Other Banks including Lloyds, Cheltenham and Gloucester and Bradford and Bingley have already announced that they will be passing on the rate cut in full. Not surprising these were the first to make the move as they are the ones that are either part-owned by the Government or have received some funding to help shore up their balance sheets.

Such a significant cut is great news for those borrowers who have a variable rate or tracker mortgage deal. Plus those that are coming to the end of a fixed rate mortgage will hopefully be able to find a better deal to help keep costs down.

And there is no better hotel to base yourself at than the Mandalay Bay. This is how their website describes how your made to feel special.

“You’re unique. An individual. Absolutely one-of-a-kind. You’re not into typical Las Vegas resorts. You have no time for everyday hotel rooms or suites that fail to inspire. Whether you’re here for vacation, for work, or for something completely different, you’ve come to the right place.”

Whether you’re a connoiseur, escapist, player, party goer or professional the Mandalay Bay can offer you an experience tailored to your needs, requirements and desires. And of course you can’t go to Las Vegas and not have a flutter in the casino. So don’t just sit around feeling sorry for yourself, get on over to Las Veags and forget the real world for a week or two.

As the recession kicks in and there are more casualties in the financial services sector there are likely to be more takeovers and mergers as companies look to strengthen their financial positions.

Main players such as Woolwich (Barclays) and First Direct (HSBC) are the first to make such a move, whilst the Yorkshire has increased its rate by 0.5%. Meanwhile the Skipton has scrapped its fixed rate range altogether. It just aint getting any better!

The cost of borrowing has come down over the past few months, which is a positive step, however decent deals are only available to those with around a 25% deposit to put down. And for all the Government’s talk of kick starting the housing market, the suspension of stamp duty simply isn’t enough. Until liquidity returns to the mortgage market, the housing sector will continue to suffer.

Since 2006 Icesave has attracted over 200,000 customers and continues to grow thanks to its attractive interest rates and simple and transparent application process. Facts that ensure Icesave consistently appears at the top of best buy tables in the National Press and on financial comparison websites.

Icesave currently have three great products on offer. First up is their cash ISA which has a competive tax-free interest rate of 6.1%, for savers over 18 years old with a minimum £1,000 to invest. The maximum amount you can save is £3,600 per annum, as it is for all other cash ISA accounts. The account also offers an interest rate guarantee which means the minimum rate payable will be 0.30% above the Bank of England base rate until 31/01/2011. What’s more, there are no notice periods or early withdrawal penalties.

Secondly, their Easy Access savings account offers an interest rate of 6.30% and also comes with the guarantee that the interest rate will beat the base rate by at least 0.35% until 1st May 2011 and at least match the base rate until 1st May 2013. Again there are no notice periods or withdrawal penalties and you can open an account with as little as £250. And if that wasn’t enough, you can choose to receive your interest either monthly or annually. This account is ideal for regular savings. For example if you want to tuck some money away for the kids when they’re ready to go to college or university.

Icesave also offer a fixed rate savings account with an interest rate of up to 7.06%, depending on whether you choose to save for 6 months or 1, 2 or 3 years. The interest rate is fixed for the term you select and interest can be paid montly or annually. As you’d expect from a fixed rate account, the minimum deposit is £1,000 and there can be no additions or withdrawals during the period.

So with great interest rates, a good range of products that offer something for all savers,  and the fact you can open an account online in under ten minutes, means Icesave is definitely worth looking at when you’re shopping around for a better home for your money.

Some sites suggested that you could get paid up to $5 for 30 seconds work. If ever there was a totally over-exaggerated claim, then this is it.

I signed up to a couple of sites, and looked around a lot more. I soon found out that the sites only paid around $0.01 per ad viewed. Sometimes this was as low as $0.001 per click. Not exactly sums of money that mean you can give up the day job.

You have to view the ads for a minimum of 30 seconds without switching or minimising the browser. This means you can’t have multiple ads open at any one time. Not a problem if you’re earning $5 but it is an issue when all that is at stake is one cent.

Assuming you could view ads all day long, which you can’t as there aren’t enough of them, you’d make two cents per minute or $1.20 per hour. Based on a 7 hour working day that would give you $8.40, or about £4.50 if you are in the UK. You’d probably spend more on heat, light, electricity and broadband than you would make in income. I was going to try and keep clicking for one month, just to see how much I could actually earn, but I gave up after about 10 minutes.

I could carry on writing as there are other negatives, but I think I’ve made my point. If you’re looking to earn extra cash online, don’t even bother with paid to click sites as it’s all just a waste of time and effort.

The fall in value comes as the final, or terminal bonus is reduced. It is this bonus that has a large impact on the final policy value. Whilst the annual bonus value remains the same, it does not carry the same weight as the terminal bonus.

The number of homeowners who face such a shortfall has increased to 87% (from 55%) of all Standard Life endowment policy holders.

The key to ensure any interst only mortgage can be paid off at the end of the term is to review the policy(ies) in place on a regular basis and to increase the premiums or make additional provision as required. Alternatively, you could start to pay off some of the mortgage as you’re going along, even if it is not as much as you would do under a capital and interest mortgage.

Whatever you do, review the situation in plenty of time. Don’t leave it to the year before the mortgage is due to be paid off to check you have sufficient funds in place.

Secondly, you can choose the odds that you want to play at. Odds that you believe reflect the risk and reward of your particular bet. Of course your specified odds must be realistic when compared to the rest of the market and other offers available.

Betfair also allows you to bet while an event is in play, the odds ever changing to reflect the latest known position. These features are available on a range of innovative games and products.

As a further incentive to join Betfair, there are three great deals available. A free £10 bet for new sportsbook customers, a free £50 bet for new casino customers and a free $150 bet for new poker customers.

So if you’re looking to enhance your betting experience then Betfair could be the site for you.

Next, don’t be fooled by the ’special offers’. ‘Buy one, get one free’ or ‘three for two’ offers are all well and good if you’re actually going to use the extra items before they pass their sell-by date. Instead look at the cost per item and whether buying more of the same does actually represent good value. If not, opt for the one item purchase.

These are a couple of ideas to be going on with. More will be posted soon.