The game’s greatest love affair is on the rocks. Prime-time Brazilian news bulletins on Monday pored over the results a survey which showed that public approval of hosting the World Cup has plummeted to a record low in football’s heartland.

Joe Callaghan brings us the latest news and views from South America and provides a flavour of exactly how the World Cup in Brazil is shaping up.

Joe Callaghan brings us the latest news and views from South America - as well as traveller tips for those heading out there - and provides a flavour of exactly how the World Cup in Brazil is shaping up.

Joe Callaghan brings us the latest news and views from South America - as well as traveller tips for those heading out there - and provides a flavour of exactly how the World Cup in Brazil is shaping up.

The World Cup is just 37 days away and excitement is building. Each week our man in Brazil, Joe Callaghan, brings us the latest news and views from South America.

Blog From Brazil: Joe Callaghan brings us the latest news and views from South America - as well as traveller tips for those heading out there - and provides a flavour of exactly how the World Cup in Brazil is shaping up.

Controversial new overdraft rules come into force today which has seen some banks increasing overdraft rates to nearly 40 per cent.

Some savers are now in line to earn as little as 0.01 per cent - just £1 interest over a whole year on each £10,000 in their account. This is £129 less than if they switched to a top easy-access deal.

UK banks this week outlined how how vulnerable customers can get hold of cash. For the first time, trusted friends and family will be able to make withdrawals on their behalf.

Savers have been handed a double blow as two market-leading easy-access deals have both disappeared within a week of each other, with Marcus and Virgin Money both making cuts.

National Savings & Investments was due to halve the number of winners of £50 and £100 prizes next month to 13,448, and the odds of winning would be cut from 24,500 to 1 to 26,000 to 1.

Despite interest rates plunging to record lows, National Savings and Investments has gone against the grain and abandoned plans to cut rewards which would have cost savers £200 m.

A Bank of England scheme designed to provide banks with cheap money to lend to small businesses has handed out an enormous £6billion in its first week, official figures reveal.

From the start of May, 5% savings deals will be as dead as a dinosaur, with Nationwide cutting FlexDirect from 5% to 2% and lowering the balance you can earn interest on. But you can sign up now.

Last month retired school site manager Ken Medlycott (pictured with wife Sally) won a huge £50,000 - doubling his savings. The odds of him winning such a prize in a year were one-in-7,466.

Nationwide lost its switching crown to Monzo in the final three months of last year, new figures show, as the highest number of people in four years switched their bank accounts in March.

In a major victory for This is Money, who raised the issue with the Treasury on Monday, minister John Glen said the Lifetime Isa withdrawal penalty would be reduced to 20% until next April.

While NS&I announced it was reversing planned cuts to some of its variable rate savings accounts, including Premium Bonds, it still pressed ahead with cuts to 10 fixed-rate deals.

There may be chicer, more contemporary and certainly less expensive hotels in Dublin than The Westbury - but few can be better positioned or more established, says our impressed Inspector.

Upscale accommodation chain Hotel du Vin is the latest operator to try to bring some pizzazz to Cannizaro House on Wimbledon Common. Our Inspector is not sure it will manage to work wonders.

You may have a fight on your hands to book a room at The Pig Near Bath at the moment. And rightly so, because this discreet hideaway is a weekend dream, enthuses our impressed Inspector.

What to do when you find yourself in possession of the old family home, but don't want to sell it. In the case of one enterprising couple in Deal, you turn it into a boutique B&B. The Inspector checks in.

Few hotels come with quite the 'naughty' reputation of Cliveden in Berkshire. But after a careful refurbishment, this grand old dame is now as intriguing as its back story, says The Inspector.

Melrose is reappearing on the map as a weekend destination thanks to the return of the rail link to Edinburgh. Our Inspector heads for the Borders - and the town's stylish pair of boutique hotels.

When you have been stuck on the M4 for what seems like forever, you want a cosy pitstop where you can recharge your batteries. The Inspector finds exactly this at The George at Backwell.

Once upon a time, the Hoste Arms in North Norfolk was a simple pub. Now it has The Vine House, an accommodation annexe where the prices are not cheap. The Inspector takes a look.

If you travel to Baughurst in Hampshire you'll find an old shooting lodge, The Wellington Arms. With only three rooms, and exquisite attention to detail, to stay and eat in the B&B is a joy.

Fisher folk, golf enthusiasts, grouse and pheasant shooters will all feel at home at The Roxburghe in Kelso. There’s even a spa in this hotel in the Scottish Borders.

The new boutique hotel, The Zetter Townhouse Marylebone, opened this summer, offering 24 uniquely decorated rooms, which ooze comfort, yet offer plenty of modern touches.

Sometimes, you don't need swish modernity and gleaming innovation. You just want a hotel that is clean and comfy. The Crown in Mundford does not excel - but it will do fine, says The Inspector.

There is something happily quaint about the Chequers Inn in Lincolnshire that is maybe summed up by the slope on the nearby cricket pitch. The Inspector beds down for a one-night innings.

The Fish is a village-style resort set in Cotswolds woodland, with much of the accommodation (47 rooms) in refurbished farm buildings a short walk from the main lodge, where guests can unwind.

Slap-bang next to the A12 in Dedham is the 15-bedroom Milsoms hotel but thankfully you won't hear the road due to the bar and brasserie throwing up its own cacophony of noise.

The Grand Hotel was built in 1875. It's known as the White Palace but its huge lobby and even bigger main dining room had a cruise feel and there were children running around.

The Inspector loves the looks of this Leicestershire enterprise from the outside, but inside finds the service slow, the food disappointing and the interior charmless in places.

The Crab & Boar in Berkshire has changed hands twice in recent times, but is now part of the expanding Epicurean Collection - so it was only fair to give it another go, writes the Inspector.

The Nadler Victoria in Westminster is brand new. It opened on January 1 and is the latest edition from a group that aspires to turn budget accommodation on its head.

If someone could just open all the windows and replace it with something fresh, then the Bedford Swan could become something of a destination hotel rather than a place to stay en route.

Co-founded by Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors, The Bel & The Dragon chain has just opened their latest hotel - in Kingsclere - where guests are treated differently to everyone else.

A quiet transformation of four Victorian buildings in London’s South Kensington is complete. The result is The Kensington, a member of the Irish-owned Doyle Collection.

Privately owned, The Crown sits in Constable Country in the Dedham Vale. This homely village pub, with 11 rooms in a separate hotel building next door, offers dinner, bed and breakfast.

Recently revamped No. 11 Cadogan Gardens hotel in London is filled with old portraits and chandeliers. For food, Tartufo specialises in truffle-infused dishes of exceptional quality.

The Crown at Woodbridge is made up of ten light and airy rooms with lots of powder blue wood panelling, two sash windows and a large comfy bed.

The Pembroke Arms in Wilton is a handsome boozer that is located on the outskirts of Salisbury and offers nine rooms and a 'spacious and informal' bar and restaurant area.

The Cross Keys Hotel, in the charming medieval market town of Saffron Walden, Essex, is located in a medieval building dating back some 850 years.

The Royal Oak is a 17th century restored inn on the outskirts of Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Beer is a big deal here and the relaxed vibe is certainly to be encouraged.

This motel-style establishment on the busy B1393 close to Epping serves Indian food in its Nirvana restaurant. Various TVs are attached to walls in the brightly lit bar.

The staff are polite and the rooms are comfortable at One Warwick Park in Tunbridge Wells but The Inspector says that the new hotel is best suited for businessmen.

The Inspector issues a five-star rating to The Chapel House in Cornwall's Penzance, a six-room B&B opposite the church, housed in a magnificent brick-and-stone 1790s building.

The Inspector called in at The Bank House in King's Lynn, a former Georgian merchant banker’s residence. He found it made for a fascinating break.