Analysis - weekly feature on consumer issues

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Big bailout - but little change to banking services

As billions more pounds of taxpayers' cash has been pumped into Britain's ailing banks, holders of more than 40 million current accounts might hope that the management of their financial affairs is about to be transformed.

New deals offer respite for savers

Since interest rates began to plunge a year ago, savers have been resigned to the fact that nest eggs built up over many years might generate little useful income this side of 2011.

Newcomers try to shake up energy market

When the Citizens Advice Bureau reported a surge in the number of people seeking help and advice about soaring energy bills, it posed a challenge to the Big Six fuel suppliers as winter's chill looms.

Are you eligible for a PPI rebate?

Banks and credit-card firms made billions by mis-selling payment protection insurance to customers, but thousands of households have now got a better chance of getting a compensation cheque.

Sports punters pile agony on the bookies

If you stuck to betting on football or horse racing this year, it's likely you did far better than investors who punted on bonds or left their money in building society savings schemes.

Have we become a nation of savers?

Is the sight of politicians promising to spend oodles more money that we haven't got - Labour this week and probably the Tories too, next week - slowly turning us into a nation of savers?

Share market boosted by low interest rates

Although evidence of genuine economic recovery remains patchy, especially in Britain, small investors are turning their backs on poor savings rates and moving back into shares.

Do you understand the new ISA rules?

Many patient savers who have been tucking spare cash into tax-free Individual Savings Accounts have emerged as sacrificial victims in the last year, as building societies slashed interest rates.

How to save money in a recession

Two years into a credit crunch which started in autumn 2007, it's easy to get carried away by the euphoria created by the booming stock market and widespread talk that recession is over.

How to manage your student finances

Three years from now, hundreds of thousands of the students who have collected record A-levels will be clutching a university degree - and possibly facing debts of £22,000 as the bill for improving their chances of a well-paid job.