Here’s what’s been going on in the world of personal finance and money today:
From Money Watch:
- Don’t Let Your Brain Switch Off To Expert Advice – According to a recent study, our brains set aside rationality when we listen to supposedly expert advice.
Makes sense doesn’t it? After all, expert advice is supposed to take away the difficulties we have in understanding a subject.
From around the web:
- Google search exposes UK credit card data – The credit card details of thousands of British online shoppers were made available online recently, giving anyone using the Google search engine access to the sensitive information.
- Energy firm will pay ‘interest’ – Scottish Power will pay "interest" to any customers whose direct debits put them more than £100 in credit.
The payments, of £1 for every £33 someone is in credit, could benefit the firms’s 3.2 million customers who pay by direct debit from June this year. - Google to venture into start-ups – Google is searching for "the next big thing" in technology as it announces its latest effort, Google Ventures.
Its new venture capitalist arm pledged to help find and develop "exceptional start-ups", offering early stage investments to a range of new firms.
- France is threatening G20 walkout – France will walk away from this week’s G20 summit if its demands for stricter financial regulation are not met, the finance minister has told the BBC.
- Public ‘backs economic reforms’ – A BBC World Service survey of 29,000 people has found broad support for reform of the international economic system ahead of the G20 summit.
More than 70% of people in 29 countries think major changes are needed in the way the global economy is run.