If you’re an investor or just an average consumer trying to manage life’s expenses, social media and the Internet provide a wealth of free advice and guidance. Blogs, discussion forums and social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook provide so much information the trick is to be selective and [ Read More → ]

Millions of Brits have hit financial difficulties during the recession and struggled to make ends meet. It’s been a tough few years that will have left many people with a glitch or two on repayment records. Paying off some lenders one month and others the next could have left marks on credit [ Read More → ]

The Associated PressTrader Edward Curran, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, July 28 NEW YORK (AP) — Investors cashed in some of their recent gains Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave them more confirmation that the economic recovery is slowing. The Dow Jones industrial average [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON — A bill to increase small business lending is in jeopardy in the Senate as lawmakers struggle to reach agreement on a series of Republican amendments. Democratic leaders have scheduled a key test vote Thursday on the legislation. But the bill won’t advance unless Democrats can attract Republican votes. The bill [ Read More → ]

As and his adversaries look for winning themes in the run-up to the November congressional election, both sides are noisily clamoring to prove their support for a critical constituency: America’s small-business owners. At the White House, the president’s advisers are urging Democrats to portray Republicans as supporters of big corporations [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON — Senators struggled to reach agreement Wednesday on a bill that would create a $30 billion government fund to help community banks increase lending to small businesses. Democrats say banks should be able to use the lending fund to leverage up to $300 billion in loans to small businesses, helping [ Read More → ]

When Eclectica launched its agriculture fund in June 2007 it was the first of its kind. Now it seems you can’t move for fund managers promoting agriculture and timber as the next must-have. This week hedge fund manager Anthony Ward spent £658m on 241,000 tonnes of cocoa beans – the equivalent of the [ Read More → ]

With all the excitement of planning a holiday, it’s easy to forget to research the best type of travel money to take. If you don’t do your homework, however, you could end up far worse off at the end of your trip. With the pound’s continuing weakness against the euro and the dollar, [ Read More → ]

Honor Blackman supporting the Equitable Members Action Group Photo: PA Equitable Life victims are being asked to make further representations to the Government after a report suggesting that they will get just £266 each. Mark Hoban, a Treasury minister, said Equitable’s policyholders should start to receive compensation in the autumn of next year. But [ Read More → ]

Dentistry in Thailand, with holiday included, can be so much cheaper than having it done in New Zealand. Photo / NZ Herald Rip-offs in New Zealand are big news, following an opinion piece in this newspaper by UK sports writer Peter Bills. It’s an issue that anyone who keeps an eye on [ Read More → ]