Are banks killing the mortgage broker market forever?

There’s a worrying trend in the mortgage market, that’s dangerous for brokers and consumers alike.  Now over 50% of deals are ‘direct only’ meaning most mortgage brokers don’t access them – and often they’re the market leading offers. This is something we’re in the process of doing some more work on, but I wanted to put down...

Tipsville USA: big apple instructions on how to tip

Having just returned from New York (see NYC biz class for £500 blog) I thought I’d report back on the restaurant tipping system. There, rather sensibly, the receipts give instructions on how much you need to tip… The receipt pre-calulates the suggested tip amount, for example underneath a food and drink total of say $47.30 it’d say:...

The MSE Towers’ Budget Airline Jacket-Bag…

Ever since my ITV beat the budget airlines programme last week, I’ve been swamped with questions about my 22 pocket jacket,  which lets you carry additional laptops, books and more on budget airlines. In fact the MSE team like it so much I’ve agreed to buy an office one. What’s the point of the jackets? With checked...

NYC Biz Class £500 for 2 and you can use your mobile!

I’m writing this on a BA business class flight to New York, that cost £500ish total for Mrs MSE and I combined. I’ve just been gobsmacked by the announcement just made saying you can use your mobile whilst in mid-flight… Let’s get the ridiculously cheap price out of the way first. These are £2,500 flights, but I’ve...