Taxpayer liability over £1tn

Government insurance schemes to protect banks from further losses arising from their bad loans and investments, will bring the taxpayer's total liability to £1.3tn - more than the entire output of the British economy each year.

With Mervyn King telling an audience we are "deep in recession", it is unlikely the Pound will be able to recover much this year, meaning that foreign currency transfers will remain expensive for some time.

For those of you wanting to buy overseas property, the only good news is that bargains can be found in Europe and elsewhere, to make up for the poor exchange rate against the Euro and US Dollar.

Use a currency company to make sure you get the best deal on any currency transactions.