Money

On August 26 1959, the original Mini was launched to the world. Penned by Sir Alec Issigonis, its design broke the mould; tiny in dimensions but spacious enough for four passengers, it was aimed at the masses to provide affordable motoring at a time when the cost of driving had escalated for all. And, incredibly, it still lives on today - be it under the ownership of German giants BMW - in the shape of the not-so-dinky MINI range. While it might not be the same diminutive original that was built to a budget, its continuation does mean we can cast an eye back 60 years of almost unbroken production to mark what is, without doubt, Britain's - and arguably the world's - most iconic car.

I fell for a sales pitch from Easytrade.biz, and now I am unable to withdraw any money. I have filled in several withdrawal forms and received acknowledgements saying I will hear from them in two to four working days, but it never happens.

A former adviser to Barack Obama and now chief economist at Allianz, El-Erian said he was concerned by the rise in harder-to-sell or 'illiquid' investment funds.

FTSE 100 chiefs are enjoying what critics call 'completely gratuitous' payments to cover private aircraft use, school fees, family travel, chauffeur-driven cars and even tax advice.In total, the UK's 100 largest public companies paid their chief executives more than £6 million in taxable 'benefits' last year, with 15 bosses enjoying perks worth £100,000 or more.Arnold Donald, boss of cruise ship company Carnival, which owns P&O;, enjoyed one of the most generous benefits packages. The 64-year-old American is allowed to spend $200,000 (£163,000) of company money on aircraft for personal use. Last year, as part of his total $13.7 million pay package - made up of salary and bonuses - he got benefits payments of $289,790, with $126,929 going towards personal use of aircraft.

'How can this business survive?' So asked investment consultant Philip Case last week in response to the latest performance numbers for beleaguered £3.2 billion investment fund Woodford Equity Income. Not long seems to be the answer. According to the latest data, Equity Income has generated paper losses for investors of 14.9 per cent over the past three months - a period during which dealings in the fund's shares were for the most part suspended. Over one year, the losses are a toe-curling 28.1 per cent (source FE Analytics).With shares in Eddie Stobart - a key Equity Income holding - suspended on Friday as a result of accounting errors, the outlook for Woodford investors looks bleaker by the day.

Soaring house prices, generous pensions, cheaper university education, and a raft of benefits have entrenched a popular opinion that older people are far wealthier than the young. But their reasons for purchasing homes and saving throughout their lives was to help provide for future generations, according to Saga, a financial services group for the over-50s which polled 5,000 of its members. Its survey found 85 per cent believed that older generations should help younger relatives if they were in a position to do so.

With September just a matter of weeks away, it can only mean one thing for car buyers - a new number plate. But which models should motorists be looking out for when considering purchasing something with the latest '69' plate? Ben Oliver has picked his ten favourite new cars that are due to enter showrooms in the coming months. Cars in the list include (clockwise from top left) the Mini Electric, Peugeot 2008, Audi A1 Citycarver and Toyota Supra.

The mis-selling saga that has hung over Britain's biggest banks for most of this decade will finally come to an end on August 29 at 11:59pm, and consumers can no longer claim after that date. While there is not enough time left to properly check if you have had PPI with a specific financial firm you should still make a complaint if there is even a slight chance you have had a PPI policy.

There are few extensions more unique than one designed by late architect Will Alsop for a couple featured on Channel 4's Ugly House to Lovely House in 2016. While many homeowners build an extension in the hope of boosting their property by thousands of pounds, not many can say they have one with an arched aluminium roof and Alsop's signature port windows. For £500,000, buyers can snap up this 1,026 square foot, three bedroom, two bathroom property on a quiet residential road in Ardingly, located in West Sussex.

The Government has claimed its net zero target could see the number of 'green collar jobs' grow to 2m and the value of exports from the low carbon economy grow to £170bn a year by 2030. Savvy investors will already be wondering how they can cash in on cutting carbon in the longer term. But where are the opportunities and can you invest today?

Weeks of unseasonably wet and windy weather have compounded a drop-off in spending compared to last summer when football fans piled into pubs to watch England reach the World Cup semi-final. Nearly 3,200 pubs have shut their doors over the past three years and struggling owners have become takeover targets.Last week, Greene King was bought by Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing.

Fears for the future of British pubs resurfaced this week as yet another pub company revealed plans to change hands. After Fullers sold its brewing business to Japanese firm Asahi, and private equity-backed Stonegate agreed to buy EIG (formerly Enterprise Inns), now pubs giant Greene King is in the spotlight. The firm secured an equivalent £2.7billion offer from CK Noble - an offshoot of the property company owned by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing. For patient shareholders, it's pay day, but what does the deal mean for Britain's much-loved pubs.

Announcing an 'independent and rigorous' review into HS2, Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said 'clear evidence' was needed before a decision could be made on whether to go ahead. With £6.6billion already spent without a single piece of track being laid, ministers have given up hope of sticking to the £56billion budget - and Boris Johnson recently admitted it could be 'north of £100billion'. Mr Shapps said he told the review to 'just give us the facts... really, genuinely what it would cost to complete this project. Then we will know and we will be in a much better position to make the decision to go or no go by the end of the year.'

Millions of middle-aged workers are 'flying blind' towards old age, but it is not too late for them to put their finances straight, according to pension firm Aviva. It has worked out how much you can still save up even if you start late, under auto-enrolment rules. If you are 45 and on an average annual wage of £28,000, you have time to save up £56,100 before you are 65.That includes your own contributions, plus free top-ups from employers and the Government, and investment growth which all compound over the years.

After recovering from breast cancer, social worker Beverley, 50, from Manchester, decided not to go back full-time and registered as self-employed instead. She set up a limited company to work as a locum and receive payments from her agency. But in 2016, she was told by her agency she could no longer use a limited company because of a new law called IR35. Two years later, she received a letter from HMRC telling her she would be investigated. Beverley, who quit the scheme immediately, says: 'It came like a bolt out of the blue. I am not a tax expert and I feel naive for following their advice.'

A Yodel driver severely damaged a concrete bollard outside our 16th-century cottage on March 1 this year. It had been put up to protect the corner of the property where the gas boiler is housed. We emailed Yodel with the registration number of the driver's vehicle because he drove off. We received an apology from customer services and provided all the information they requested, including photographic evidence of the damage. We had a reply saying the driver had admitted the damage and we then sent Yodel an estimate for £525 from a local builder. Weeks later, in April, we phoned to be told they had not received the recorded delivery envelope we had sent and asking that we sent the whole lot again.

Readers have surged forward to cry foul after we reported that energy suppliers were saving their best deals for those willing to have the gadgets installed. It means those who don't want one are being punished with pricier bills for their gas and electricity. The installation of a smart meter is not a legal requirement, yet more than 100 of you wrote to us to complain that you had been denied a better deal simply because you didn't want one. More than 50 of these letters and emails were from E.on customers. But the regulator is powerless to stop the surcharge - despite some firms admitting it is not fair. Here, Money Mail, speaks to customers who are angry at the smart meter penalty - and explains what you can do about it.

As most drivers who finance vehicles hand cars back at the end of the contract, finance companies are being rewarded with more valuable cars that they can make a profit on. With nine out of 10 new cars now financed - mostly on PCP - the majority of new-car customers will be hit with the higher hidden monthly costs, an investigation by BuyaCar concluded.

Lawyer Vanessa Friend, pictured left, explains how to get divorced while taking every possible step to protect yourself against a violent spouse. A This is Money reader writes: 'My husband has been missing for 24 years and has a violent past. Due to my wanting to end the relationship with him in the first week of marriage after finding out he had a pregnant girlfriend, this led to serious physical abuse. I cannot find an address for him at all but I know the county he is in. The police told me he was still causing women problems and best to avoid him. What happens if I get divorced?'

With many firms offering an online service, you can now also bid from the comfort of you own home. Authentic props from old films have tripled in value compared with ten years ago, according to specialists Prop Store. Meanwhile, the market as a whole has ballooned from an estimated £16 million-£24.5 million to £245 million-£330 million.

The resurrection of US-China trade tensions, the change of direction in US interest rates, emerging market stresses in Argentina and the political uncertainty surrounding Brexit are only a few of the various factors that are unsettling markets during the traditionally quiet summer months.

We are about to take out an annuity to cover a shortfall in care fees for my 96 year old mother who has just gone into a care home. After Boris Johnson's statement on becoming Prime Minister, do you think this is still a good idea?

The football season is back with bang but what happened off the pitch in the summer when it comes to money created major talking points. Assistant editor Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost pick six of the financial hot topics when it comes to football in the last few months to give their thoughts and opinions.

The amount you can save into a pension ultimately depends on what you can afford - but the longer you leave it the more you will need to save. We tend to put ambitious targets on our hoped-for income in retirement and then underestimate how much we will need to set aside to achieve that. So how much should you save?

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.