Dear Listener,

Events in the American economy can affect us all. So with share prices in New York down 10% since Christmas and another Wall Street giant announcing it has lost £4 billion at the risky end of the US mortgage market, it was not that surprising when President George W Bush announced on Friday that he wanted huge tax cuts to stimulate the economy. But will a £75 billion boost save us from recession?

More than 120,000 small investors in a major property fund have been told they cannot take their money out for up to twelve months. The fund doesn’t have enough cash to repay them after a slew of withdrawals, as commercial property prices fell 12% in six months. Scottish Equitable is the second fund to impose such restrictions. It may not be the last. So is commercial property a good place for your money?

With property and shares both on a downward path, cash still offers good returns. We hear of a 7% deal over a year and several other more flexible savings accounts paying well over 6%. But if you want to borrow, the cost is coming down – 6.5% is possible with a good credit rating.

Should customers have to pay a refundable fee to take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman? Independent financial advisers say they should, complaining of vexatious complaints which, they say, can cripple small firms. Not everyone agrees.

And Bank of Scotland has warned 8,000 people this week that there may be no resolution to their claims for compensation over a complex mortgage deal which has left some of them trapped in their homes for the rest of their lives. Similar problems facing thousands of Barclays customers were resolved six months ago. But BoS says although it is discussing ways forward, it may never find a solution.

Remember Money Box is available for your MP3 player or to listen online. Just log on to our website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/moneybox/

Best wishes,

Paul Lewis

PS Don’t forget the live preview of Money Box on BBC1 Breakfast between 8.45 and 9 on Saturday morning.

e-mail Paul Lewis