Meeting your monthly commitment’s may seem more daunting than usual with prices increasing for household essentials such as electricity and heating, as well as the rising unemployment rate and the increasing number of home repossessions.

The number of people declared insolvent in England and Wales fell by 2.6 per cent having edged down from record highs hit in the first quarter to 34,743, but were still 5% higher than a year ago after consistent rises in recent years.

Petrol prices are set to go up by approximately £7 a tank full, compared with the same period in 2009.

Let’s be honest, being self employed or running a business is no cake walk, despite what others may think, and even in good times the stress is a challenge to manage. In difficult times, it’s easy to feel that the business owner is very much ‘on their own’

A recent customer satisfaction survey carried out by consumer group Which? records Santander at the bottom of the league.

Lloyds TSB has won a landmark court victory which will curtail the number of ways consumers can challenge the enforceability of debts relating to payment protection insurance (PPI).

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has admitted that it is “closed for any new business” after revealing the full list of projects that will suffer as a result of its enforced budget reduction.

We have been working hard to create a new website that, as well as all the detailed factual information we usually provide, contains lots of great new features, a fabulous new look and an enhanced experience for all our users.

Liverpool City Council has defended the decision to recruit a new chief executive on a salary of up to £197,500 – £55,000 more than the Prime Minister. The move comes after local government secretary Eric Pickles criticised the council for being “out of touch” with public sector pay.

The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5% amid concerns over the strength of the economic recovery.