HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is to launch a blitz on the buy to let sector in a bid to recover money from tens of thousands of landlords who have failed to declare rental income, made undeclared capital gains from property sales and claimed too much tax relief.

The rising cost of housing, and the tendency for mortgage lenders to advance ever-bigger homeloans, are factors turning many younger wage earners into little more than slaves, according to a report by a panel of academics.

With five jackpot prizes of £1m up for grabs in their 50th birthday celebrations, sales of Premium Bonds over the past six months have jumped to £6.6bn, with £2.2bn being invested in October 2006 alone.

Norwich Union, the biggest insurance company in the UK, has decided it will not charge drivers convicted of minor speeding offences more for their car insurance than those with clean licences.

The UK housing market is up to 65% overvalued and needs more interest rate rises to control it, according to international economists.

The amount of money spent online by UK consumers increased by 33.4% to £10.9bn last year, according to retail analysts Verdict Research.

People could receive a share of recovered money if they blow the whistle on major fraud against the Government or its agencies.

Barclaycard, the largest credit card in the UK with almost 10 million customers (15% of the market), is to charge a fee to penalise customers who do not use their cards enough and to encourage them to spend more.