From April 2008, ISA rules are being simplified. Maxi ISAs and Mini ISAs are a thing of the past and will be replaced by one ISA account. The limit for the 2008/09 tax year will increase to £7,200, from £7,000 in the 2007/08 tax year.

The full £7,200 can be invested in equities (including unit trusts, oeics and investment trusts) or up to half can be invested in cash with any remaining balance invested in equities.

For those with Personal Equity Plans (PEPs), these will no longer exist and funds held in a PEP will now form part of your ISA holding, without affecting ISA limits.

The current tax rules are not affected by the simplification and any capital gains and dividend or interest earnings remain tax free. Dividends will continue to have 10% tax deducted at source, although there is no further to pay for higher rate taxpayers. 

Companies that still offer final salary pension schemes, may need their valuers to amend the life expectancy calculation used to determine expected costs. As people are living longer, it makes sense to review the calculation. However this won’t be good news for companies with such scheme as each additional year can increase costs by 3% to 4%.

With increasing final salary pension costs almost inevitable, this could be another nail in the coffin of such schemes. We’ve already seen that Group SIPPs are likely to be the way forward for company pensions and this latest move could speed up the switch.

Research from Standard Life Bank shows that a growing number of people are choosing to ‘do up’ their existing home, rather than move to a new property.

With relatively high mortgage rates, the new Home Information Pack, moving costs, stamp duty and the all important hassle factor, it does make perfect sense to make the most of what you’ve got. And of course it can add significant value to your property.

Not only are people looking at renovating bathrooms or putting in a new kitchen, but are considering more sizeable renovations - such as a loft conversion or an extension.

So if you are looking to invest in property but don’t fancy buy to let or haven’t enough money for a commercial property, why not look a little closer to home?

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is leading the charge of FTSE companies in the pension stakes. It is the first to offer employees a group option for self invested personal pensions (SIPPs). The move comes as employees are looking to have a greater say in how their pension is invested and are keen to broaden the spread of investments. SIPPs can invest in a wide variety of investments from shares to listed hedge funds to commercial property.

Brokers and pension providers believe group SIPPs represent the future for pensions and up to half of FTSE 100  companies could have such schemes available to employees in the next five years.

The higher mortgage rates seen during 2007 made it increasingly difficult for would be house buyers to get on the property ladder. This has aided the buy to let landlords as more people look towards renting a property rather than buying.

Despite slowing capital gains, the average buy to let investment  will have yielded a 21% return in 2007, thanks to rental increases of 19%, three times 2006 levels. Even with such increases, renting still proves to be cheaper than buying, with the average rent being only two-thirds of the mortgage costs on the same property.