Money

😫🤠😧 Some of the companies targeted in the Financial Conduct Authority probe are those whose business practices we have questioned in recent months. Others are believed to have been included as a result of letters from MPs (on behalf of constituents), correspondence sent directly to the FCA by angry policyholders and appeals by consumer groups. The FCA even congratulated us on the work we have done this year, a rare accolade. Hurrah. OK, not a giant step forward, but it's progress.

😫🤠😧 As anyone who has indulged in the brutal 'swipe left' culture of internet dating will testify, you don't often get a second chance to make a first impression. And the same is true when trying to sell your property. That's why, what lies at the front of your house - be it lawn, gravel or flagstones, can play a major role in making a sale. Here's how to make the most of it.

😫🤠😧 Today, almost everyone is weighing up the pros and cons of electric vehicles, which in turn could mean a golden investment opportunity, according to Maike Currie of Fidelity International. 'Consumer scepticism around EVs is abating - gone are the days where people questioned whether they would get them to the shops, the availability of charging points and what happens if the car breaks down,' she says.

😫🤠😧 Mortgage prisoners typically agreed loans before the financial crisis of 2008, in the days of easy credit. Now, after the introduction of stricter mortgage rules, they are seen as too risky, leaving them locked in sky-high default rates and unable to switch provider. Co-op Bank last month launched a legal challenge to prevent the Financial Ombudsman Service investigating a complaint about the fairness of rates charged to one customer, Gwen Davies. A decision is expected imminently. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mortgage Prisoners has criticised the bank's 'unfair rate increases' after some 'very disturbing reports' about the treatment of vulnerable customers.

😫🤠😧 Many motorists will have received a dreaded charge in the post and in some cases, unjustifiably so. If that's you, it's time to fight back. Elsewhere, we talk about Halifax's mortgage move, whether it can pay to fix energy bill, highlight the five FTSE 100 firms with the biggest share price falls this year and how small business owners tackle telling their customers that price rises are afoot.

😫🤠😧 One in 10 adults had already cut contributions or stopped paying into a pension altogether in early spring, before the cost of living crisis had really set in, according to a new survey. Four out of five people were concerned about making ends meet, and three quarters said they needed to take action to cope with pressure on their budgets, found the national poll by Scottish Widows. Finance experts fear the current cost of living pressures and volatile financial markets could deter saving and dent pension contributions.

😫🤠😧 Upwardly mobile and edging towards premium class, Peugeot's pitting itself against rivals such as Germany's Volkswagen and Korea's Hyundai. But its crop of stylish models on offer, such as the new 408 (pictured) and coming down the line is better than how the public perceives the brand image and experience. And that has to change, she says. When Julie took over 18 months ago, she undertook secret 'mystery shopper' trips to showrooms with her sons.

😫🤠😧 In November 2019, I was involved in a car accident sustaining injuries to my back. The driver who hit my vehicle admitted full liability at the time to both his and my insurance companies. Minster Law Solicitors took over my compensation claim on my behalf but as, yet I have received nothing. I run my own dog walking business out of my van, so once the vehicle was written off, I had to purchase a new one out of my own pocket.

😫🤠😧 Sterling is down more than 9 per cent this year against the dollar and has also fallen, though less steeply, against the euro. Ordinary Britons will certainly notice that the pound in their pocket is worth a lot less if they are taking holidays in Disneyland or the Big Apple. But can this be good for business, Ruth Sunderland and Alex Brummer debate the issue.

😫🤠😧 From Wednesday 6 July 2022, any newly launched vehicle sold in EU countries - not including cars already in showrooms today - will need to have Intelligent Speed Assistance fitted as standard, which can automatically limit a car's speed to the legal limit at all times. The UK Government says the same rules will not come into effect in Britain next month, saying 'no decision has been taken' on whether ISA will be a requirement. Here's what you need to know about the tech, how it works, when we might see it and what it means for the future of driving.

😫🤠😧 The ID. Aero previews Volkswagen's first fully-electric saloon car, aiming to provide more rear interior space and comfort than any battery model it currently offers. It is widely expected to be called the ID.6, continuing the size-related number lineage already in place for the company's all-electric passenger models. Production for the Chinese market will start in around a year's time, while cars built for the European market will start towards the end of 2023.

😫🤠😧 The utility giant will join French rival EDF as a significant backer of the plant alongside the British Government. The Prime Minister wants Sizewell C to be one of up to eight new reactors built by 2030. It is a core part of his energy security strategy launched in April after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Centrica's commitment will help smooth a path towards a restructuring of the £20billion joint venture and the removal of Chinese state-backed CGN as an investor.

😫🤠😧 Disentangling Britain's trade performance post-Brexit and the pandemic is hugely complicated. At first glance, Britain's first quarter current account deficit, calculated at 8.7 per cent of national output, looks nastily out of whack. The ONS breakdown of the data shows that net inflows into the UK in the first quarter of 2022 stood at £29.6billion or 4.8 per cent of national output. That substantially reduces the amount of net borrowing required to fund the current account deficit. The most recent data for April (which excludes capital flows) shows that in spite of unusually high energy costs, the trade shortfall is actually narrowing. Clearly, a current account deficit on the scale experienced in the first quarter cannot be a good thing. The notion, however, that the balance of payments is somehow responsible for the decline on the pound this year is misplaced.

😫🤠😧 Only now, after more than a decade of keeping the Bank of England's printing presses running, a new generation is starting to understand that there is no such thing as a magic money tree. Bank of England economists Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning's book - aimed at sixth formers and interested lay people - has sparked a political row

😫🤠😧 A couple of months ago, we visited a car park, paid the correct amount and left before the ticket expired. Shortly afterwards, a parking charge came through the post. After two appeal rejections, I took it through the independent appeals service where it was magically cancelled.

😫🤠😧 It seems with every passing year the homeownership aspiration shared by so many young Britons becomes ever more the distant dream. Surging house prices, soaring inflation and low savings rates mean that the goal posts are constantly moving. The typical UK home has risen by 68 per cent over the past 10 years, according to ONS data, whereas average wages have only grown by 31 per cent during that time.

😫🤠😧 We pick four multi-million detached homes for sale that are within a short stroll to Wimbledon's Centre Court. Pictured (clockwise from top left) are: A six-bed property in Wimbledon Village, a six-bed house on Wimbledon Common, a seven-bed house in Wimbledon Village and a six-bed townhouse in Wimbledon.

😫🤠😧 Isn't it a bit of an odd time to finally get rid of this, just as interest rates are finally rising and the base rate has jumped from 0.1 per cent to 1.25 per cent in six months? We discuss why the Bank of England is doing this and whether it is the right move, or could lead to risky lending and even higher house prices? Plus, inflation-fighting savings, current accounts to switch to, why investors aren't buying the dips, and can your neighbour build on your wall?

😫🤠😧 An IPO (initial public offering) or flotation seems to offer the chance of a stake in a success story that's possibly destined for even greater things. There are thrills and spills along the way. In 2021 a record 1,095 companies went public worldwide. Bens Creek, a UK company that mines coal for steel making, made its stock market debut at 10p. Its shares now stand at 42p. The stockbroker Peel Hunt is now offering a service allowing easier access to IPOs for clients of AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor. It says that private investors were able to take part in just 21 of the 182 flotations in the UK since October 2020.

😫🤠😧 Fresh analysis of figures dating back to 2008 shows a meteoric rise in the number of savers using the government's Pension Tracing Service. Enquiries rose from an equivalent rate of 173 a day in 2008 to around 5,780 per day in 2020 - more than 33 times' the original figure. The service aims to reunite people with abandoned pension pots, which increase in number when you swap jobs, move home, and lose touch with your providers.

😫🤠😧 The MG4 will be offered as a cut-price alternative to popular battery-powered hatches already on the market, including the Volkswagen ID.3 and Nissan Leaf from early next year. But the most eye-catching feature is that it will debut an all-new platform and 'One Pack' battery system, which from launch offers up to 280 miles of range. The one-size-fits-all battery pack is not only ultra-thin and extremely light, but can be upgraded with over the air updates, or swapped entirely if a customer wants more power or range.

😫🤠😧 All I am hearing at the moment is that the energy price cap is going to go up again in October by hundreds of pounds. I'm on a standard tariff, but I recently got the offer of a fixed-rate deal from my supplier. I haven't been tempted so far because it looks so expensive. But am I wrong? Should I be locking into a fixed energy tariff?

😫🤠😧 Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and a variety of charges can leave investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. 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.