Helen Nugent

First-time buyers need more help to put an end to the decline in home ownership, according to a report from the chief executive of one of Britain's largest housebuilders. Long-term building targets were also needed to avoid 'kneejerk' policy moves, the Redfern Review said. According to the BBC, the study found home ownership rates in England dropped from 71 per cent to 64 per cent over 12 years, with the steepest fall among young people. Labour commissioned the report. It said the findings revealed a 'lost generation'. Among 25-34 year olds, the rate of home ownership fell from 59 per cent in 2003 to 37 per cent in 2015. The review was led by Pete Redfern, chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, who conducted the investigation in a personal capacity.

When I was at school in the, er, 1980s, there was no such thing as financial education. Yes, we had maths lessons but they focused on the hypotenuse and mastering scientific calculators. I still break out in a sweat at the thought of trigonometry. Since my day (when all this was fields etc etc), the curriculum has changed significantly. No more Home Economics - I think it's called Domestic Science now - and I'm guessing that ballroom dancing has been replaced by something altogether more modern. I also suspect that the fledgling word processing lab at my high school has morphed into a 21st century cutting-edge centre where coding lessons are commonplace. Given the pace of change over recent decades, I'm wondering why finance is still so neglected in the classroom?

Bicycle prices could rise following the Brexit vote, because the cost of importing bikes from Asia has increased. The head of Halfords Jill McDonald said the retailer was in talks with its suppliers following the pound’s fall. 'For bikes bought in Asia in US dollars, we are seeing prices beginning to move.' According to The Guardian, McDonald also said Halfords, the UK’s biggest bike seller, was better positioned to tackle price rises than smaller businesses because 90 per cent of the bikes it sells are own labels. Evictions More than 100 households were evicted each day from their rented homes in England last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.

It's the morning after an 18-month campaign - and the markets have started to digest Donald Trump's surprise election as US President. In early trading, the FTSE 100 index jumped by 49 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6960. The Dow Jones industrial average is on track to hit a new record high when the US stock market opens later today. Last night the Dow closed near to its highest levels. And, after touching almost $1,340 an ounce yesterday before falling back, gold is up slightly this morning at $1,291.

M&S is to close more than 80 stores as part of a major business overhaul, The Guardian reports. 'We have now completed a forensic review of our estate both in the UK and in our international markets,' said M&S chief executive, Steve Rowe. The move means that the high street chain will retreat from owning stores in 10 countries and reduce its reliance on its poorly performing clothing business, Rowe has already promised to lower its clothing prices and pay more attention to its most loyal group of shoppers. Analysts say these 50-something women had been neglected as the store chased younger shoppers. M&S is shutting 30 UK stores but a further 45 will have their clothing departments closed or be relocated.

Household debts have risen to £1.5 trillion for the first time in the UK, new statistics reveal. Indebtedness is growing at the quickest rate since before the credit crunch of 2008, says the Money Charity. The BBC reports that UK adults owe an average of nearly £30,000 each - mostly in mortgages, but also in loans and credit cards - 83 per cent of the country's annual economic output. Some 87 per cent of this debt is in the form of mortgages, secured by property. But UK adults also now owe an average of £3,737 in loans and credit cards. Tesco Bank Tesco Bank has stopped online payments for current account customers after money was taken from 20,000 accounts.

It's about time. The city watchdog has announced it will take action to improve competition in the current account market. Let's face it, current accounts are a bit rubbish, aren't they? Many offer 0 per cent interest no matter the balance, overdraft charges can be extortionate, late payment fees are astronomical and, despite years of industry pleas, switching accounts is still seen as a pain in the neck. To add to customer woes, back in August the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a number of recommendations aimed at shaking the retail banking industry, including ordering banks to share customers' information with third parties from 2018 to make it easier for them to find better deals. The report ran to 700 pages and cost £5 million.

Would you rent out your cat? What about your lawnmower? Or your driveway? That first one may not be practical but new research shows that, as a nation, we are embracing the sharing economy, whether that's pets, home appliances or our living spaces. It's good to share. My sister has instilled that virtue in her young daughter although, admittedly, neither her nor I were very good at it when growing up. I recall many arguments over weekly deliveries of Just Seventeen magazine, not to mention rows about favourite toys and treasured books. Maybe if money had changed hands, we would have been better at sharing?

HMRC is chasing almost £2 billion that may be owed in taxes by Britain's wealthiest people, according to the public spending watchdog. The National Audit Office said HMRC's specialist unit recovered £416 million in 2015 from 6,500 high net worth individuals' with wealth of more than £20 million. The BBC reports that efforts are ongoing to recover an estimated £1.9 billion. Energy bills Major energy suppliers have ditched controversial tariffs that denied their existing customers their cheapest prices, amid speculation over a political crackdown on the sector, The Telegraph has learnt. Four of the Big Six suppliers  - E.

Thousands of small companies have been fined for failing to enrol staff in a workplace pension as firms struggle to deal with the most significant overhaul to retirement savings in generations. According to The Times, an increase in enforcement action by the pensions regulator resulted in more than 3,700 businesses being issued with penalties between July and September, compared with 861 in the previous three months. RBS Unlike other major banks which this week announced extra provisions for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, RBS said today it has not set aside any extra cash. It did, however, report an attributable loss of £469 million for the third quarter. That loss reflects charges related to reorganising the business, and litigation and conduct costs.

Car insurance premiums are continuing to rise as the AA’s latest British Insurance Premium Index shows the average premium for a comprehensive car insurance policy has increased by more than £20, to £585.84, over the three months ending 30 September. This is a jump of 3.7 per cent over the third quarter. Over 12 months, the average quoted premium has risen by 16.3 per cent, adding almost £82 to a typical motor policy. 'We are witnessing sustained price increases once again which is bad news for drivers,' said Michael Lloyd, the AA’s director of insurance. In other motoring news, new data from uSwitch.

My niece is four-years-old. It's no exaggeration to say that her social life is better than mine - by some considerable distance. In the past few weeks alone she has attended two kiddie raves (don't ask), explored the ginnels of Skipton Castle (that's alleyways to non-Northerners), seen Disney on Ice (Frozen, naturally), made baked apples at CommuniTree in the local park, attended a badge-making course, and spent many happy hours collecting conkers. Over the same period I have sat at my computer, binge-watched DCI Banks, sat at my desk some more, and, er, that's it. I did go to Skipton but only because my niece was making the trip. Of course, I realise that keeping kids entertained doesn't come cheap.