● ANALYSTS at price comparison service uSwitch have ranked Swindon, in Wiltshire, as hardest-hit by the recession, and Brent, north London, is ranked as the number one recession proof area, in a survey that compared salary levels, unemployment, house prices and council tax across 98 of the biggest local authorities in Britain.

● Want to play the stock market, but frightened of shares?

Alliance & Leicester and Abbey, both part of Spanishowned Santander, are launching a range of guaranteed investment products, with initial investment plus minimum return of ten per cent guaranteed if held for a full 5.5 year term and linked either to FTSE100 or the Halifax house price index.

● Savers ready to lock away their money for two or three years should insist on an annual return of at least four per cent, reckons Cater Allen Private Bank, which is launching two fixed rate bonds paying up to 4.11 per cent AER, depending on sum invested.

● Britons holidaying abroad this year could spend more than expected, while the pound stays weak – but at least there’s the Abbey Zero card to help them out, following its relaunch yesterday.

The award-winning card offers fee-free foreign usage on spending abroad and introductory 0 per cent rate on balance transfers. A fee of three per cent (minimum £5) applies to balance transfers.