Pensions, RBS, current accounts and bonds

Thousands of small companies have been fined for failing to enrol staff in a workplace pension as firms struggle to deal with the most significant overhaul to retirement savings in generations. According to The Times, an increase in enforcement action by the pensions regulator resulted in more than 3,700 businesses being issued with penalties between July and September, compared with 861 in the previous three months. RBS Unlike other major banks which this week announced extra provisions for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, RBS said today it has not set aside any extra cash. It did, however, report an attributable loss of £469 million for the third quarter. That loss reflects charges related to reorganising the business, and litigation and conduct costs. Current accounts

A third of banking customers are throwing away the incentives handed out for switching accounts on expensive overdraft fees, according to research by Co-operative Bank.

Thisismoney reports that while banks are offering cash incentives currently worth up to £220 in the first year, account holders who stray into the red fork out an average £6.93 each month in authorised overdraft fees, which quickly eats into profits.

Bonds The Times reports that government borrowing costs jumped on the back of strong growth figures yesterday as investors ruled out a rate cut by the Bank of England next week. Yields on ten-year bonds rose 0.1 percentage points to 1.254 per cent, one of the biggest daily rises of the past 18 months. The Office for National Statistics said that the economy had grown 0.5 per cent in the three months to September, well above predicted forecasts of 0.3 per cent. Co-operative Energy

Co-operative Energy has agreed to pay £1.8 million to its customers because it let them down in resolving complaints, call handling and billing processes.

Security

New research from Which? Trusted Traders reveals that more than two thirds of people are likely to worry about security as the nights draw in for winter when the clocks go back this weekend.

Which? Trusted Traders found that a quarter of us are more likely to leave an inside light on so it looks like someone is home when the nights get darker, with one in seven more likely to set timer switches on lamps before going out. However, just one in ten of those surveyed will be more likely to use outside lights to deter burglars.

In addition, home insurer Policy Expert says that, as the clocks go back this weekend and the winter nights draw in, millions of homes could be left vulnerable to opportunistic thieves.

According to a survey of more than 3,000 people by Policy Expert, the average time to get home from work is 5.08pm. At present, that means people are arriving home in daylight hours. From Sunday it will get dark at 4.36pm, meaning that from Monday homes could now be empty and unattended in darkness for 33 minutes. The length of time for which homes could be left empty in darkness will increase by one to two minutes every day until mid-December when the average home could be left unattended in darkness for a full hour and 17 minutes.

Finally…

As the days become colder and nights draw in, new research suggests people are reaching for extra layers, blankets and hot water bottles to fight the chill without having to rely on costly heating systems. The study from TopCashback.co.uk finds that the majority (71 per cent) of consumers are holding off turning the heating on.