Ben Salisbury

Ben Salisbury is the Editor of Myfinances.co.uk. Ben is passionate about saving money, finding the best products and advice and encouraging people to make sure they have the best possible deals in all areas of personal finance. As a former accountant he understands the numbers behind the headlines. 

Latest stories

• Sir Mervyn King warns Help to Buy must not be made permanent

  The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King has warned that the Help to Buy mortgage scheme unveiled by George Osborne in his budget must not become permanent.

• Citizens Advice calls for ban on cold calling after Ofcom study

  Citizens Advice is calling for nuisance calls to be banned after new research from the regulator Ofcom found that 82 per cent of people have been affected by cold calling.

• Ocado shares jump on deal with Morrisons

  Shares in Ocado went up strongly after a deal with Morrisons' was announced that adds to the firms online grocery presence.

• RBS taxpayer share sale could start within a year

  The Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland Sir Philip Hampton says he can't guarantee there are no more "skeletons in the cupboard" and further job losses are possible as the company continues restructuring.

• 5.5 million taxpayers paid wrong amount of tax last year

  HMRC has admitted that two million people have underpaid tax and up to 3.5 billion have overpaid and are due refunds after completing its end of year review of the PAYE system.

• OFT not to refer current accounts to Competition Commission

  The Office of Fair Trading has decided not to refer the current account market to the Competition Commission saying it will monitor proposed changes and review the sector again in 2015.

• Governor King to present final quarterly inflation report

  The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King is to present his final quarterly inflation report and is expected to keep 2013 GDP growth estimates close to 1.0 per cent.

• Demand for new homes at highest level since 2009, says RICS

  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reports rising demand for new homes and increased house prices from its surveyors helped by government initiatives such as Help to Buy and the FLS.

• Centrica slated by shareholders over energy prices and pay

  Top executives at Centrica were given a rough ride at their annual meeting in London yesterday over the pay of Chief executive Sam Laidlaw and the timing of British Gas energy price increases.

• Centrica says profits from winter will delay price rises

  Centrica, the owner of British Gas has promised to hold energy prices at their current level for as long as possible by using profits from the extra winter use.

• Industrial output rise suggests momentum for UK economic growth

  There was a better than expected rise in industrial output adding to the recent good economic news and providing hope that the economy can build on the 0.3 per cent rise in GDP in Q1.

• Bank of England keeps QE and base rate on hold

  The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is not expected to make any changes to quantitative easing and base rate when it meets today keeping QE at £375bn and base rate at 0.50%.

• Permanent job vacancies rise for 7th month running, says KPMG

  The latest KPMG/REC hobs index shows a rise in demand for permanent staff for the seventh consecutive month suggesting the problem of underemployment may be receding.

• FCA warns on interest-only mortgage "ticking timebomb"

  New research from the Financial Conduct Authority has found that 37 per cent of people with an interest-only mortgage believe they have a shortfall in repaying the capital.

• TUC puts the case against austerity as the IMF arrives in UK

  The International Monetary Fund has arrived in the UK for the start of its annual assessment of the UK economy as the TUC warns the UK is in the middle of a lost decade for the economy.

• The top ten fixed rate savings bonds for 2013

  We countdown the highest paying fixed rate savings bonds whether you are looking to save for one year or up to five years.

• UK savings levels fall as cost of living outpaces wage growth

  Research from Lloyds shows that UK savings levels are falling as people struggle with the higher cost of living at a time of low wage growth.

• Help to Buy is "reckless" and will damage UK, says new report

  A new report into the 'Help to Buy' scheme announced in the budget says it risks damaging the UK by stoking a new housing bubble and potential crash.

• Closing pensions loophole could cost as much as it saves

  The government is to stop people living abroad who are married to UK citizens from claiming a state pension in a move that could affect 220,000 people.

• Cable says splitting up RBS may increase banking competition

  Stephen Hester, the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland says he is desperate to lend to companies but has found few takers for the £20bn it has available.