High house prices and mortgage debt are destabilising the UK economy, a European Commission report warned today.

A quarter of families are cutting back on food costs by not ordering a regular take-away, or by buying basic ranges in the supermarket, according to the Aviva report. However, they are still buying takeaway coffee.

Household energy bills will top £1,500 within three years, forcing millions to ration their heating, according to comparison site uSwitch.

Loans for young entrepreneurs

Of the time my partner and I spend arguing, 90 per cent of it probably consists of bickering about housework. So, on Friday morning, rushing to get our daughter to nursery and then on to work, we were locking horns over who should change the sheets. After wasting valuable time snapping "it's your turn" at each other, we finally settled on a compromise: he would remove the old bedclothes and I would put on new ones.

'I wanted to be in musicals'

A teenager who spiked cookery lesson brownies with cannabis has been expelled after he and four schoolchildren who ate them were taken to hospital.

Families' disposable incomes are at their lowest since 2008, despite the decline in their spending power slowing, a report has said.

With the news that the inventor of the remote control, Eugene Polley, has died, couch potatoes around the globe have mourned his passing.

Hard-up consumers could be hit by higher electricity bills if major government energy reforms are adopted, experts have warned.

Home repairs group Homeserve has revealed it is being investigated by the City watchdog in the wake of accusations over mis-selling and failures in complaints handling.

Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland is set to come under increased pressure from investors tomorrow as the retail chain unveils its first fall in annual profits for three years.

Adele picked up a dozen gongs at the Billboard Music Awards less than a week after her triumph at the Ivor Novellos.

Atwell will soon be a $10m-a-movie star, says director Junger