these investments offer a cheap way to invest in either specific stock markets or asset classes such as commodities and bonds.

Many people say they would like to have a crack at a grand design of their own - or even a more modest one - but finding somewhere to build it is a problem. That's why despite self-builders typically turning an immediate paper profit of 15 to 30 per cent not many of us take the plunge. Things could be about to change for the better, however, we look at how to build your own home and whether the plan to raise self-build's profile will work or fizzle out.

Based in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, AFH Financial Group has delivered an exemplary performance since joining the junior AIM market in 2014 and is set to double in size in the next three to five years. But the price has been hit by stock market volatility and the shares are now £3.20, down nearly £1 since September last year.

The idea behind it is called 'nudge theory', which was brought to prominence by Nobel prize winning American behavioural scientist Richard Thaler in a 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth And Happiness. Co-authored with Cass Sunstein, it looks at what subtle actions (nudges) we can take ourselves - or encouraged by companies and the Government - to prompt better decisions. By making the choices easier to act upon, whether big or small, everyone will theoretically be better off.

A new report has said manufacturers' eagerness to cram new vehicles with the latest technology is causing headaches for motorists due to the number of faults with hi-tech systems. But which brands suffer the most? The report released this week names which brands have the best track records for reliability and which are succumbing to regular issues.

Taxi app firm Uber motored on to the New York Stock Exchange with a roar yesterday, completing one of the most highly anticipated US floats in recent years. While its shares stalled from the $45 offer price, falling 1.2 per cent or $0.75 to $44.25 a few hours into trading, this still gave it a market value of about £62billion, putting it squarely among America's listed giants.

Fans of TV's Escape to the Chateau can enjoy the same designs in their own homes as Angel Strawbridge has included it in her new range of home furnishings Angel - who, with her husband Dick Strawbridge, swapped a two-bed flat in Essex for a crumbling French chateau - exclusively told MailOnline Property: 'It is like a family and real community among the people who watch the show. If you have something from the range, there is a story attached to it.'

The DVSA launched the new service this week and said MOT centres issued over 630,000 MOT certificate copies to car owners who had lost theirs in 2018, costing UK drivers £6.3million that year. It's the latest in a wave of online services offered to drivers following the DVSA's launch of the history service checker in 2015 that allows motorists to view a vehicle's MOT history, mileage and any outstanding safety recalls - the perfect tool for anyone purchasing a used car.

Investors in ethical funds usually hope to do some good in the world, not just hold their noses and avoid backing morally dubious - if legal - businesses. Many funds will try to do both, but what if you want to focus your investments as fully as possible on companies trying to have a positive impact on society. Top financial experts discuss the best way to go about this and offer some fund tips

To determine how the different online delivery services compare, This is Money has taken an in depth look at the many options available. We reveal which service covers the most of the UK, which costs the most and which supermarkets have introduced schemes to cut down on plastic bag usage.

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?

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.

Lower than expected inflation figures have added weight to expectations that interest rate rises will remain on hold throughout most of 2019. This combined with the Brexit extension is forecast to keep monetary policy steady, with rates held at 0.75 per cent. While unemployment is low and wages are rising, there are still concerns over Britain's consumer economy and business investment being stalled by continuing Brexit uncertainty.