Banks will be forced to ring-fence savers' cash from their risky casino-style investment arms to protect deposits and avoid a run like that which brought down Northern Rock in 2007.
An increase in the minimum wage is required to protect low-income workers from a "perfect storm" of benefit cuts, rising living standards and a lack of jobs, Oxfam warns.
The motor insurance market is today facing an investigation by the Competition Commission after a report found the market was "dysfunctional" and may be pushing up premiums by £225 million a year.
The double-dip recession is deeper than originally feared, with revised figures today showing a sharper decline in the economy in the first three months of 2012.
Vulnerable borrowers could be better protected against payday loan companies, after lenders agreed to improve their codes of practice under Government pressure.
24 May 2012
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