I. AHMED@INTERNET POST

Tesco Bank will offer mortgages

2012-08-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Points will accrue on the Tesco Clubcard as the mortgage is paid off

The supermarket group Tesco is to start offering mortgages via its Tesco Bank.

Its main gimmick is that holders of the supermarket's loyalty card, the Tesco Clubcard, can earn points as they pay off their mortgage each month.

All the deals on offer require at least a 20% deposit and the mainly fixed-rate deals have interest rates ranging from 3.19% to 5.09%.

Recently several big lenders have started offering long-term fixed-rate mortgages at less than 3% interest.

Ray Boulger of mortgage brokers John Charcol said: "Any hopes that the entry of Tesco would produce a significant increase in competition have been dashed, at least initially, by its opening rates, which seem to be designed more to avoid getting too much business than to ruffle the feathers of existing lenders.

"Its opening rates would have been competitive a month ago but not now, unless Tesco has re-defined the word competitive," he added of the bank, which has its headquarters in Edinburgh.

Andrew Montlake, of mortgage brokers Coreco said: "The products themselves are priced sensibly, with the opportunity to repay 20% of the loan amount off each year without penalty a nice extra."

"Whether a supermarket brand, even one as strong as Tesco's, can become a serious player in the mortgage market remains to be seen.

"The prospect of mixing groceries, Clubcard points and the largest loan you are ever likely to take out will not appeal to all," he added.

How to complain about your energy supplier

2012-07-27T21:04:00.002-07:00

Complaints about energy companies are up again so is there any way to sort the problem out yourself? And if not how can you get the best results if you need to complain?

Energy companies are not in favour at the moment, along with putting up prices steeply during the past year, their customer service records aren't great.

Add to this the fact Centrica, which owns British Gas, has reported a 15% profit for the first six months of the year thanks to the colder weather we had between April and June.

So it's not a huge surprise that complaints about energy companies to the Energy Ombudsman were up over the past year to 74,505 from 54,794 in 2010/11.
Of those people getting in contact with the Ombudsman, the number one reason was to do with billing issues including; disputed charges, customer service, inaccurate invoices, back-billing and meter readings.

A separate set of results from Consumer Focus this week, shows slightly more positive results with complaints about energy companies down between January and March of this year.

However, although overall they fell by 7% in this period, it's not all good news as some companies, such as EDF saw complaints rise.

Complaining to your energy company is something most people avoid at all costs as it typically involves spending hours on hold and talking to lots of different people who really aren't interested. However, there are a few things you can do to avoid having to complain.

Estimated readings
Energy companies love estimated readings, whereby they guess the amount of energy you've used and send you the bill. Instead check the actual readings yourself and send these to your energy company. It's simple enough to do and will mean you're actually paying for what you're using rather than an estimated amount.

You can also use the Meter Readings app (69p) which will keep an eye on how much gas, electricity and water you're using for you and predict how much your quarterly bill will be.

Get your money back
If you've been over-paying your energy bills, the company is not legally allowed to hold onto the extra money and you can claim it back if you're in credit. If for some reason this doesn't happen, your supplier needs to let you know if it has reasons for withholding the cash and if you disagree with its reasoning – you can challenge it.

Keep your supplier informed
If your situation changes and you start struggling to pay your bills, call your provider and let it know as soon as possible. It should be able to give you advice on different tariffs and information on eligibility benefits such as the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Don't be afraid to switch
There is little benefit in being loyal to an energy company so don't be afraid to switch if another provider is offering a cheaper deal. This will save you on average £256 a year so there's no point putting it off. However, before you do anything check your current contract, as there may be a penalty fee if you leave early.

When you've exhausted all else, what's the best way to complain?
Unfortunately complaining is never a fun task, however there are some simple tips which will make the process easier.

Be organised
Before you begin make sure you have copies of all the relevant documents, including any correspondence with the company, and take the full names of anyone you speak to. Try and also get a direct dial for them, or ask them to call you back if it's not a freephone number. Email is even better as you've got a paper trail of all the communications between you and the company which will be useful if the situation escalates.

Write a letter
A letter, or an email, is a direct way of addressing your complaint. The letter (or email) needs to include all the facts in a concise way, including any reference numbers and names of people you've dealt with. Keep it polite and include all your contact details and make sure you keep a copy of it for your own records.

When you come to send it, go for recorded delivery so you have proof of when it arrived.

Template letter:

Your address

phone number

Date

Name of person you're contacting (if you have it)

Their title

Company address

RE: Your reference or account number

Dear <name>,

Apologies for writing, but you feel this is a problem they should know about
Clear statement of the case including dates and times
What you would like from them to fix the problem
A reasonable deadline for them to respond by
Your positive previous experiences of the company

Thanks for their time, if you don't hear back from them with a resolution you will seek help from a relevant party (eg: government agency, consumer group)

Yours sincerely,

(sign here)

Your printed name and email address

CC: If you have copied the letter to anyone, give their name and title here

Enclosures: If you've included photocopies of any relevant documents state them here

What next?
You need to wait eight weeks until you move things forward and in this time the company should respond. If it hasn't, or you're not happy with the response, go to the Energy Ombudsman.

Cybercriminals in developing nations targeted

2012-07-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

The ICSPA says it has already started advising Ghana's government how to tackle cybercrime

Cybercriminals in developing nations are being targeted in a new effort to combat the illegal activity.

The International Cyber Security Protection Alliance has launched a research project to identify how attacks are likely to evolve over the next eight years.

It said that faster links to the net in parts of Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe were likely to create problems.

The ICSPA will advise governments and local authorities on how best to react.

The organisation is a coalition of law agencies, security companies and businesses, including Visa Europe and the defence firm EADS.

"It's not just about putting a black mark against a particular nation because many of these countries are the unwilling hosts to cybercriminal networks," John Lyons, the organisation's chief executive, told the BBC.

"We know the countries that provide 'organised cybercrime' with the ability and the hosting capability to attack the West in terms of its business and customers.

"So, what the ICSPA is looking to do is to work with those nations to provide support to help them improve the cyber-resilience of their national infrastructure, to aid their own economies, and to help their law enforcement groups tackle cybercriminals who work out of their country."

Advising Africa

Although the research project has only just got underway, the group has already started to co-ordinate action.

Members of the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) began work with the Ghanaian government in February to help it take technical steps to prevent cybercrime, and ensure offenders are prosecuted.

Mr Lyons said Nigeria, Botswana, Uganda and Rwanda were among nations likely to be targeted by the campaign.

The countries were starting to benefit from improved internet access, but would struggle to "suppress the criminality that will come with that connectivity," he said.

Other countries on his group's watch list included Bulgaria, Romania, India, the Philippines and parts of Latin America.

October report

The ICSPA wants companies based in developing nations to contribute to the costs of its efforts.

However, Mr Lyons acknowledged that the richer nations also needed to do more to combat internet crime.

"Something like 67% of malware which is used to attack Western businesses is hosted in the US on servers," he said. "The US needs to take steps to tackle that particular issue."

The ICSPA plans to issue a report covering its initial findings before the end of October.

10 top ways to add value to your home

2012-07-15T21:39:00.002-07:00

Most home improvements will help to increase the overall value of your house or flat. But which changes add the most, and which can even cost more than they add to the potential sale price?

Here is our list of the 10 top ways to add value to your property, often without having to put a strain on your own finances.

1. A new bathroom
Bathrooms can quickly look shabby and dated. The good news, though, is that you can get a new one for as little as £1,500.

Better still, a new bathroom should add in the region of £3,351 to the value of your home.

2. De-cluttering
It may be difficult, but getting your property ready for sale means depersonalising it.
Clutter can distract viewers and more than half (60%) of the property valuers who took part in the 2012 HSBC Home Improvement Survey said that the number one way to increase a property's chance of selling quickly, and for a good price, was to de-clutter.

3. A conservatory
Recent figures from HSBC indicate that adding an extension or conservatory adds an average of £12,151 on to the value of your home.

The bad news, however, is that most extensions cost between £20,000 and £30,000. Conservatories, on the other hand, typically cost about £10,000.

4. Painting and decorating
A quick splash of paint can work wonders on tired-looking walls, and sticking to neutral tones is the safest bet.

Keeping the colour scheme simple, fresh and inviting will help potential buyers to see themselves living in your home.

5. A loft conversion
According to Halifax valuers, loft conversions - which require lofts with a roof height of at least 2.4 metres - are a good way to increase the potential sale price of your home.

Be sure to stick to your budget, though. The average loft conversion will cost between £10,000 and £30,000, while HSBC's figures show that they typically add £20,876 to the value of a property.

6. A new kitchen
Kitchens suffer serious wear and tear during their lifetime, and a new one can add real wow factor to a property.

Again, however, it's important to weigh up the cost of the work against the overall value of your home.

You can easily spend tens of thousands on a top-of-the-range kitchen, but according to HSBC, a new kitchen adds an average of £5,267 to the asking price.

7. New windows
Putting in new windows adds around £5,265 to the value of the average property and can reap big rewards when it comes to energy efficiency.

It is, however, sensible to ensure that your new windows are in line with the style of your property to maximise the added value - particularly as putting them in can set you back about £5,000.

8. A garage
Off road parking or a garage can be especially advantageous in areas where parked cars line both sides on the street.

Nationwide's figures show that adding a garage, which can cost anything between £8,000 and £25,000, can increase the value of your property by 11%.

9. Outside space
Outside space is just as important as inside - especially when people are seeing your home for the first time.

While 63% of the HSBC survey expert respondents said that repainting or varnishing a front door would make a difference, only 23% of homeowners recognised this.

Peter Dockar at HSBC said: "It is often the smaller jobs like painting the front door that can make all the difference when looking for a sale."

10. Energy efficiency
With all properties for sale now coming with an energy efficiency report, it is sensible to do what you can to reduce the energy consumption of your house or flat.

Investing in a high-efficiency boiler, for example, may cost a bit more. However, it will attract ecologically-minded buyers, as well as those keen to avoid all their money going on heating bills.

Mark Hayward, president of the National Associaton of Estate Agents, said: "The challenging market conditions mean that house-hunters are even more aware of a property's pros and cons.

"So while it's important to maximise any summer features in your home, remember that house-hunters will also be thinking about how it fairs during the winter months."

Global economy: Who can drive the recovery?

2012-07-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

The global economy is faltering.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, countries like Germany, China and Brazil were the engines that kept the global economy expanding, but recent evidence suggests that they are losing steam.

The World Bank expects a soft recovery, with global growth of 2.5%. But within that there appears to be a clear divide between developing economies, which are forecast to grow by 5.3%, and advanced economies by just 1.4%.

Here is a round-up of the conditions and prospects for the key economies around the world. Who can be relied upon to drive the much-needed recovery?

China

Second-quarter GDP growth has slowed to 7.6%
Annual Growth target has now fallen below 8% for the first time in almost a decade

China is now trying to shore up the economy after years of uncontrolled growth

China's second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figure has pointed to a continued slowdown in the Asian powerhouse.

Growth fell to 7.6% in April-June period, its worst pace since the depth of the financial crisis and below the 8% target that China aspires too.

Considered to be the biggest export market for many companies from the likes of Burberry, Carrefour to BMW; a slow-down would hurt their earnings.

Burberry, which banked on China's love of bling (it enjoyed a 30% revenue growth in the country) reported weaker-than-expected first quarter growth, disappointing investors.

Cooling growth in China and neighbouring India means the wider Asian region is likely to follow suit (aside from an exception or two like Thailand and the Philippines, which benefit from cheaper labour costs that have lured foreign companies).

Beijing in March downgraded its annual growth target to 7.5%, the first time that's dipped below 8% since 2004. The central bank recently slashed interest rates twice in less than a month in a bid to shore up growth.

China had until recently been grappling with an overheating economy driven by a property bubble and by the central government's post-crisis spending binge - much of which went into local infrastructure projects. The economy is now burdened with excess capacity and rising debt as unsold goods pile up in warehouses.

Caterpillar, the US construction giant, had a drubbing from investors in April when it said sales of construction equipment in China was expected to fall this year.

But analysts are hopeful that this marks the bottom for the world's second-largest economy, and that growth will pick up in the third quarter as Beijing loosens monetary policy and deregulates the financial system.

Eurozone

Unemployment rate: 11.1%
Over 3m people aged 15-24 are unemployed
Eurozone economy set to shrink 0.3% this year
German GDP expected to grow 0.7% this year

Young people have been the hardest hit from the recession

The euro-sharing region has been a tale of two halves, between the relatively wealthier northerners (Germany, Netherlands, Finland and arguably, France) and struggling southerners (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) that are bogged down by a range of crises (debt, property, banking).

It is also a tale of much wrangling, as each camp differs on how to solve the eurozone crisis.

The euro has plunged to its lowest level in two years against the dollar as investors fret over weak data and recent rescue plans for the region, including bailing out Spain's banks directly and forming a fiscal and banking union.

And the ECB slashed rates for the first time below 1% recently, in efforts to encourage corporate and household borrowing.

In order to reassure investors, Spain announced a fresh round of austerity measures including tax hikes and spending cuts, which is squeezing an already squeezed out economy, but they remain unconvinced.

But even Germany, which has enjoyed record low levels of unemployment thanks to its manufacturing prowess, has been unable to insulate itself from the sovereign debt crisis plaguing the region.

Now, even the labour market is showing slower development. The jobless rate has risen for three consecutive months, reaching 6.8% in June. Meanwhile its double-digit exports to China have shrunk to a mere 6% (although automakers have bucked the trend, thanks to Chinese officials' love of BMWs and Mercedes-Benz cars).

Commerzbank, Germany's second biggest lenders,recently announced it was closing its real estate and ship finance units.

Carsten Brzeski, senior European economist at ING Group said of Germany: "The most solid ship can capsize in a rough thunderstorm."

United States

US facing a "fiscal cliff" as tax cuts end
Unemployment rate of 8.2%: fears of jobless recovery
GDP expected to grow 2% this year

The US is divided over how to pursue recovery

The US economy added just 80,000 jobs in June, a sign of persistent weakness in the labour market, a critical issue which could make or break President Barack Obama's re-election chances later this year.

The jobless rate has been stuck at 8.2%, although black workers suffer more, with a 14.4% figure.

Like its European peers, the US is struggling under piles of debt, which makes up around 70% of GDP.

It is also staring at a so-called fiscal cliff, which refers to a combination of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to start at the beginning of next year.

The inevitable result would be an austerity-driven recession - a prospect that prompted the Senate's top tax legislator Max Baucus to warn that the economy was on a "dangerous path" that could lead to a European-style fiscal crisis.

And, like much of the disagreements that have thwarted a coherent, concerted plan in Europe, both Republicans and Democrats have been unable to agree on a plan that would avoid that dismal outcome.

Despite gloomy headline figures, the US economy is forecast to grow 2% this year, the best of the advanced economies - and even more than Brazil.

The billionaire entrepreneur Warren Buffet said the US was still doing bettter than "virtually any other big economy" around the world.

The US has undertaken a series of unorthodox measures to shore up the economy, its latest being Operation Twist, a bond-buying programme designed to bring down mortgage and loan rates.

Investors want more, but they might be disappointed, if recent noises from the US central bank are anything to go by.

"There is not much to expect from economic data, there is not much to expect from earnings, so the only thing markets hope for is more quantitative easing, more stimulus from Europe - more stimulus from everywhere," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets.

Brazil

Economists forecast GDP to grow by 2% this year
Loan delinquencies rose to 6% in May

Planemaker Embraer has symbolised Brazil's growing fortunes

Government spending and exports of commodities like soy beans and metals to fast-growing countries in Asia, have propelled Brazil's economy to sixth place in the world.

But red-hot growth when Latin America's largest economy clocked in a 7.5% growth rate in 2010 appears to have fizzled out.

The economy stalled in May following an unexpected drop in retail sales. That heightened fears for what was one of the few bright spots of the world economy, making it the worst performer among Brics nations.

GDP grew just 0.2% in the first quarter year-on-year, marking the third straight quarter of near-zero growth.

There seems to be few signs that GDP growth will head back up above the 2.6% posted last year. The Bank of Brazil expects growth to be lower than 2.5%.

The drop in retail sales raised worries over Brazil's consumer-led growth model, which was fuelled by rising incomes and easy credit. In fact, the amount of loans that could not be paid back hit an all-time high in May, underlining how Brazilians are increasingly struggling to keep debt under control.

That prompted banks to tighten lending, and the central bank cut interest rates for the eighth straight time in July to 8%.

India

GDP grew 5.3% in the first quarter, slowest for nine years
Inflation highest of Bric nations
Industrial production up 2.4% in May

Indian's chronically high inflation is tough to handle

India's economy grew at an annual rate of 5.3% between January and March, its slowest pace in nine years.

Rising consumer prices have been one of the biggest concerns for India's policymakers over the past two years.

The central bank took various measures in a bid to control the rising prices, including raising interest rates 13 times since March 2010.

While the inflation rate has come down slightly in recent months, it still remains higher than many of the other emerging economies.

According to data released last week, India's wholesale price index, the key measure of consumer prices in the country, rose by 7.55% in May from a year earlier, among the highest of the Bric nations.

Analysts say the combination of slowing growth and high inflation has made it difficult for the central bank to formulate its policies. Cutting rates would stimulate growth, but could end up making inflation worse.

GDP is expected to grow by 6.5% this year, according to the Asian Development Bank. Its government has vowed to attract more foreign investment and speed up infrastructure and power projects.

Japan

Recovering from last year's major disasters
Exporter worried about eurozone woes and US slowdown
Growth expected to be 2.2% this year

Japan has struggled in the aftermath of last year's disaster

Once the world's number two economy, Japan is still recovering from last year's devastating tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Recent data has showed that Japan, one of the world's top exporters, was not exporting as much as it used to. In fact it has been massively importing - including energy, which has pushed the country's energy bills sky high after Tokyo stopped nuclear reactors.

The strong yen has also hurt exporters, making their products more expensive to foreign buyers.

However, sentiment is improving. The Tankan survey showed manufacturers were less pessimistic about business conditions.

The Bank of Japan forecast the economy would grow 2.2% in the current fiscal year and 1.7% the following year. The rosy growth projections were enough for the central bank to hold off on further easing to boost the economy.

"Japan's economic activity has started picking up moderately as domestic demand remains firm mainly supported by reconstruction-related demand" following last year's natural disasters, the Bank of Japan has said.

"[But] there remains a high degree of uncertainty about the global economy, including the prospects for the European debt problem... [and] the momentum toward a recovery for the US economy."

Food Experts Invent ‘The First Nutritionally Balanced Pizza'

2012-07-02T23:30:00.002-07:00

A cheesy slice of pizza doesn't tend to come top of dieter's list, but it soon could be if Scottish food experts have their way, as they’ve invented (what they claim to be) the first nutritionally sound pizza.

Nutritionist and professor Mike Lean from Glasgow University believes his team has created a pizza that contains 30% of an adult’s recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamins and minerals.

Just as this starts to sound too good to be true - researchers also claim that the ‘healthy’ pizza also has a third of the RDA of calories, carbohydrates and protein, as well.

Lead researcher Lean claims that they managed to create the nutritious pizza by incorporating nutrients in less obvious forms – such as seaweed, fruit and unusual vegetable combinations.

Quite simple really.

"I researched the market and found that seaweed was an interesting new ingredient being used in artisan bread,” says Lean, reports the Metro.

Scroll down to discover the psychology behind junk food cravings...

"So we used that as a way of reducing the salt level. The sodium content of seaweed is about 3.5% compared to 40% in salt. There's iodine in there, vitamin B12, all sorts of things. And the flavour is excellent as well."

Professor Lean claims clever (and simple) tricks such as mixing red pepper with the tomato base to top up vitamin C levels also helps to boost the pizza’s nutritional value.

The researchers claim they were inspired by the lack of nutrition in popular staple meals.

"For a good number of years I have been trying to help people find easy ways to get a balanced diet,” adds co-study author professor Donnie Maclean.

“The easiest way to do that is to eat nutritionally balanced meals. Three of those a day and you've done it, but at the moment commercially prepared meals are not nutritionally balanced.”

Professor Lean’s ideas have caught the attention of one leading British supermarket, which has hinted it may stock Lean’s pizza’s soon

New brain scanner helps paralysed people spell words

2012-06-30T23:49:00.003-07:00

fMRI is usually used to track brain activity by measuring blood flow

A new brain scanner has been developed to help people who are completely paralysed speak by enabling them to spell words using their thoughts.

It uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help patients choose between 27 characters - the alphabet and a blank space.

Each character produces a different pattern of blood flow in the brain, and the device interprets these patterns.

The British Neurological Association called the research "exciting".

The study appears in Current Biology journal of Cell Press.

fMRI is normally used to track brain activity by measuring blood flow.

Earlier research

The new technology is based on earlier applications of the technique, which used free-letter spelling to allow people to answer the equivalent of multiple-choice questions with just a few possible answers.

British neuroscientist Adrian Owen, for instance, used fMRI to help a man believed to have been in a vegetative state for five years to answer "yes" and "no" questions by interpreting his brain activity.

But the new scanner uses the entire English alphabet and the blank space.

"This novel spelling device constitutes an alterative approach to motor-independent communication," Bettina Sorger of Maastricht University in The Netherlands, one of the researchers working on the current study, told the BBC.

"The work of Adrian Owen and colleagues led me to wonder whether it might even become possible to use fMRI, mental tasks, and appropriate experimental designs to freely encode thoughts, letter-by-letter, and therewith enable back-and-forth communication in the absence of motor behavior."

The team writes in the paper that because the noninvasive device requires "only little effort and pretraining, it is immediately operational and possesses high potential for clinical applications, both in terms of diagnostics and establishing short-term communication with nonresponsive and severely motor-impaired patients".

The new scanner uses the entire English alphabet and the blank space

Exciting results

Elaine Snell of the British Neuroscience Association told the BBC that the technology could become "a lifeline" for patients in a persistent vegetative state, or suffering from other neurological disorders.

"This means of communication will make a huge difference to the quality of their life and to that of their families.

"This kind of technology can only get better, it's very exciting."

Dr Guy Williams from the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre in Cambridge agreed.

"The technique may need some adaptation to be widely applicable to patients who might have impaired awareness or ability to concentrate on the required task, but it is nonetheless an important demonstration of what these scans can in principle tell us about the functioning of an individual's brain," he told the BBC.

Car insurance: putting telematics to the test

2012-06-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Telematics systems that track driving habits can lower car insurance premiums for safe drivers and have been available since 2008.

Yet this concept has failed to set the insurance world alight. Trading privacy for perks seems to have held people back and stalled a revolution in the sector. But with the claims culture forcing premiums to rise and the EU ruling on gender soon to come into force, could this be the most precise and fair way to lower the cost of car insurance for everyone?

As a young driver who has experienced the horror of massive insurance premiums, I decided to test out the technology for myself to see if my actual individual driving habits could improve the cost of my car insurance.

Autosaint

I generally think I am a good driver so I was happy to take on the challenge from Autosaint to drive around with a telematics tracker in my car for ten days.

Autosaint is a niche insurer which offers provisional, newly-qualified and young drivers low premiums, in return for responsible driving through the use of in-vehicle telematics technology.

Interestingly, Autosaint offer a low premium to this risky age group from the outset, so it is up to the driver to live up to that trust or risk a rise in premium determined at a quarterly review.

Irresponsible driving alters the premium, but alerts and suggestions on how to improve driving are in place through an online dashboard, as well as email/text alerts to avoid that happening.

Autosaint builds a risk profile through a scoring system. Drivers are scored out of 100 and if a number of bad driving incidents occur (categorised into speeding, harsh braking and harsh accelerating) points are deducted.

If a driver scores below 60, the premium will be adjusted in the quarterly review, but those scoring 60 and above will continue to benefit from the cheapest premium offered at the start of the policy and at renewal are offered even larger discounts.

My results

Using my online dashboard, I can see I drove 220 miles on the ten days I was being monitored, consisting of around ten journeys ranging from three to 52 miles.

My overall score for the journeys I had completed was 99 which is a score that is deemed 'EXCELLENT'.

The report that came through in my email told me: "Driving this well means not only that you are driving safely but we won't need to increase your insurance premium at your next quarterly review."

Great news! Because I drove safely for a great proportion of the time if I had a policy with Autosaint I could expect my premium to remain low at the next evaluation.

But what was I doing wrong 1% of the time?

Where I went wrong

Although my score looks as if my driving was near perfect, the little black box did record some bad driving in a number of incidents. In total I had 12 'Events' which the Autosaint Dashboard flags as something to work on and offered advice to help improve my driving habits.

Of the 12 incidents, six were harsh braking events, two harsh acceleration events and four were speeding events.

Did I deserve a lower score?

It is clear from the fact that 12 incidents were recorded against my driving that I am in no way a perfect driver.

I am sure there were a few cases that were just plain bad driving on my part as many of the journeys I did were familiar routes, but having this technology has made me really think about these incidents and why they may have occurred. Generally, I found that my preoccupation with driving carefully (as I knew I was being tested) was thwarted by the behaviour of other road users.

The fact I tested the technology for a week probably explains my score. Given three months I am sure the score would have come down to account for speeding incidents and the harsh braking, but not so low that it would be under 60 and thus affect any premium offered by Autosaint.

Potential game changer

My car is a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa Sxi three door hatchback. Using the example of a 24-year-old driver, with a full license and one month's experience, car insurance premiums from other insurers could be as high as £4,317 for a year's comprehensive cover (from Fresh). However, with Autosaint, that premium drops all the way down to £2,488, a saving of almost £2,000, thanks to the telematics box.

Obviously, Autosaint is not going to be an option for many of us as they only deal with very new drivers. But similar technology is employed by a number of other insurers (the Cooperative, the AA, Insurethebox, I-kube) for drivers of all ages. So the potential benefits of telematics are open to all, if we are willing to take the plunge.

Is it the future?

I think if more people used telematics it would bring unprecedented transparency to car insurance rates, benefiting good drivers and forcing bad drivers into making changes.

Of course with this particular system from Autosaint, there are only three determining factors deciding whether you are a good driver; speeding, braking and accelerating. Many would argue that the true measure of a good driver involves far more information than a tracking system can provide and I would agree. However, for now, the system is useful for pinpointing any existing bad habits and suggesting steps to improve which may be invaluable for a less experienced driver.

The obvious downsides to these sorts of policies is that some don't allow you to drive at night (as this is when a lot of accidents occur), the low mileage limits are not beneficial to a driver that needs to travel great distances for work or college and of course the privacy issues.

Would you consider this technology to help lower your car insurance premiums? Or is this Big Brother monitoring gone mad? Share your thoughts in the comment boxes below.

Using the internet to buy a home: Websites and apps

2012-06-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

The boom in smartphone use means apps are increasingly used to find information

Spring is upon us and so is the traditional start of the house-buying season.

Estate agents have come out of hibernation and are busy preparing for the busy Easter selling period.

Most people now start their search for a new home online.

So it is worth looking at the help you can get on the internet and, more frequently these days, via your mobile phone.

Looking for a new property is easier than ever as the big property portals like Rightmove, FindaProperty andGlobrix have a huge inventory of homes to buy and to let.

But technology does not stand still.

Location

New entrants like Adzuna make it even easier by bringing the listings together from lots of different sites into one convenient place.

They could even help you find a new job once you have found the right house.

Having found some potential homes to see, you will want to check out if you could afford any of them.

The first handy "app" you can use is the mortgage calculator from London & Country mortgage brokers.

Like similar offerings from price comparison websites, this should only be used as a guide, but it is quite sophisticated.

If you want help finding the area you can commute from, then for Londoners the handy Commute From.com website will show you.

Standing outside the house of your dreams armed with your smartphone, Londoners may want to know which way the nearest tube station is.

Checking for problems

You may tempted by a vast range of websites and apps from individual estate agents.

But you will want to check if the home of your dreams is in a flood plain, how good the local services are, what results local schools are getting or what risks there might be from pollution.

Sad to say, it may also be worth checking what local crime rates are.

The government publishes a range of little-known but incredibly helpful apps with maps that show you everything from the nearest chemist to the nearest post box.

One of the most helpful will summarise much of what you might want to know about an area before you move there.

When it comes to negotiating a deal, then if you are buying a home you might be interested to learn what similar homes have sold for.

You can search Land Registry data via a number of third-party web sites like Zoopla or download the cleverMouseprice app to your smartphone.

This show you details of sold prices around you while you are looking - if you use the built-in location option.

Monitoring the market

If you know where you want to live but want to wait for the right property to come available, then most of the property portals provide email alerts.

You can monitor individual properties for when the price is changed or monitor whole areas using the Mouseprice website.

Many people only start to consider what their own home is worth once they have found a new property.

Getting the views of two or three estate agents is very helpful and free.

However there are resources online including the Rightmove guide to what your home might be worth.

It can tell you how many people are looking in a particular postcode, how many properties are available, what has sold and, importantly, what is to let.

Remember that what rent you might get is a very helpful way to establish what a property might be worth, as the rental "yield" will allow you to compare it with other commodities.

Whilst you may be buying a house to live in, you will also want to be confident that you are not overpaying.

Calculate the cost

To deal with the conveyancing you could use one of the online businesses now popular with both buyers and sellers.

MyHomeMove is one of the biggest.

Removal companies provide helpful guides to the cost of moving, HMRC will show you how much stamp duty land tax you will have to pay.

Before you move you might want to order up the first delivery of groceries from Tesco Direct or Ocado, who will deliver the bare necessities for your first night.

Looking for and renting or buying a new home has never been easier.

Those who do not like dealing with estate agents now have a huge array of helpful websites and apps to use instead.

"Knowledge is power," as Sir Francis Bacon, the 17th Century English philosopher and one-time lord chancellor, is credited with saying.

And prospective buyers and tenants have never had so much knowledge at their fingertips.

How to write a successful CV before applying for a job

2012-06-06T20:01:00.004-07:00

Getting a CV up to scratch is an important part of the job searching process

A good curriculum vitae - or CV - is vital when looking for work, especially when there are numerous candidates for the same job, so what should it contain?

There is no perfect template, and each sector may require a different emphasis on a different aspect of the content, such as career history or qualifications.

However, experts suggest there are some basic rules on how a CV should be written and the information that should be included.

Overall, a CV should be neat and typed if possible. Most libraries now have public computers, if you do not have your own.

It should also be short, usually no more than two sides of A4. It should be positive, stressing achievements and strengths, and make a good impression in a clear and positive way.

The basic format for a CV includes:

Personal details, including name, address, phone number, email address and possibly any professional social media presence. You no longer need to include your date of birth, owing to age discrimination rules
Career history, starting with your most recent job first. Include dates and temporary or voluntary jobs if appropriate
A personal profile which sells yourself and your qualities, tailored towards the job you are applying for
Achievements from previous jobs that are relevant
Qualifications and training from previous jobs, with the most recent first
Interests, if they are relevant and especially if the skills or teamwork concerned are relevant for the job
Any extra information, such as reasons for a career change or reasons for gaps in career history, such as caring duties
References, ideally two or more and including a recent employer

Corinne Mills is managing director of Personal Career Management, which offers careers coaching. She says that a straightforward font and formatting is required - and the spelling must be checked and checked again.

"Poor spelling is the quickest way of getting a rejection," she says.

She adds that people should check five or six adverts for a particular job and then use the common requirements to mould their CV.

"Many people think that one CV will fit all applications, but it needs to be a very targeted document for the role they are going for. Do some research so you understand what employers are looking for."

Global tips

CVs can be produced in a different format for job applications outside of the UK.

For example, the equivalent of the CV in the US is the "resume".

This has much the same aims by outlining job talents, work history, education and career goals, as well as how a candidate's experience and skills would be suited to the job being advertised.

One guide to writing resumes and cover letters is on the New York State Department of Labor's website.

Diamond Jubilee: River Thames pageant to honour Queen

2012-06-02T22:01:00.004-07:00

Around 20 members of the royal family will travel in the luxurious red and gold royal barge

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend will reach its peak later on Sunday with a colourful River Thames pageant.

Hundreds of thousands of people will line the banks of the river to watch the Queen cruise past on a royal barge escorted by a 1,000-strong flotilla.

The event to mark 60 years of her reign promises to be the most spectacular nautical event in London for 350 years.

Millions more Britons are expected to take part in Jubilee parties, outdoor concerts and fairs across the country.

The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other senior royals will travel from Albert Bridge to Tower Bridge aboard a lavishly adapted royal barge - the Spirit of Chartwell - decorated with almost 1,000 cut flowers.

Dunkirk small ships

As the pageant begins at 11:30 BST with mustering at Hammersmith and Battersea bridges, the Thames barrier will be lowered to slow the river's flow.

The spectacle, along a seven-mile stretch, will end some six hours later when the last boat passes Tower Bridge.

Adam Kerr, the skipper of a restored 19th Century Cornish fishing lugger, the Barnabas, sailed 400 nautical miles to take part.

"It's going to be wonderful, I think it's going to be a pretty colourful spectacle," he told the BBC.

"I'm sure they're very worried about the security of boats crashing into each other, I think we'll be okay - we're a pretty well controlled boat, good crew and nice engine to drive us along."

Campers explain why they chose to stay out overnight in the rain

The £10m cost of the event has been met by private donations but the security costs will be paid for by the taxpayer.

The anti-monarchy group, Republic, has said it will hold a demonstration against what they call an unelected, unaccountable monarch.

BBC weather forecaster John Hammond said pageant watchers should wrap up with waterproofs and wind proofs amid temperatures of around 11C.

He said party-goers in most of England and Wales should expect cloud and the threat of rain, whilst Scotland and Northern Ireland would be dry with some sunshine.

A collection of small ships used to rescue stranded troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 will also take part in the river event.

It will be led by the Motor Torpedo boat 102, the flagship of the officer who co-ordinated the evacuation on the scene.

A boat carrying eight specially cast Jubilee bells will lead the water-borne procession, and churches along the river bank will return the peel as it passes.

Later on Sunday, Prime Minister David Cameron will attend a Jubilee party in Downing Street.

And around the country, a community initiative called the Big Jubilee Lunch will encourage people to share food with neighbours and friends in street parties or at picnics.

On Monday, a concert will be held in front of Buckingham Palace in the area surrounding the Queen Victoria Memorial, with performances from artists including Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John, Jessie J, JLS and Ed Sheeran.

When it ends at 22:00 BST, more than 4,000 beacons are due to be lit in the UK and around the world.

The Queen will light the UK's last beacon - the National Beacon - at about 22:30 BST, to be followed by a firework display at Buckingham Palace.

How to de-stress from your busy life

2012-05-30T20:02:00.001-07:00

Our work and home lives seem to get busier and busier as the years roll by and too often we don't take the time to properly relax. However, in order to prevent stress and anxiety from affecting our health, a little time out is essential.
Top related searches:

While some find a hot bath or a walk in the countryside does the job, others struggle to shake off the stresses and strains of the day. If you haven't got time for a full meditation session or a tai chi class, here are some easy tips to help you chill out.

Be quiet, be comfortable
It might seem impossible but finding a quiet place where you can relax and where you won't be disturbed. Just as important is comfort so don the baggy jogging bottoms and find a comfy chair or cushion, or lie down either on the floor or the bed. If you are seated, allow your arms to lie comfortably on the arms of the chair and avoid crossing your legs. For those of you who prefer to lie down, rest your arms beside your body but a little bit away, with the palms facing upwards. Stretch out your legs and allow them to rest hip-width apart.

Breathe
Deep breathing is the key to relaxation. In order to let those anxieties float away, focus on breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Take a long, slow breath in, then exhale slowly, counting from one to five. For some, visualising a calm, peaceful place will help those negative thoughts and anxieties to drift away, others may find it helps to visualise the stresses of the day physically floating away.

By gently tensing and then relaxing each part of your body, from head to toe, focusing on a feeling of warmth and heaviness, both your body and mind should respond by becoming calm and stress free.

Muscle relaxation
Relaxing the muscles is a great way to relieve stress. Simple stretching techniques are all that is needed to release some of the tension that has built up over the course of the day.

For example, for the face, push the eyebrows together into a frown, hold for a few seconds, then relax. For the neck, tilt the head forwards with the chin pushed towards the chest, then slowly lift. Pull your shoulders up into a shrug, then relax down, breathing deeply throughout. Your limbs will also benefit from muscle relaxation - try stretching your arms away from your body as if reaching, then relax. Similarly stretch your legs out and away, pull them back in towards your body and then relax. With each of these exercises, the stretch should be held for a few seconds for maximum benefit and ideally repeated two or three times.

When you have finished deep breathing and stretching, stay still for a few minutes with your eyes closed and make the most of that warm, relaxed feeling. Get up slowly when you feel calm and at ease.

Fee-free mortgages for small deposits

2012-05-26T22:51:00.001-07:00

Good news for borrowers with only small deposits and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks waive fees.

When it comes to buying a house, mortgage fees are a prime example of an unexpected cost that can throw your whole budget out of sync.

After saving for a deposit, accounting for Stamp Duty and getting to grips with all your legal costs, the last thing you want to hear about is an arrangement fee on your hefty loan, especially if you're a first-time buyer already stretched to breaking point.

Arrangement or product fees can be painfully high and range from £400 to an eye-watering £2,000.
So if your finances don't have that sort of give, two new offers from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks could be of interest.

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks' fee-free offer
Last week Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks unveiled two new fee-free mortgages, meaning first-time buyers can save a nice £599 when taking out one of their three-year fixed rate deals.

Even better the rates have been reduced and are available on mortgages which only require a small deposit.

So if you only have a 5% deposit, you can take advantage of a three-year fixed rate of 5.99% (reduced from 6.19%) with no fee to worry about.

Alternatively, for a slightly bigger 10% deposit, there is a three-year fixed on a lower rate of 4.99% (reduced from 5.49%) again without the fee.

Fee-free pitfalls
The lure of a fee-free deal is easy to understand - everyone wants to reduce the cost of buying a property wherever they can.

However, fee-free deals generally have a higher rate of interest compared to those with arrangement costs. That means that in the long term your mortgage costs you more, all for the sake of skipping a fee at the outset.

This premium is apparent when you look at two deals available from First Direct. This lender has a two-year fixed rate offer of 4.19% at 90% loan-to-value with arrangement fees of £999. But if you want to avoid that fee, your rate is hiked to 4.89% - an increase of 0.7%!

This means if you took out a loan of £150,000 over 25 years with the First Direct fee-charging deal, you could expect monthly mortgage payments of £807.58.

But on the comparable fee-free option, at 4.89% your repayments rocket to £867.30 a month, almost £60 a month more. Over 25 years, that's an extra £18,000!

The true cost of a mortgage
Most lenders will give you the option of paying the fee upfront or to add it to the amount borrowed.

The latter sounds harmless considering the sheer size of what you are borrowing already. What's a few extra hundred pounds when you are already borrowing hundreds of thousands of pounds?

But attaching this cost onto the total amount you borrow means you will be paying interest on the fee for the whole term of the loan, adding to the cost both monthly and overall.

So, if we take the First Direct example again, with its fee of £999, interest rate of 4.19% and term of 25 years. You would end up paying back over £1,000 in interest just on the fee.

Mortgage advice
Fee or no fee you should consider the short term and long term of what you can afford by doing a few quick calculations yourself.

You can also talk to our mortgage brokers, free of charge, for some helpful advice if you are stuck wondering which deal is best for you.

Top 20 fee-free mortgages

Lender	Type	LTV	Rate
HSBC	Two-year fixed	70%	3.59%
Halifax	Two-year fixed	60%	3.79%
Lloyds TSB	Two-year fixed	60%	3.94%
Lloyds TSB	Two-year fixed	75%	4.39%
Britannia	Two-year fixed	85%	4.09%
First Direct*	Two-year fixed	90%	4.89%
Yorkshire Building Society	Two-year fixed	90%	5.09%
Yorkshire Building Society	Three-year fixed	85%	4.59%
The Cooperative Bank	Three-year fixed	90%	4.69%
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks	Three-year fixed	90%	4.99%
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks	Three-year fixed	95%	5.99%
HSBC	Five-year fixed	70%	4.29%
Yorkshire Building Society	Five-year fixed	85%	4.79%
First Direct*	Five-year fixed	90%	4.99%
Britania*	Lifetime tracker	60%	2.59% (base rate + 2.09%)
First Direct*	Lifetime tracker	65%	3.19% (base rate + 2.69%)
HSBC	Lifetime Tracker	70%	3.29% (base rate + 2.79%)
First Direct*	Lifetime tracker	75%	3.49% (base rate + 2.99%)
Britania*	Lifetime tracker	85%	3.69% (base rate + 3.19%)
Britania*	Lifetime tracker	90%	4.59% (base rate + 4.09%)

*Product only available to current account holders

Table correct as of 21/05/2012

This article aims to give information, not advice. Always do your own research and/or seek out advice from an FSA-regulated broker, before acting on anything contained in this article.

Finally, we tend to only give the initial rate of a deal in our articles, but any deal which lasts for a shorter period than your mortgage term may revert to the lender's standard variable rate or a tracker rate when the deal ends. Before you take out a deal, you should always try to find out from your lender what its standard variable rate is and how it will be determined in the future.

Make sure you take all this information into account when comparing different deals.

Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Groundbreaking Brain Injection For Parkinson's Disease Brings Fresh Hope To Sufferers (WATCH)

2012-05-24T19:52:00.003-07:00

A brand new form of ‘gene therapy’ for Parkinson’s disease has excited experts today, after it was revealed that it could revolutionise the way the neurodegenerative disease is treated.

Researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair have created a groundbreaking ‘one shot injection’ called ProSavin, which helps transport the nerve-controlling chemical (dopamine) to the brain.

Parkinson’s disease is caused when the brain stops producing the chemical dopamine, which in turn damages nerve cells, prompting the onset of symptoms.

These include hand and limb tremors, rigidity and slowness of movement.

The new breakthrough treatment is designed to continue a healthy flow of dopamine into the brain by mimicking “stripped-down” viruses that trick and ‘reprogramme’ brain cells into producing the chemical.

The ProSavin treatment is injected into the striatum (the part of the brain that controls motor movement). Scientists are hoping this treatment could potentially stop, or improve, the symptoms of Parkinson’s.

Dr Philip Buttery from the study told Sky News: "It seems to be having an overall beneficial effect in smoothing out people's days, probably allowing a slight dose reduction in medication and in some patients a better sleep pattern and a better quality of life for all."

Despite the positive findings, the study is still in its early stages and will need further investigation as the treatment has only been tested on 15 people so far.

Scientists are hoping the treatment will be available within the next five years. Although gene therapy has taken place in the US before, this is the first time dopamine has been produced in the brain.

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and Innovation at Parkingson's Uk told HuffPost Lifestyle: "Gene therapies hold great promise for people with Parkinson's in the future, as they could mean an end to the daily regime of drugs that most people with the condition currently face.

"In addition to ProSavin, there are three other gene therapy trials underway at the moment. So far all the therapies appear to be safe - now the challenge is to see whether they are more effective than the medications we already have for Parkinson's.

"Parkinson's UK is currently funding £750,000 worth of cutting-edge gene therapy research in the UK, which we believe could take these treatments to the next level.”

Botox migraine jab set to be offered on NHS, says NICE

2012-05-11T21:36:00.001-07:00

Botox is more commonly used for cosmetic reasons

The anti-wrinkle drug Botox could soon be offered to patients with chronic migraines by the NHS in England and Wales, according to the medicines watchdog.

It is thought 700,000 people in the UK have chronic migraine.

Final draft guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommend Botox when other drugs have failed.

The Migraine Trust said it welcomed the decision.

Migraines are extreme headaches that often come with nausea and being very sensitive to light or sound. To have chronic migraines, a patient must have headaches on at least 15 days a month, eight of which have to be migraines.

NHS funding?

Botox was approved as a treatment for chronic migraine in the UK in 2010, and NICE is now considering whether the NHS should fund it.

In February, it said there was insufficient evidence and asked the manufacturer, Allergan, to provide more proof.

Now it believes that Botox should be used in some patients.

Prof Carole Longson, the director of the health technology evaluation centre at NICE, said: "Chronic migraines are extremely debilitating and can significantly affect a person's quality of life.

"We are pleased that the committee has been able to recommend Botox as a preventative therapy for those adults whose headaches have not improved despite trying at least three other medications and whose headaches are not caused by medication overuse."

The final guidelines are expected in June.

NICE estimated the cost to the NHS would be £349.40 for every 12-week cycle of treatment.

'Safe and effective'

Exactly how the neurotoxin prevents migraines is unknown. It may work by blocking pain signals or relaxing muscles.

Migraine symptoms

Severe headache
Visual disturbances such as spots or flashing lights
Sensitivity to light, noise, or smells
Nausea and vomiting
Tingling sensations, pins and needles, and weakness or numbness in the limbs

Wendy Thomas, the chief executive of The Migraine Trust, welcomed the recommendation by NICE.

She said: "Chronic migraine is a disabling condition and in many cases ruins people's lives.

"For patients who suffer from this condition, Botox may offer a safe and effective preventative treatment option to help them manage their migraine and improve their quality of life."

Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, chair of British Association for the Study of Headache, said: "The headache experts with first-hand experience in treating chronic migraine know how debilitating the condition can be for some patients, and Botox can be a life changing treatment.

"We are pleased that NICE has recommended Botox for those who have failed to respond to first-line treatments."

Dr Fayyaz Ahmed chair of British Association for the Study of Headache says the treatment has benefited some patients.

Stem cell shield 'could protect cancer patients'

2012-05-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

The trial is being conducted on patients with brain cancer

It may be possible to use "stem cell shielding" to protect the body from the damaging effects of chemotherapy, early results from a US trial suggest.

Chemotherapy drugs try to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they can also affect other healthy tissues such as bone marrow.

A study, in Science Translational Medicine, used genetically modified stem cells to protect the bone marrow.

Cancer Research UK said it was a "completely new approach".

The body constantly churns out new blood cells in the hollow spaces inside bone. However, bone marrow is incredibly susceptible to chemotherapy.

The treatment results in fewer white blood cells being produced, which increases the risk of infection, and fewer red blood cells, which leads to shortness of breath and tiredness.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, said these effects were "a major barrier" to using chemotherapy and often meant the treatment had to be stopped, delayed or reduced.

'Protective shields'

They have tried to protect the bone marrow in three patients with a type of brain cancer, glioblastoma.

One of the researchers, Dr Jennifer Adair, said: "This therapy is analogous to firing at both tumour cells and bone marrow cells, but giving the bone marrow cells protective shields while the tumour cells are unshielded."

Bone marrow was taken from the patients and stem cells, which produce blood, were isolated. A virus was then used to infect the cells with a gene which protected the cells against a chemotherapy drug. The cells were then put back into the patient.

The lead author of the report, Prof Hans-Peter Kiem, said: "We found that patients were able to tolerate the chemotherapy better, and without negative side effects, after transplantation of the gene-modified stem cells than patients in previous studies who received the same type of chemotherapy without a transplant of gene-modified stem cells."

The researchers said the three patients had all lived longer than the average survival time of 12 months for the cancer. They said one patient was still alive 34 months after treatment.

Cancer Research UK scientist Prof Susan Short said: "This is a very interesting study and a completely new approach to protecting normal cells during cancer treatment.

"It needs to be tested in more patients but it may mean that we can use temozolomide [a chemotherapy drug] for more brain tumour patients than we previously thought.

"This approach could also be a model for other situations where the bone marrow is affected by cancer treatment."

'One in six cancers worldwide are caused by infection'

2012-05-08T21:18:00.001-07:00

Infection with human papillomavirus can cause cervical cancer

One in six cancers - two million a year globally - are caused by largely treatable or preventable infections, new estimates suggest.

The Lancet Infectious Diseases review, which looked at incidence rates for 27 cancers in 184 countries, found four main infections are responsible.

These four - human papillomaviruses, Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis B and C viruses - account for 1.9m cases of cervical, gut and liver cancers.

Most cases are in the developing world.

The team from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France says more efforts are needed to tackle these avoidable cases and recognise cancer as a communicable disease.

'Preventable'

The proportion of cancers related to infection is about three times higher in parts of the developing world, such as east Asia, than in developed countries like the UK - 22.9% versus 7.4%, respectively.

Nearly a third of cases occur in people younger than 50 years.

Among women, cancer of the cervix accounted for about half of the infection-related cancers. In men, more than 80% were liver and gastric cancers.

Drs Catherine de Martel and Martyn Plummer, who led the research, said: "Infections with certain viruses, bacteria, and parasites are some of the biggest and preventable causes of cancer worldwide

"Application of existing public-health methods for infection prevention, such as vaccination, safer injection practice, or antimicrobial treatments, could have a substantial effect on the future burden of cancer worldwide."

Vaccines are available to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV) - which is linked to cancer of the cervix - and hepatitis B virus - an established cause of liver cancer.

And experts know that stomach cancer can be avoided by clearing the bacterial infection H. pylori from the gut using a course of antibiotics.

Commenting on the work, Dr Goodarz Danaei from Harvard School of Public Medicine in Boston, the US, said: "Since effective and relatively low-cost vaccines for HPV and HBV are available, increasing coverage should be a priority for health systems in high-burden countries."

Jessica Harris of Cancer Research UK said: "It's important that authorities worldwide make every effort to reduce the number of infection-related cancers, especially when many of these infections can be prevented. In the UK, infections are thought to be responsible for 3% of cancers, or around 9,700 cases each year.

"Vaccination against HPV, which causes cervical cancer, should go a long way towards reducing rates of this disease in the UK. But it's important that uptake of the vaccination remains high. At a global level, if the vaccine were available in more countries, many thousands more cases could be prevented."

'Free' solar panels may cost a fortune

2012-05-05T21:21:00.002-07:00

There are mounting concerns over solar panels which have been installed for 'free' and could make the property hard to sell and impossible to remortgage. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors alerted homeowners about this back in October, and as the mortgage market has continued to tighten, they are renewing their warnings.

So what's the problem?

The problem

The issue here is where solar panels are installed for 'free'. In fact they are installed on long leases, which means the installation firm owns the space above the roof space for roughly 25 years. The homeowner can use energy generated from the panels (a saving of about £180 a year) and the installation company can sell the rest back to the national grid under the feed-in tariff.

Some mortgage companies are happy with this arrangement, but for others, it breaches their mortgage terms and conditions. This has two potentially nightmarish results.

Remortgage

First is that you could struggle when it comes to remortgaging. David Dalby, RICS Director, says: "While we wholeheartedly support the use and production of green energy, it is important that consumers are aware of the potential dangers before entering into these agreements."

"Leasing roof space can generate much-needed additional income for households. However, anybody considering it should consult their mortgage provider and seek legal advice beforehand. The terms of the lease may not be acceptable to all lenders, so some homeowners could find themselves in the extremely difficult position of being tied to a long-term lease, yet in violation of the terms of their mortgage."

Selling

The second problem, which has featured in a number of reports this week, is that it could be off-putting for buyers, who are concerned that they may not get a mortgage. Some surveyors are drawing attention to this when a buyer does their survey, and buyers are backing off.

Sellers do have some options. In some instances there is a buy-out clause, which enables them to regain ownership of the area above the roof space. However, they will have to spend over £10,000 in many cases to buy themselves out of the deal.

Other deals have no such clause. In the worst case it may stop your home selling. Alternatively, you can pay to have the panels removed and to compensate the company for their loss of income. Even in the best case scenario it could mean taking a serious cut in price in order to tempt a buyer to take on a property with this sort of drawback.

RICS recommends:

Always obtain your mortgage lender's consent and seek legal advice on the terms of any agreement before entering into a contract
If looking to sell your property within the duration of any lease, be aware that the lease may have to be taken on by a future buyer, whether they want it or not. This could affect saleability.
If consumers sign the agreement outside of the company's premises, there is a seven day 'cooling off' period allowing the contract to be cancelled

China manufacturing activity expands for fifth month

2012-04-30T21:39:00.004-07:00

China's factories manufacture products ranging from low-cost goods to high-tech gadgets

China's manufacturing activity has expanded for the fifth month in a row, easing concerns about a sharp slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

The official Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) rose to 53.3 in April from 53.1 in March, the statistics bureau said.

China relies heavily on its manufacturing and export sector for growth.

There have been fears that a slowdown in key markets such as the US and Europe might hurt China's economy.

The PMI is a key indicator of manufacturing activity and a reading above 50 shows expansion.

"The message is that Chinese manufacturing is growing, not as fast as in years past but faster than in the fourth quarter last year and enough to achieve the government's growth target for the year," said Dariusz Kowalczyk of Credit Agricole CIB.

'Signs of life'

The concerns of a global slowdown and its impact on China's economy have seen Beijing take steps to ease monetary policy in order to boost growth.

China's central bank has cut the amount of money that banks need to hold in reserves twice in the past few months, to try and stimulate lending in the country.

The move saw Chinese banks extend 1.01tn yuan ($160bn; £100bn) in new loans in March, much more than the forecast of 800bn yuan.

Analysts said the increased availability of credit had started to have a positive impact on the economy.

"There are signs of life in the economy and things should improve, all underpinned by an easing credit climate," said Ren Xianfeng of IHS Global Insight in Beijing.

China has set a target of 7.5% growth for its economy for this year.

Further growth?

Along with fears of a slowdown in the manufacturing and export sector, there have also been concerns about the health of China's property market.

China's robust growth in recent years has seen house prices soar. There had been worries that as growth slows, prices may fall sharply, hurting its economy.

However, so far there have been no signs of that happening.

"China has, thus far, avoided the much-feared hard landing," said IHS Global's Ren Xianfeng.

"Expect no major property meltdown or construction bust. Expect no deflationary spiral or banking crunch."

Analysts said that given the steadiness of the property market, policymakers were likely to continue to ease their policies to boost growth.

Ting Liu of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch forecast that China's economy was likely to grow at an annual rate on 8.5% in the second quarter, up from 8.1% in the first three months of the year.

Get a great mortgage for free!

2012-04-27T23:30:00.003-07:00

As mortgage fees soar we do the sums on homeloans with no upfront costs.

The average mortgage arrangement fee is now an eye-watering £1,502, and this has rocketed 25% in the past three years alone, according to Moneyfacts.

Such steep fees are extremely difficult for many borrowers to cope with, because they come at a time when money is usually tight and most of your savings have been put towards a deposit and Stamp Duty. So there is often very little left in the pot.

And while the average fee is £1,502, some can rise as high as £3,000 or even more – a figure that seems a little preposterous. How on earth can it cost a lender that much money to arrange a mortgage, when they are in the business of arranging mortgages? Surely they can do it for less?

In fact, the mortgage 'arrangement fee' comes under a few guises, such as a booking fee, administration fee or completion fee. And just to make the whole thing even more confusing it is sometimes split into two separate fees, one of which is non-refundable if the deal falls through.

But whatever it is called, it is probably best not to think of the mortgage fee as something that literally pays for the costs of arranging a mortgage, because the cost isn't really related to that.

It all adds up
Instead it can help to think of the lender constructing an overall deal using different pricing methods – the interest rate, the arrangement fee, and other costs like valuation and legal fees.

It uses all of these pricing mechanisms to come up with a deal. This means mortgages that cost exactly the same overall could have quite different rate and fee permutations. Let's look at a few examples:

Take the two mortgages below – both two-year fixed rates, one charging 3% interest and the other 3.5%.

They will cost a borrower with a typical £150,000 loan exactly the same over the two-year fixed period – £18,024 – even though the monthly repayments are £40 a month more on the higher rate. The fact that the lower rate deal has an arrangement fee means they balance out overall:

Fee-free 2-year fixed rate at 3.5%. Monthly payments are £751 which totals £18,024 over two years
2-year fixed rate at 3% with £960 arrangement fee. Monthly payments are £711 which totals £17,064 over two years, plus fee of £960 totals £18,024.

You could argue that this way of pricing mortgages actually gives borrowers more choice. The two deals above cost exactly the same but different borrowers may prefer one over the other.

If you have a large savings pot but a modest income you might prefer to pay the higher fee and keep your monthly repayments low.

However, if you have spent all your savings on your deposit but have a high income the fee-free mortgage might suit you better.

Why size really matters
The pros and cons of choosing a fee-free deal become even more apparent when you start looking at different levels of borrowing. As a rule of thumb, the more you borrow the less important the arrangement fee is to your overall cost, and the less you borrow the more important the fee becomes.

For example, based on the same two mortgage deals, a borrower with a large £300,000 mortgage is better off going for the lower interest rate and paying the £960 arrangement fee. They would save £936 over the two years.

However, a borrower taking out a small mortgage of £100,000 is £312 better off with the fee-free deal, despite having a higher interest rate and therefore higher monthly repayments.

Even though the two deals cost a typical borrower with a £150,000 the same over two years, high value borrowers (£300,000) do better paying the arrangement fee and bagging the better rate, while those with modest borrowings (£100,000) are better with the fee-free option.

Are lenders profiteering?
By showing that a variety of different mortgage fee options can actually give borrowers more choice, I am not defending lenders' price hikes. It is true that they have been quietly inching up their mortgage fees over the last three years. However the same Moneyfacts research that highlights this trend also shows that mortgage rates have fallen over the same period. Of course, with base rate at an all-time low, they should have done!

The main thing to remember is that while you can't affect what lenders are doing with their rates, you can make sure that you get the best deal for your circumstances. And that may not always be the mortgage with the lowest interest rate, nor will it always be a fee-free mortgage.

Lenders generally levy large arrangement fees on their most attractive interest rates, meaning you pay a premium upfront to bag the cheapest ongoing costs. But if you look carefully there are some hidden gems among fee-free mortgages that give you the best of both worlds.

Below are some of the best low-fee and fee-free mortgages available right now:

Fab fee-free deals

Lovely low-fee (£500 and under) mortgages

Facebook: Parents 'help children break age limits'

2012-04-26T21:21:00.002-07:00

Children under the age of 13 are not supposed to have Facebook accounts

Parents are helping their children to set up under-age profiles on social networking site Facebook, Children's Minister Tim Loughton has said.

This meant that children were getting involved in social media at too young an age, he suggested.

He added that parents had a responsibility to monitor youngsters' online activity.

The comments came in a debate on "sexting" - youngsters sending explicit pictures to each other.

Mr Loughton, who has three teenage children, said parents had a responsibility to monitor youngsters online, adding: "Having a Facebook page, you should be at least 13 to do that. That is not legally enforceable.

"We know, and I know from personal experience, the temptations for younger children to set up a Facebook site and get involved with those social media.

"And I also know that in too many cases they do that aided and abetted by parents. So it's not just a question of giving information to parents, it's making sure parents are acting responsibly on behalf of their children too."

When individuals set up Facebook accounts, they are asked to certify that they are 13 or over by entering a date of birth. If the date of birth shows them to be younger they are prevented from continuing.

A Facebook spokeswoman said it set the age limit for setting up accounts to comply with international regulations on children accessing social media.

It also said it applied more stringent protections and security settings for its younger users aged between 13 and 17.

'Risk'

This involves limiting who can see what teenagers post on their accounts to people in their social networks - Facebook friends, friends of friends, and people they have a prior connection with.

"We maintain added protections and security settings for teens (age 13-17) that ensure their timelines and posts don't show up in public search results," Facebook says on its website.

Mr Loughton's comments came as a Labour MP Ann Coffey urged the government and mobile phone companies to do more to combat "sexting" during a Westminster Hall debate.

The Stockport MP said youngsters who sent explicit images to their boyfriends and girlfriends risked having those pictures shown around playgrounds.

She said: "Once taken and sent, the sender loses control of these images and they could end up anywhere from being passed all around school to being viewed and passed on by paedophiles."

'No silver bullet'

She also claimed pornographic pictures willingly uploaded to the internet could be shared with the world without the subject's consent, a practice known as "doxing".

She added: "A key problem is that young people see the texts as harmless fun but they quickly lead to sexualised conversations and grooming.

"Because it is not face-to-face interaction, young people will also behave in a different way without realising the risks they are exposing themselves to until it is too late."

She called on mobile phone firms to pay for advertising campaigns warnings youngsters about the dangers of sexting, and demanded more training for shop workers selling handsets.

Mr Loughton said there was "no silver bullet" to combat the problem, but added: "The concept of peer-to-peer sexting is now really raising its head and can have far-reaching consequences. That needs to be addressed."

He said the government took "very seriously our responsibility to ensure the response in all areas of child protection and safeguarding is as effective as possible".

US introduces $60 LED light bulb

2012-04-22T01:16:00.001-07:00

LED bulbs should last about 100,000 hours - giving them a life of about 20 years

A prize-winning light bulb that lasts for 20 years is going on sale in the US on Sunday - also known as Earth Day.

Made by Dutch electronics giant Philips, the bulb swaps filaments for light-emitting diodes to provide illumination.

Using LEDs endows the light with a long life and a hefty price tag. The first versions are set to cost $60 (£37).

Philips has arranged discounts with shops that will sell the bulb meaning some could buy it for only $20 (£12).

Production ban

The bulb triumphed in the Bright Tomorrow competition run by the US Department of Energy that aimed to find an energy efficient alternative to the 60-watt incandescent light bulb.

The DoE challenged firms to develop a design that gave out a warm light similar to that from an incandescent bulbs but was much more energy efficient.

Philips was the only entrant for the competition and its design underwent 18 months of testing before being declared a winner.

A cheaper and less efficient version of the LED bulb is already sold by Philips in the US and Europe.

LED bulbs face competition from compact fluorescent lights which are almost as energy efficient and cost a lot less.

Sales of more energy efficient bulbs are being aided by official moves to end production of higher wattage incandescent bulbs.

Production of 100 watt bulbs has ceased in the US and Europe. Production of of 60 watt bulbs has been stopped in Europe and is being phased out in the US. From 2014, incandescent bulbs of 40 watts or above will be banned in the US.

Sugar warning for 'healthy' soft drinks

2012-04-16T19:17:00.003-07:00

People underestimated the amount of sugar in many so-called 'healthy' soft drinks

People underestimate the amount of sugar in drinks which are perceived to be "healthy", research suggests.

The Glasgow University study asked more than 2,000 people in the UK to estimate how much sugar was in a range of drinks.

While many overestimated the amount in fizzy beverages, they underestimated levels in smoothies and fruit juices.

The research also found soft drinks could be accounting for a large chunk of their recommended calorie intake.

The team asked participants to assess their weekly drinking habits.

Their answers suggested 450 calories a day were being consumed - a quarter of the daily limit for women and a fifth for men.

But it was the lack of awareness about the sugar content of drinks that caused concern.

Risk factor

The participants were asked to guess the number of teaspoons of sugar in a range of popular drinks.

They underestimated it for pure apple juice and orange juice, a caffeinated energy drink and a smoothie by between two and four teaspoons.

And for a pomegranate-based drink, they underestimated the sugar content by nearly 18 teaspoons.

Unsurprisingly, many participants were not taking the calorie content of their soft drinks into account when thinking about their diet.

The team warned that the over-consumption of soft drinks was contributing to obesity and was a major risk factor for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

Lead researcher Professor Naveed Sattar said: "What you drink can be as damaging to the body as what you eat.

"There is no question that consuming too many sugar-sweetened drinks can greatly contribute to obesity.

"Some varieties of drinks such as pure fruit juices and smoothies, which are perceived as 'healthy' options, are also very high in sugar.

"For many people struggling with their weight, reducing their intake of such drinks and replacing with water or diet drinks would be a sensible first target to help them lessen their calorie intake."

Website offers new cars at 40% off

2012-04-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

A website that claims to be able to buy brand new cars at 40% below showroom prices hits the road this week.

CarRush.co.uk says it will get the discounts by pooling orders from customers and negotiating bulk discounts with carmakers. It will work as a coupon scheme with customer buying refundable CarRush coupons.

The firm says 80% of car buyers that purchase a new car based on a monthly payment.

CarRush.co.uk will work in two ways:

Offering daily/weekly deals

Consumers can purchase a refundable 'CarRush Coupon' (£99 to £199) to secure one of the sites' limited deal with discounts of up to 40%. If finance is approved, then the vehicle is delivered to the customer's door by a franchise dealer complete with the full manufacturer's warranty and servicing available from the local dealer.

Reverse Group Buying

If the vehicles the website has on offer aren't of interest to a car buyer, then they can sign up as a member and specifically request a deal to be constructed for the new car that they want.

When CarRush has enough members wanting that car it will source the vehicles in bulk, at large discounts from its network of main dealers and manufacturer partners and offer the deals exclusively to members.

Backers

Backed by car finance comparison website FinanceAcar.co.uk, CarRush.co.uk is the brainchild of Mark Peatey and Nadim Saad. Director and co-founder Peatey said: "The last 12 months has seen a growth of 42% in the amount of new car finance provided to consumers. Since successfully launching Financeacar.co.uk several years ago, we have seen austerity increase the use of finance to buy cars because of the increased availability of more flexible low cost finance options.

"Based on this growth and on the back of the mass appeal of voucher and coupon-based websites such as Groupon, we saw CarRush.co.uk as the next step. It removes the need for consumers to shop around for the best car price and then having to shop again for the best finance deal because we combine the best possible deals for both in to one compelling low monthly price.

"CarRush also offers reverse group buying which allows consumers to tell us what car they want and we then source an unbeatable car plus finance deal on the vehicle of their choice."

CarRush said research had found a discount of 10% off the list price almost doubles the number of consumers who would buy a new car in the next three months. The amount of people looking to buy a new car quadruples if the discount off the list price is 30%.

Coupon problems

And CarRush realised there might be problems with the coupon idea. It said: "To avoid the problems that other daily deal websites have suffered, customers are not charged for the CarRush Coupon until they have spoken with our customer services team; their order and stock is confirmed; and they have stated that they want to proceed."

CarRush.co.uk also provides discounts on car related products and services such as accessories (sat navs, tyres), servicing and MoT.

Car finance: The basics

2012-04-13T22:46:00.002-07:00

Need a new vehicle but don't quite have the necessary funds at the moment? Car loans might have taken much of the popular blame for the credit crunch, but for many of us they are an affordable way to get the wheels we want.
But it pays to do your homework before you head off down the dealership, because the cost of financing a car can vary dramatically according to the method used.

So we have taken a look at the options open to you - and their advantages and drawbacks of each.

Personal loans
The traditional method of funding a car on credit for many people, personal loans offer the opportunity to borrow up to £25k - although more often between £7.5k and £15k.

This is just the sort of sum that many people need for a small house extension, renovation work or - funnily enough - a new car.

Rates can be quite competitive and you will be doing well if you get a loan with an APR of around 6%, but there are also plenty of lenders who will be happy to charge you interest of 16% or more - so use the price comparison sites and shop around if you decide to take this route.

Personal loans fall into two basic categories, secured and unsecured. Unsecured loans usually have a fixed rate so you know exactly what you will repay each month and are paid back over a relatively short period of time.

Secured loans are only available to property owners and can see you losing your home if you default. They generally have longer loan periods with variable interest rates - which can mean they cost you much more in the long run. Think very carefully before signing up for one of these.

Credit cards
In many cases cheap credit cards can give you a better interest rate than a personal loan, with some offering 0% interest for a year and a half in a bid to secure your custom.

So if you are buying a car for £5k, you could pay back £277 per month over the 18 month interest-free period and you have effectively had a free loan.

Of course this only works if you are disciplined and have enough disposable income to set and meet the "repayments" - but if you don't fit those criteria then perhaps you need to reconsider how much you are spending on a vehicle.

Dealer finance
You can sign up for finance through the car dealership itself. This can sometimes be fantastic value if you are buying a new car - with manufacturers seeking to boost sales by offering 0% finance deals for a manageable period of repayments.

But if you're buying a used car, the chances are you'll be offered a less favourable rate than you could get independently. By all means ask about the finance on offer, but keep your eyes open.

Leasing
It used to just be companies that leased cars, but individuals have been getting in on the act for many years now too.

The principle of car leasing is that a company buys the car and you lease it for a set period of time, paying a monthly fee. It is possible to lease used cars as well as new ones, with the leasing company usually inspecting the vehicle and offering you a deal.

At the end of your lease period you will usually get the opportunity to buy the vehicle outright at a good price - although many leaseholders prefer to get a new vehicle instead.

It might sound like an expensive way to not own a car, but because lease companies buy cars in bulk for a good price - the cost of driving the car can work out favourably against buying new as an individual.

Again, make sure you compare deals and stay realistic about what you can afford.