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NewsHouse prices fell by 15.9% last year, according to the latest survey by the Nationwide building society. Mortgage lenders are continuing to demand larger deposits as they ration home loans to their customers. The government extends state help for people struggling to make mortgage payments after losing their jobs. Scottish Power raises hopes that energy bills will fall after it cut prices - with rivals expected to follow suit. David Cameron proposes to axe tax on basic rate taxpayers' savings and to increase pensioners' tax free allowances. The weak pound is likely to affect the choice of 2009 holiday destination according to travel agents and tour operators' body.
The Nationwide says it will not pass on any further cuts in UK interest rates to most of its tracker mortgage customers The average UK house price falls to August 2004 levels after slumping a record 16.2% in 2008, the Halifax says. A gas supply dispute between Russian and the Ukraine raises fears that UK energy firms may delay price cuts. The UK's largest building society says it has fixed a glitch that left salary payments missing from some customers' accounts. The first old age pensions were drawn 100 years ago when the average payment was five shillings a week. Accountants KPMG predict that the number of people facing insolvency in 2009 will reach record levels. Three-quarters of Britons feel the state pension is not enough for retirement, a survey for insurer Friends Provident finds. House prices in England and Wales fell by a further 1.9% in November as activity dropped again, says the Land Registry. The deadline has passed for online applications by UK residents reclaiming savings from collapsed bank Icesave. Two surveys offer a mixed picture of the health of the UK's largest company pension schemes in 2008. UK holidaymakers heading to Europe over the New Year will get the fewest euros for their pound since the euro was introduced. Capped interest rates on credit cards would help small businesses in the downturn, an industry body says. Customers with gift vouchers and cards for stricken music chain Zavvi will have to apply to the administrator for a refund. One in five properties in some areas of the UK have been on the market for the whole of 2008, data suggests. Demand for assistance from a government-funded debt advice service rose by more than 40% in a year. Some 620 people in the UK filed their tax returns online on Christmas Day, says HM Revenue and Customs. Could the interest paid on our savings fall below zero?
Will UK homes be worth more or less in 2009?
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