• Rented properties face clampdown – but tiny flats escape ban

    New rules launch next week, just as thousands of students move in to shared homesA tougher licensing regime for private rented homes comes into force on Monday, along with a new minimum size for bedrooms – just days after it emerged that 35 people had been found living in one London semi.The government measures are designed to crack down on bad practices and generally make life better for renters. They come as thousands of second-year university students begin renting their first place wit
  • ‘Raising the state pension age has meant hardship for many women’

    Alison Peters, 63, on how she is making ends meet until she can claim her pension at 66I live alone and, at 63, had expected to be drawing a state pension by now. As it is, I have to wait another three years, and am getting by on the minimum wage earned from my part-time job as a charity administration assistant. Last year that amounted to £2,500.Raising the state pension age has meant real hardship for many women my age, particularly for those on their own. It is difficult to reconcile th
  • Is it worth paying more for Dulux paint?

    My partner insists on buying the leading brand – but I’m wondering if it’s any betterEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.We’re having two bedrooms and the landing painted, and my partner is insisting we go for Dulux paint, even though there are much cheaper options. Interestingly, a decorator friend insists clients buy Dulux
  • Ethical investing: how you can do a power of good

    Use your cash to help save a community tea room or invest in a green projectGood Money Week kicks off today, with the aim of highlighting the sustainable and ethical options when it comes to your bank, pension, savings and investments.If you don’t want to hand over your cash to one of the “big four” banks, there are a number of players worth considering, including Triodos Bank, Charity Bank and Ecology building society. All offer savings accounts, while Triodos also has a curre
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  • Can you get a refund if you're unhappy with a university course?

    It’s one of the biggest decisions of your life – here’s what you can do when courses fail to deliverWhen Chris Moore headed to University College London to start a history degree, the last thing on his mind was the fear that the course might turn out to be a huge disappointment.After all, UCL’s “elite” history department promised students that they would be taught by “leading historians” with an “outstanding commitment to teaching”. Con
  • Facebook says nearly 50m users compromised in huge security breach

    Attack gave hackers ability to take over accounts in what is believed to be largest breach in Facebook’s history
    Nearly 50m Facebook accounts were compromised by an attack that gave hackers the ability to take over users’ accounts, Facebook revealed on Friday.The breach was discovered by Facebook engineers on Tuesday 25 September, the company said, and patched on Thursday. Users whose accounts were affected will be notified by Facebook. Those users will be logged out of their account
  • UK Financial Services - Opportunities And Threats Post-Brexit - Short-Term Pain ... - Seeking Alpha

    UK Financial Services - Opportunities And Threats Post-Brexit - Short-Term Pain ...
    Seeking Alpha
    In a departure from the my usual format this Macro Letter is the transcript of a speech I gave earlier this week at the UK law firm, Collyer Bristow; Thomas Carlisle may have dubbed Economics 'the dismal science,' but I remain an optimist. Setting ...

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