You know when someone tells you that money is not worth the paper it was printed on well sometimes it is. Fact is stranger than fiction as fears spread yesterday that the quality and security of banknotes worldwide could have been compromised after De La Rue said it had been producing substandard paper for central banks and other printers. Shares in De La Rue, whose specialist paper is used in the production of banknotes for 150 countries, fell to a two and a half year low after it said that it had discovered quality and production irregularities. Obviously the Bank of England are concerned as they continue with their quantitive easing or "printing money" programme as production at De La Rue's high-security plant in Overton, Hampshire, has been suspended. The plant, which employs 600 people, specialises in sophisticated anti-counterfeiting features, including watermarks, embedded threads, optical devices and chocolate coins.

How easy is it to work out the repayment of a mortgage, well not hard if you work for Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks. A miscalculation by the banks means some mortgage holders could be asked to repay up to £300 more each month. Thousands of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank mortgage customers are facing higher monthly payments after the providers, owned by National Australia Bank, said they had miscalculated repayments on some of their variable and tracker rate mortgages. The banks said 18,000 customers have been left with a shortfall on their mortgages, all of who have now been asked to pay the correct monthly amount plus an additional monthly sum to meet the shortfall - sounds like the endowment backed mortgage has returned!

Retail sales in the UK rose strongly in June, fuelling hopes that this weeks gross domestic product (GDP) figures will show strong growth. The volume of UK sales increased by 0.7% in June compared with May and 1.3% on 12 months ago. Discounting fuel sales, the volume of sales registered a 1.1% rise in the last month, and 3.1% over the last year. "Taking the data for the second quarter as a whole, we expect the Q2 GDP estimate to show an improvement in the pace of growth," commented David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce. It was also revealed that retail sales actually increased by 0.8% in May.

Soaring numbers of homeowners are deciding to sell their properties in a move, which may trigger a sharp house price fall, a report warned this week. Asking prices have fallen for the first time this year and are predicted to move lower by the end of the year helping first time buyers. The average asking price will drop another £14,000 by December, the report by property website Rightmove said. Asking prices dropped by 0.6 per cent this month, with the typical seller knocking off £1,435 - the first drop since December. The report blames the price fall on a rising tide of homeowners deciding to sell. More than 30,000 homes are flooding onto the market each week - almost 50 per cent higher than last July. In London, the number of new sellers is 7 per cent higher than last summer.

Its interesting that the negative angle adopted by the press over the past 3 years has returned as papers suggested the British economy faces a triple whammy of higher inflation, lower growth and rising unemployment. According to one of the Bank of England's most senior policy makers living standards will rise only "minimally", yes rise minimally but a rise all the same over the next few years. In an interview with The Independent, the Bank's chief economist, Spencer Dale, said that he did not expect inflation to return to its 2 per cent official target before the end of next year, about a year later than previously hoped, partly because of the hike in VAT to 20 per cent from January announced in the Budget.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) paid out more than £204 million to over 21,000 claimants in the 2009/10 financial year. Two thirds of the compensation paid during the year was for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) and investment claims. The FSCS said the number of PPI claims increased markedly in the year to more than 2,400 and that it expects the number of claims in the area to grow further in 2010/11. The increase in investment claims came as a result of claims against brokers, with many involving complex issues the FSCS had to resolve. Over 15,000 claimants were paid, the majority for claims related to Keydata Investment Services Limited - mainly for ISAs that weren't tax-free and income bonds that no longer provide any income.

And finally lets pause for thought - just when you thought people couldn't get any stranger, up pops a person who wants to pay £844 for the ashes of a cat that appeared at the start of Coronation Street. Frisky, who lost his battle against stomach cancer in 2000 at the age of 14, had to go through an intense audition process to get the coveted part in 1990. Coronation Street's producers received more than 5,000 applications for the role. After whittling it down to 10, the cats appeared on ITV's This Morning. Viewers' votes were cast and the five felines with the most votes went on to be judged on a live catwalk. The likes of Ken Dodd and Jean Alexander, the actress who played Hilda Ogden, were called on to pick the top cat. Rumours that it was Officer Dibble who won the auction are unfounded.

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