Money

It seems we have reached an inflection point, where a slightly impenetrable fringe asset traded in a wild-westy infrastructure, starts to become mainstream to the point where the big financial institutions start getting involved. Bitcoin is increasingly seen as a hedge against inflation at a time when major currencies risk being devalued by mass money printing.

Installing new, sustainable hot water and heating systems can make them warmer, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills. This is even more important now as the National Grid revealed that heating accounts for 20 per cent of UK emissions, making it imperative that the UK finds low carbon sources of fuel in order to meet net zero targets by 2050.

I am a 53 year old man who has worked since leaving school. From 1988 to 2006 I belonged to a company pension which required me to be 'contracted out' for 18 years. How will this affect my state pension? Steve says contracting out and its impact is probably the topic that comes up most often in his weekly postbag. He gives an update on how it all works.

The Climate Change Committee, which is advising the UK government on how to achieve its net zero carbon emissions target by 2050, has recommended that all homes should have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C from 2028. The CCC says that improving the energy efficiency of UK homes, responsible for about 15 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emission, is key to enabling the government to achieve its target.

History tells us that small investors piling into a soaring stock market is a sign of trouble. What should we make, then, of the US markets racing to record highs on the so-called Biden Bounce? The tech shares boom is a product of greed and frustration. Sure, people are tempted by gains. But investors are disgusted at the terrible returns in so-called safe deposit accounts and are shunting into riskier assets.

Mahmud Kamani (pictured with co-founder Carol Kane) said the move would help Boohoo accelerate its ambitions 'to be a leader, not just in fashion ecommerce, but in new categories including beauty, sport and homeware'. It is the fifth time in the last year Boohoo has snapped up a failed brand on the cheap, following acquisitions of Warehouse, Oasis, Coast and Karen Millen.

Ofgem said that a completely independent entity should replace National Grid, which has managed the energy system since it was privatised in 1990, to avoid conflicts of interest - as the company also owns energy networks. The regulator has estimated that having an independent body operating the electricity system could save bill payers up to £4.8billion between 2022 and 2050.

HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds Banking Group have all begun freezing business accounts linked to suspected fraud. They have seized sums of up to £50,000 from the accounts of hundreds of customers. The radical move to clamp down on criminal activity comes after the National Audit Office - the Government's spending watchdog - warned last year that taxpayers faced having to foot a bill of up to £26billion to cover fraud and defaults on Chancellor Rishi Sunak's flagship business recovery scheme.

No doubt government ministers - and Rishi Sunak in particular - will come under pressure to target pandemic-empowered savers such as me, my friends and those groups identified by the ONS. Given that we could be seen as 'beneficiaries' of lockdown (a tag I vehemently dispute), Sunak might bend to pressure from the Left and radically shrink the tax breaks available to savers. The March Budget would give him such an opportunity. At risk could be the generous annual Isa allowance of £20,000 - a tax break that allows savers to build their own mini tax havens. Some believe that the allowance is set too high. But Sunak must resist the urge to punish prudence.

Former glamour model Melinda Messenger earns a fraction of the money she used to receive in the late 1990s at the height of her fame. But she appreciates what she has more nowadays. The 49-year-old happily retrained as a psychotherapist and lives in Berkshire with children Morgan, 20, Flynn, 18 and Evie, 17.

Which is the better investment to hold, one that returned 17% last year or one that returned 110%? That's a no brainer, isn't it? It's not that simple though, because as the coronavirus crash hit hard, Scottish Mortgage was down almost 30% while Ruffer slipped 9% before rapidly regaining lost ground. However, the long-term philosophy behind both should mean you wouldn't have bailed out as the Covid crash hit - and their coronavirus years demonstrate an investing lesson on conviction.

London-based investment manager Montanaro eats, sleeps and breathes 'good' smaller companies. Its investment view is simple: smaller companies offer the potential to deliver investors stellar long-term returns, especially if they are also run with a firm eye on the environment, adopt fair work practices and do not promote boardroom greed. It's a philosophy that underpins the £3billion of assets Montanaro runs on behalf of investors - with all its funds and trusts having at least 60 per cent of their investments in 'good' smaller firms.

The RAC's annual report on electric vehicle uptake found that demand is marginally higher than a year earlier, with 9 per cent of drivers polled saying their next car will be battery powered. It has urged ministers to improve incentives available to buyers of electric vehicles, calling for the 20% VAT tax to be scrapped or the existing plug-in car grant of £3,000 increased to £4,000 per EV.

Property listings on the online portals often carry the bullet point, 'potential to extend subject to planning permission (STPP)'. And estate agents love to tell prospective buyers how a property has bags of potential. Buying a house that could accommodate a rear extension or a loft conversion is often an alluring prospect, both to add space and to increase equity.

In case you hadn't noticed, bitcoin went on bit of a tear recently. And as the price of the leading cryptocurrency soared again, so did the number of stories written about it. But the vast majority of those column inches focus on two things: bitcoin's price and should you invest? A question that's not so much asked is what should you do if you've reaped handsome profits on bitcoin or another cryptocurrency?

Saving the planet and making big business more accountable are two of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, which explains why ESG - environmental, social and governance - investing is always at the centre of controversy. Against the background of next week's key Climate Adaptation Summit in which world leaders will take part, the muscle of ethical managers is expanding, making it more awkward for companies to ignore their views.

Samsung phones are expected to drop up to 21 per cent of their value in the next few weeks, new data has revealed. If you have an old Samsung handset lying around, now is the time to sell, as its value is set to plummet in the coming days and weeks, according to research from Music Magpie. If sold soon, customers trading in a Samsung Galaxy S20 can expect to earn up to £310, while those with a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra could get up to £364.

After investors saw Scottish Mortgage double their money in a year, we speak to joint manager Tom Slater about that 12 months, the future and its big shareholdings. Simon Lambert asks about its high profile US and Chinese holdings, including what Tesla has to do to justify the valuation investors have put on it. And the trust's joint manager explains its continuing long-term investments in Tesla and Amazon - but sale of Facebook - as well as the potential growth it sees in Chinese electric carmaker Nio, healthcare, space, drones and delievery.

A new mortgage lender, hoping to this summer, is planning to offer UK borrowers the ability to fix the rate of interest on their mortgage for up to 30 years. Perenna, which has just raised £7.3 million during its latest funding round, wants to bring 'fixed for life' mortgages to the UK market sparing borrowers from ever again needing to worry about remortgaging or changing interest rates. UK borrowers will be familiar with much shorter fixed rate deals where the interest rate is guaranteed to remain the same for a set period of time - typically for two or five years.

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?