Xeros Ltd, a Leeds-based company has developed a washing machine that uses 90% less water than a normal machine and could be available by the end of 2011.

It replaces water with tiny plastic beads that suck up stains and it is claimed it will cut back household energy bills, too.

The Xeros process uses 3mm-long nylon beads that can get into all the crevices and folds of clothing and can also be re-used hundreds of times. The beads flood the machine’s drum once the clothes are wet and the humidity is at the right level. After the washing cycle is complete, the beads drain away in the same way as water in a conventional machine.

Bill Westwater, chief executive of Xeros, said: “The net saving in water, detergent and electricity and including the cost of the beads, we calculate, is about a 30% cost saving for the user.” He stated the machine has been tested on a range of fabrics stained with everything from mud, red wine and curry stains to ink from ballpoint pens.

According to reports, the carbon emissions saved would be the equivalent of taking 1.4 m cars off the roads. It will also allow many of your delicates to be “dry” cleaned at home.

Xeros has already received research and development funding from Yorkshire Forward and has just returned from a government-sponsored “Clean and Cool” trade mission to the United States, aimed at securing investment from venture capitalists in Silicon Valley in California.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

Churchill Insurance has issued a reminder to consumers about getting adequate cover for their jewellery this Valentine’s Day.

With many people potentially planning to pop the question this weekend, having the right amount of cover in place is vital in case the worse happens to your gems both at home and away, the company warned.

Claire Foster, spokesperson for Churchill Home Insurance, stated that with its cover, items worth £1,500 or more should be listed individually on the policy, but anything worth less will be classed as general personal contents.

As well as having jewellery listed on a policy, it is also important to have some proof of the item’s value, such as a recent valuation or the original purchase receipts, she added.

This Valentine’s Day could prove to be an expensive occasion for many men, if recent research by Tesco Bank is anything to go by. The institution found that while 69 per cent of men are planning to spend up to £50 on their partner, over half of female respondents are shelling out just £10.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

Cold weather is forecast again in the coming days and with that, Direct Line Home Insurance has offered consumers advice on how to prevent their pipes from bursting.
The company saw claims for water damage increase by a third during the first two weeks of this year, so they have issued some help to homeowners to stop them from becoming victims of leaking water.
The firm advised that keeping loft spaces well insulated will stop pipes from becoming too cold during frosty conditions.
Having the heating on at a low level will also help to keep water circulating through the system and stop it from freezing over, it added.

Ensuring that everyone in the house knows where the stopcock is and how to operate it could also help to prevent severe damage from occurring should the worst happen, the company said.

At the start of the year, Direct Line announced it would offer its customers 12 months of home insurance cover for the price of nine, including free emergency cover, which is available until March 31st.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

The economic difficulties experienced during the recession have turned some spenders into savers, it has been suggested.
The sudden impact on their wealth for some people was a shock and has prompted them to make sure they do not make the same mistake twice, according to Ed Bowsher, head of consumer finance at lovemoney.com.

He added that in his experience consumers are now “trying not to borrow as much, they are trying to save and they are trying to repair their finances”.

The Bank of England had reported that there had been an increase in the total net lending figures to individuals during December by £1.2 billion. But Mr Bowsher described this rise as a “very modest kick upwards”.

Overall he sees the increase in consumer savings as an indication that people have learned their lessons from the credit crunch and he feels that this increased responsibility towards money is “absolutely the right thing to do”.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

YouTube, the Google owned video-sharing website, will now be offering movies to rent. Initially, only five films will be available, and these are only to users in the US. These movies are from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film Festival and 4 out of 5 of the films will cost $3.99, around £2.50. After this initial launch, YouTube is expected to get some bigger Hollywood names on board who will be happy to offer their movies to a wider audience.
YouTube does have a major competitor in Hulu, which is a joint venture between NBC, Universal, Fox and ABC and offers TV and films from the major US studios. Currently, Hulu only offers content in the US, but was expected to make a launch in the UK in September 2009. They couldn’t get a major UK TV broadcaster on board in time, so this was delayed. With 4oD and Five on demand now available from YouTube in the UK, Hulu will definitely have to compete hard in the UK, and bringing TV and movie content from its parent companies may help it do so.
The longer users in the UK have to wait for viable services to be available, the more they will turn to alternative ways to get the content they want, such as P2P and file sharing websites. Some services are starting to appear, if you have the right equipment to get them. Sony launched the European PS3 video store in November 2009, which offers over 2000 films for rent or purchase with prices from $1.99 or around £1.75.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

It’s more important than ever to know your credit score, but why is this the case and how do you find out what information is held about you on your credit file?

Lenders are making life difficult for those who wish to obtain credit and even those who think they have a perfect history are finding themselves being turned away for products they would have been a shoe-in for a couple of years ago.
It’s therefore well worth obtaining a copy of your credit file before you apply for a mortgage, loan or credit card and you can apply for yours through moneysupermarket.com’s new credit checking channel.

But what should you look for when you’ve got your credit file? What exactly is a good credit history? And what do providers look out for when deciding whether or not you are worthy of their credit?

Read on to find out.

What do lenders look for?
Mortgage, loan and credit card providers have a ’score’ card which they use to evaluate credit applications. They give or take away points from you depending on the information that is on your credit file. Each lender’s score card is different although the main factors they look out for, and will reward you points on, is your current credit conduct, whether or not you appear on the Electoral Roll and how long you have been in continuous employment.

What information is held about you?
When you receive your credit file, the following information will appear on it:

Electoral Roll information – the date your name was entered onto the electoral register at your current address shows here, it will also show the dates that you were on the Electoral Roll at previous addresses. Lenders will use this information as proof that you live where you say you live.

Financial associates and aliases – you will find here any names that you have previously been known as and also anyone that you are tied to financially. For example, if you hold a joint bank account with a partner, then this information will appear as well as basic details of the other person’s whose name the account is in.

Public record information – here you will find details of any County Court Judgements (CCJs), Involuntary Arrangements (IVAs) and bankruptcies. It will show the date that the information was registered and, if applicable, when the arrangement or CCJ was satisfied, in the case of a bankruptcy, it will show when this was discharged.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights has raised concerns over the technical measures that are intended to be implemented, stating that the Digital Economy Bill could breach human rights of internet users. According to the bill, users who fall foul of the “three-strikes rule” for illegal file sharing could either be disconnected or have their speed severely limited.
Andrew Dismore MP, (Chairman) Joint Committee on Human Rights stated, “The concern we have with this Bill is that it lacks detail. It has been difficult, even in the narrow area we have focussed on, to get a clear picture of the scope and impact of the provisions.”
The committee is seeking further information on the way these technical measures to limit usage of users will be used.
Readers may remember that similar concerns were raised in France where the French Constitutional Council blocked the HADOPI law which was being pushed through by President Sarkozy and backed by the entertainment industry. Concerns there were that it would block the right for people to exercise freedom of expression and communication, part of the founding principles of a democracy.
The government should be ready for a fight about this, as the changes being proposed are a drastic change in how things have worked so far on the Internet. A blanket right for government to rewrite copyright law on a whim has drawn serious concern from many large voices including the likes of Google and Yahoo. Any changes that are to be implemented need to be well defined, clear and concise, the detail which so far seems to be distinctly lacking from the Digital Economy Bill.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

According to new figures from Clydesdale Bank, the average couple in the UK will spend £550 on Valentine’s Day this year.

Brits are set to spend a collective £4.9 billion on chocolates, flowers and meals out on February 14th, the study found, while women will be left paying a third more than men on the day.

However, this money will be going on a new outfit from a high street store (£100), a stylish haircut (£50) and make-up, tanning, waxing and manicuring (£130) to make sure that the night is a success.

Steve Reid, retail director at Clydesdale Bank, said: “While men go for the gestures like, flowers and dinner, women splash out much more in ensuring they look and feel their best for their partner.”

Clydesdale Bank recently launched its new one-year fixed-rate Advantage Term Deposit bond, offering a rate of 4.5 per cent gross for the 12-month package.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

BT is checking into the various ways to share cabling ducts with rival companies according to a report in the FT. This would allow other network operators to cheaply build networks without having to dig up the roads, which is both costly and disruptive, and could allow other operators to deploy their own fibre-to-the-home solutions, expanding to areas which BT deem unviable.
The announcement follows news last month from the Conservative party who pledged to force BT to open up its ducts for sharing, although BT have been in talks since last year with Ofcom about this.
Ian Livingston, CEO at BT stated, “We told Ofcom last year we’re willing to provide open access to our ducts . . . and we are working with them on how to achieve it. Although it’s unlikely to be the silver bullet to get fibre to every home, open access to all ducts, not just ours, might help BT and others extend coverage and so we would like to see a future government support such a move.”
Duct sharing would open up interesting opportunities for other network operators. Virgin Media have done little to expand their broadband network since it was originally built and conglomerated, and with access to new ducting, they could expand to further parts of the country at a much lower cost than the original cost of having to dig. Of course, whilst BT may be willing to share ducts, there may be problems in some areas where cabling ducts are already full, and therefore sharing is not possible.
Other large operators are keen to get their own high-speed broadband services live. Duct sharing could give them the opportunity to do this, and could also add extra competition at a wholesale level. BT currently have a huge market hold due to their coverage of the country, but with other operators able to expand to a similar area, it could boost competition in rural areas. There could also be opportunities other than duct sharing. Virgin have a network that covers around 57% of homes, and a wholesale model similar to that of BT’s could allow other operators to start marketing faster services. The Virgin network has one big advantage over that of BT, it can potentially support speeds up to 200 Mbps to the home; however Virgin have previously been adamant on having no plans to open their network to the wholesale market.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

According to research from uSwitch.com, over 75 per cent of people believe that the company they work for is less than generous to its workers.
The price comparison site research also found that just 32 per cent of respondents think their bosses are generous, with 43 per cent going further, stating that they consider the staff perks to be poor.
In order to cut back and save money during the recession, some companies have decided to stop providing their staff with free tea and coffee in the office.
However, this move may have backfired, as 32 per cent of workers feel that having free beverages can help to boost morale in the workplace.
Jake Ridge, small business expert at uSwitch.com, suggested that instead of taking away perks that can help staff have a better time at work, they could move to a different energy provider to reduce overheads.

It was estimated last month by uSwitch.com that the recent cold snap may have added significantly to household energy bills, with the average bill now 36 per cent higher than it was at the start of 2008.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.