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Nominate your Scrooge of the Year 2008

"A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" That's how Charles Dickens described the miser Ebenezer Scrooge in his 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol. Judging from readers' letters and emails, the same words describe a number of British companies, organisations and officials from broadband providers to banks, energy suppliers to insurers. Times Money will name and shame the worst offenders in print and online - but first we need your nominations.

Use the comments form to tell us who gets your vote, and why. Last year's award was shared by Gordon Brown and Revenue & Customs, with (dis)honourable mentions to British Gas, TalkTalk and Alliance & Leicester. Have they improved since?

The 10 most amazing bets that succeeded

Millions of people love having a flutter, but very few ever succeed in pulling off a spectacular bet against the odds. Here Times Money lists some of the most unusual bets that paid off

The results of Times Money's PBR survey

 

Thanks to all our readers who took the time to complete our survey about the Pre Budget Report. We publish the findings below.

How do you rate the PBR?

Key points - at a glance guide to Darling's measures

Follow the key points of the Budget speech live here from 3.30pm.

Have your say: Which tax cuts would make you smile?

Next Monday's Pre-Budget Report could be the most controversial and important for years, as Britain teeters on the brink of recession.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has already hinted that a tax giveaway is on the cards to help give the economy a much needed boost and save the Government's bacon.

Deflation: the 10 items that are falling in price quickest

The spectre of deflation loomed this week after figures showed that prices of many goods slumped last month as recession tightened its grip. Economists say that this is worrying, but it does at least mean cheaper shopping in the run up to Christmas. Here Times Money lists the ten categories of goods which have seen the biggest recent tumbles in price at online retailers

The ten most expensive places to park in the world

If you're a London driver here's one more reason to leave your car at home: our very own capital is the most expensive city to park, eclipsing even Tokyo and New York. The following ten cities offer the priciest spaces in the world:

The world's 10 richest pets and pampered pooches

It is the search that is gripping the US nation: which pooch will president-elect Barack Obama choose to be the White House puppy?

A pampered life awaits the dog that gets the nod, what with the run of the 132-room White House and its spacious gardens. Then there's the presidential jet Air Force One to look forward to. A trip to the countryside will never be the same again.

Not that life is going to be easy, what with all those photo shoots and life lived in the public eye. Nothing less than a shiny coat and perfect teeth will do. The press can be so cruel on those bad hair days. And "cavorting" with other canines will definitely be out.

But let's not play down the job's advantages. Mr Obama is looking for a mutt from a shelter home: a rags to riches story that sums up the American dream.

However, it won't be the first pet to embark on a life of luxury and excess. Here are some of the richest animals ever to have walked this earth.

The 10 best bargains on eBay

According to eBay.co.uk, shoppers who buy new goods on their website can save an average of 25 per cent on high street prices. To help readers plan their Christmas spend, Times Money has put together a list of the ten categories of goods on eBay where the biggest savings can be made - with examples of one popular product in each. Remember that eBay will not always offer the cheapest price. Always compare deals with other online retailers at comparison websites, such as Kelkoo.co.uk

Mortgage repayments - how much will you save?

The Bank of England's surprise cut to interest rates from 4.5 per cent to 3 per cent is great news for homeowners with tracker-rate mortgages, which are directly linked to the base rate. Borrowers on Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgages will have to wait to see if, and by how much, their lender cuts their rate.

Here is a table explaining how your monthly repayments could be affected by a change in your mortgage interest rate. (Repayment mortgages only).

Below that is a list of which lenders have cut their SVRs so far. (And which haven't).

Interest rate (old rate, new rate)	Monthly repayment on £100,000	Monthly repayment on £150,000	Monthly repayment on £200,000
4.5% - 3%	Old repayment: £555 New repayment: £474 Saving: £81	Old repayment: £833 New repayment: £711 Saving: £122	Repayment: £1,111 New repayment: £948 Saving: £163
5%- 3.5%	Old repayment: £584 New repayment: £500 Saving: £84	Old repayment: £876 New repayment: £750 Saving: £126	Old repayment: £1,169 New repayment: £1,001 Saving: £168
5.5%- 4%	Old repayment: £614 New repayment: £527 Saving: £87	Old repayment: £921 New repayment: £791 Saving: £130	Old repayment: £1,228 New repayment: £1,055 Saving: £173
6% -4.5%	Old repayment: £644 New repayment: £555 Saving: £89	Old repayment: £966 New repayment: £833 Saving: £133	Old repayment: £1,288 New repayment: £1,111 Saving: £177
6.5% - 5%	Old repayment: £675 New repayment: £584 Saving: £91	Old repayment: £1,012 New repayment: £876 Saving: £136	Old repayment: £1,350 New repayment: £1,169 Saving: £181
7.0% - 5.5%	Old repayment: £706 New repayment: £614 Saving: £92	Old repayment: £1.060 New repayment: £921 Saving: £139	Old repayment: £1,413 New repayment: £1,228 Saving: £185
7.5% - 6%	Old repayment: £738 New repayment: £644 Saving: £94	Old repayment: £1,108 New repayment: £966 Saving: £142	Old repayment: £1.477 New repayment: £1,228 Saving: £249
8% - 6.5%	Old repayment: £771 New repayment: £675 Saving: £96	Old repayment: £1,157 New repayment: £1,012 Saving: £145	Old repayment: £1,543 New repayment: £1,350 Saving: £193
8.5% - 7%	Old repayment: £805 New repayment: £706 Saving: £99	Old repayment: £1,207 New repayment: £1,060 Saving: £147	Old repayment: £1,610 New repayment: £1,413 Saving: £197
9% - 7.5%	Old repayment: £839 New repayment: £738 Saving: £101	Old repayment: £1,258 New repayment: £1,108 Saving: £150	Old repayment: £1,678 New repayment: £1,477 Saving: £201

Five experts predict how much further house prices will fall

UK house prices are now nearly 15 per cent lower than 12 months ago, according to the Nationwide, with the price of an average house dropping by £30,000 to £158,872.

But when will the house price crash end and how far will prices fall? Should buyers grab a bargain now, or wait another year, or even longer. Times Money asked five experts for their predictions on when the market will hit rock bottom. Here are their answers. And have your say in our poll below.

The five craziest mortgage deals of all time

In the booming Brown years of the recent past, we borrowed as much as we liked at low rates of interest with hardly a thought of how we would pay it all back. The trillion-pound debt mountain grew as we used our homes, our estimated salaries, even our future bonus-earning potential to ask for even more cash from the banks, who were only too happy to oblige.

The mortgage deals available in these credit-rich years demonstrate just how easy it was to borrow huge sums of money. Here are the five most outrageous mortgage deals available during the decade and a half of excess.

The 10 biggest winners from the financial crisis

High street retailers, estate agents, Iceland…the casualties of the economic crisis are all too familiar. But while there are losers, others have profited from the doom.

We’ve rounded up ten credit crunch Houdinis who’ve escaped the financial crisis and are laughing all the way to the ailing bank.

Times Money's top 10 investment gurus

Genuine stock market experts are a rare breed, and their investment thinking is never more valuable than when the financial world is in turmoil, as it is today.

So here at Times Money we have come up with a list of our top ten stock market gurus of all time.

Ten tips to avoid repossession

At the start of the summer, more than 150,000 homeowners were at least three months in arrears. The number of repossessions is predicted to double this year to 45,000 and to keep climbing next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

If you have slipped into arrears, you will not necessarily lose your home. Here are 10 steps that you can take to stay in your property and clear your debt.

Ten executives who should have kept their mouths shut

We have all said things we regret: embarrassing comments we would rather forget. Most of the time the consequences are not too severe. But not for these guys and gals.

Their corporate blunders have spectacularly backfired. More than one has lost their job because of their thoughtless gaffes or watched as their company's share price has plunged because of an ill-chosen word.

Who do you blame for this financial mess?

Billions of pounds have been wiped off the value of shares. Pensions and investment funds have plumetted in value. Good value mortgages are few and far between and people's confidence in banks is at an all time low.

How to judge the safety of a bank

It is extremely unlikely the UK Government will allow any bank operating in the UK to fail. Moreover, the Financial Compensation Scheme guarantees £50,000 per person. However, the scheme is untried on a large scale and nobody wants his or her savings to be with a failing bank. So how do you know who to trust?

Confidence in the banks has been severely dented over recent weeks. The nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, Lloyds TSB’s' rescue of HBOS, and the collapse of the Icelandic banking system have made many people question how safe their money is.

The world's 10 wealthiest politicians

If you have been sickened by media mentions of Lord Mandelson's £2.4 million townhouse and £1 million European Union pay-off, consider that his wealth is nothing compared to the fortunes of really wealthy politicians. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger's hundreds of millions do not make our list...

Ten people who predicted the financial meltdown

The financial events of recent weeks have filled many of us with shock and panic. Surely no one could have predicted that we would be in this mess? Well, actually, they did. Here are ten people who saw the financial meltdown coming...