Vulnerable borrowers could be better protected against payday loan companies, after lenders agreed to improve their codes of practice under Government pressure.
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.
The Government was given some welcome good news on the jobs front today when unemployment fell by 45,000 and the number of dole claimants dipped for the second month in a row.
Unemployment is set to continue rising over the next five years in most parts of the UK because of a weaker economic outlook, according to a new report.