Nearly 50% of drivers – 15 million – have said that they could not substitute any of their car journeys with public transport, according to a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) published by insurer Swiftcover.
A further three million drivers said they could not give up their car, no matter how […]

Nationwide has reported that house price growth increased steadily in August, with the property market staying “firm” according to its pundits.
Prices increased by 0.8% during the month, the same as in July, and lifted the annual growth rate to 6.6%. This was the fastest yearly growth rate since April 2005 and the average property in […]

Chancellor Gordon Brown has warned his colleagues about making unfunded tax cuts, which he said would bring about a return to the “bad old days”.
The announcement, the first since the birth of his son James, is regarded by political commentators as a broadside against Stephen Byers, the ex-transport minister.
Byers has protested strongly about the increasing […]

The Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest co-operative society accounting for 60% of co-operative trade and valued at £8bn, has launched a £100m revamp of its brand and has introduced a new profit-share dividend scheme for its members.
Customers, who pay £1 for membership, will collect points from buying various goods and services that can be redeemed […]

Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water company, has announced plans to cut 25% of its workforce by 2010 as part of a significant cost-trimming exercise.
The German-owned firm has said that it wants to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum but plans to axe 300 jobs each year for the next five years. However, the GMB […]

Nearly 10% of women are saving money without informing their partners, a survey undertaken by investment firm Scottish Widows has found.
This activity is partly due to females wanting to achieve financial independence before embarking on a long-term relationship and it is estimated that half-a-million women are building up their savings like this.
The survey found […]

The rapid pace of school fee rises has slowed down in the past year, according to research from Halifax bank.
In the past five years the rate of inflation for school fees has been 43%, but in the last 12 months this has slowed to 6% and the average annual cost per child at a fee-paying […]

The National Consumer Council (NCC) has called for UK data protection rules to be toughened up in the face of rising ID theft.
It is estimated that identity crime affects 100,000 people in the country every year and costs the UK economy £1.7bn. Criminals most usually take out loans in other people’s names and then run […]