Some of the taxes we currently pay and a number of the tax breaks we are given to encourage us to save for old age are either too onerous or far too complicated.

Smart meters are not as dangerous as hard shoulder-less smart motorways will ever be, but their creeping introduction has not been without buckets of controversy.

Although the powder-puff City regulator the FCA has launched an investigation into the demise of Woodford Investment Management, this probe seems to be progressing at a snail's pace.

Nero fiddled, while Rome burned. Or to put the expression in a modern day investment context, Christopher Hill (chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown) fiddles while investors get burnt.

With the smell of a spring Budget in the air comes the rumour of yet more restrictions on the tax relief available to boost our pension saving. But how will Mr Sunak treat pension savers?

These are worrying times for readers with shares-based Isas and investments held inside self-invested personal pensions. But panicking out of investments not is not the right way forward.

These are difficult days. At times, it feels like the world is shuddering to a halt. There are fewer people as I wind my way to and from work every day and night on public transport.

Having run investment fund Franklin UK Equity Income for the past 25 years, manager Colin Morton has experienced every possible twist and turn that a stock market can make.

I would put money on the Chancellor's Budget this Wednesday being radically different to the one Rishi Sunak envisaged just over three weeks ago when he stepped into Sajid Javid's shoes.

What a week. As a money commentator for more than 30 years standing, that was as disheartening as times go. But patient, long-term investing will win through in the end.

The UK stock market alone has fallen in value by 30 per cent since the start of the year. But if you hold these trusts for troubled times then things should look better.

Today, I was planning to drive up to see Mother in Birmingham and take her out for a slap-up Mother's Day meal at her favourite Miller & Carter steakhouse in Sutton Park.

What a week, what a month. Enough to turn many investors' hair grey (mine included) - with some no doubt wishing that commercial travel to the moon was a) available now; and b) affordable.

Not even the somewhat conservative portfolio underpinning investment trust North American Income has protected shareholders from the sharp market correction.

I trust that you are well and withstanding the turmoil brought to all our lives by this wicked coronavirus. In this time of great uncertainty, we need to look after each other like never before.

Holding businesses to ransom through the imposition of onerous interest charges on emergency loans is despicable. As is leaving customers hanging on the phone for hours.

Whenever I think of Honor Blackman, I will remember someone who in her 80s campaigned passionately for financial justice to be given to investors who lost money following the near collapse of Equitable Life.

Helpful staff in the ever-shrinking branch network are being rapidly replaced by automated 'contact' - usually in the form of texts. This is fine, but not if the robots do not know their left hands from their right.

What firmly sticks in my craw with regards to students is the appalling treatment many of them are receiving from landlords, says Jeff Prestridge.

The trend towards greater online banking and less reliance on hard cash is irrevocable. Indeed, Covid-19 has helped the banks in pursuing these dual goals.

LIZ JONES: Theresa May had been looking jittery all morning. She put her glasses on, she took her glasses off, she clutched her notes. She ignored her friend Ken Clarke, mouthing, 'Not now'.

There are only 100 furry Simba Ooshies in circulation causing an influx of scalpers taking to eBay to try and sell the collectible at a massive mark up.

An eBay seller has since re-listed the Lion King furry Simba Ooshi after learning the buyer made an offer just 'for fun.'

Nicole Kelly, from Southampton, has revealed how she transformed her staircase herself, for the bargain price of £65. 

Meghan Markle's issue of Vogue has caused a frenzy online as royal fans desperately try to get their hands on the magazine. Listings on eBay show the issue is selling for up to £28.

David and Pippa bought the small sailboat in Bristol Harbour and moved on board in March. They say their cut in rent is worth the downsides which include no hot water, a lack of space and a seasick cat.

An urgent recall of a popular portable cot has been issued in Australia over fears children could suffocate while sleeping inside.

Guy Buckle (left) and Sik Hung Or (right), of London, admitted three counts of exporting goods with intent to evade a restriction in relation to 136 items as well as two other carved ivory fans.

eBay Australia has revealed the Disney VHS tapes from the 1990s that are worth a fortune. Those earning huge sums include a 1999 Special Edition of Mulan, which sold for a $21,000 recently.

Romance novelist Lucy Taylor, 37, from Lincoln, sold her six-month-old swimming costume for £10.50, but was shocked when a male buyer from the Netherlands made an unusual request.

Some of Jessica Mauboy's biggest fans aren't short of money it seems.

The Qianlong Emperor's vase made its way to a charity shop in Hertfordshire where it was picked up for £1 and then listed on eBay for a pittance.

The tests on dozens of USB chargers, travel adaptors and power banks showed many had potentially lethal faults, finds consumer group Which?

The online marketplace, which started as an auction site, has evolved over the past two decades and is now one of Australia's most well-known shopping destinations.

The book, which belonged to a Nottinghamshire Police officer, contains mugshots of wanted men and women across the country - including a description with crimes they may have committed.

Starbucks' tortoise shell cups, pictured, are becoming the must-have accessory for coffee-obsessed taste makers. The 'Mocha Swirl' tumbler is sold out everywhere except for sites like eBay.

Royal fans are rushing to get their hands on a dress worn by Meghan Markle, 38, to watch the US Open Tennis Championships on Saturday. The J.Crew dress is now selling for over £270 online.

Baffled buyers and sellers took to social media to ask eBay why their email updates were appearing next to a picture of a woman posing topless in a pair of stockings.

Meghan Markle, 38, has received praise from her friends following the launch of her charity high-street clothing range - including Jessica Mulroney who commented 'so proud of you' on Instagram.

EXCLUSIVE: MailOnline found multiple listings for melanotan II on the online marketplace despite it being banned in the UK. One seller was even offering a DIY home injectable kit.

Twitter users across the UK have praised Lady Hale after a T-shirt inspired by her Spider brooch managed to sell nearly 7,000 lines, raising money for homeless charity Shelter.

Bargain hunter Helen Barnes took to the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains to showcase how she was able to achieve the stylish look with purchases made from B&Q and eBay.

Karen Ievers, from County Clare, Ireland, spotted the snap on auction site eBay listed as 'photo of a man in a hat with a cane c1860', and was struck by the resemblance to the famed playwright.

Forget 'ghosting' and 'breadcrumbing' - 'jibing' is the latest dating term making waves across Australia.

Single mother Anna Pek, from Norfolk, couldn't afford to buy a new sofa when she moved house and revealed how she transformed her tired old couches for just £33.

Only 160 pairs of the Blackburn SPEZIAL trainers were released at a store on Friday, but by Saturday afternoon many were generating bids of thousands of pounds on eBay.

Two mothers from Rotherham and Northampton showcased their crafting skills by creating beautiful Disney and Harry Potter furniture from old £1 tote bags from Poundland.

Ozzy Shah has made a cool £50,000 since applying the comedy term 'Wagatha Christie', given to Coleen Rooney following her investigation of Rebekah Vardy, on to plain black T-shirts.

The museum's display of work by 1960s fashion designer Mary Quant (pictured) includes more than 200 garments and accessories, including previously unseen items.

The site, which will be called MarketLink, will open in November and will stock everything from kitchen appliances to furniture as well as mirror Amazon and eBay.