Helen Nugent

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After Tesco surprised the City by announcing a £3.9 billion merger with Booker comes the news that the supermarket giant could be forced to dispose of more than 600 stores. Analysis by the data team at The Times has found 'there are 635 Tesco stores situated less than 500 metres from a shop in Booker’s network of Premier, Londis and Budgens stores, raising fears about the impact on consumers, suppliers and rivals'. In other Tesco news, Tesco Bank current account customers are to receive a guaranteed 3 per cent credit interest on balances up to £3,000 from 1 April 2017 until 1 April 2019. And current account customers will receive more Clubcard points for every £1 spent in Tesco.

Rail passengers could find it easier to buy cheaper tickets following a trial involving the overhaul of Britain's rail fares system. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, says the 16 million fares currently on offer are 'baffling' for passengers. It is commencing trials in May on a number of routes, including CrossCountry, Virgin Trains’ east and west coast services and East Midlands. The Guardian reports that 'some fares for long, connecting journeys will be removed from the system as cheaper alternatives exist, in a bid to negate the need for split ticketing to save money. Single-leg pricing will be introduced for some journeys to make it simpler for passengers to know if they would be better off buying two single tickets or a return.

It's the self assessment tax deadline today and, as with previous years, one in ten taxpayers are expected to file late and incur a penalty of £100. Now The Times reports that middle-class taxpayers have been issued with a record number of fines for errors on their returns. According to the newspaper, last year HM Revenue & Customs imposed 143,000 penalties on those who filed inaccurate information 'because it deemed them not to have taken “reasonable care” — nearly three times the 55,000 fines levied in 2012'. But it seems that these mistakes are minor.

The taxman's failure to properly pursue the UK's richest people risks undermining confidence in the entire system, according to parliament's spending watchdog. The Guardian reports that the Public Accounts Committee has concluded that Britain's super-rich appear to receive preferential treatment from HM Revenue & Customs. The MPs' report, released this morning, scrutinised HMRC’s specialist unit, which collects tax from high net-worth individuals with more than £20 million. It found that 'the amount of tax paid by this very wealthy group of individuals has actually fallen by £1 billion since the unit was set up' in 2009 – even as tax receipts rose to £23 billion.

Royal Bank of Scotland has set aside £3.1 billion ($3.8 billion) to deal with US claims that it mis-sold risky mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis. The Telegraph reports that the lender, which is still 72 per cent owned by the taxpayer, now faces a loss for 2016, the ninth year in a row that it has lost money. Yorkshire Building Society Another announcement about branch closures today. Yorkshire Building Society is to shut 48 branches in a move it partly attributes to 'an increasing desire among customers to transact digitally rather than on the high street', according to The Guardian. The news follows yesterday's announcement from HSBC which said it is closing a further 62 branches this year, on top of 55 already earmarked for closure.

There's just one story in the UK this morning: the Supreme Court has ruled that the Government cannot trigger article 50 without an act of parliament. News that parliament must vote on starting the Brexit process led to a slight drop in the pound. At the time of writing, the pound is 0.6 per cent lower against the dollar at $1.246. Against the euro, sterling is 0.3 per cent lower at €1.160. Banks A think tank has urged banks to offer basic bank accounts to people with mental health problems. At present, basic account options are offered to other vulnerable groups.

Some worrying news from consumer group Which? this morning regarding trading of personal and financial data on a 'huge scale', sometimes illegally and in breach of guidelines from the Information Commissioner's Office. The BBC reports that after contacting 14 companies that sell data, undercover Which? researchers were able to access personal information on approximately half a million people over the age of 50, including details about their salary and pensions, sometimes for as little as 4p an item. Information like this can be instrumental in helping scammers who con people out of their pension savings, or persuade them to move money from their bank accounts.

Hardly a day goes by without commentary and new research on Britain's housing market. Now the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said that the market 'stuttered' at the end of last year and has started slowly in 2017. The Guardian reports that sales activity fell in December and estate agents are less optimistic about prospects over the coming months. Rics said: 'It remains to be seen if this is a temporary setback. The number of house sales in the UK faltered in December, and predictions for expected new sales over the next three months were also pared back.

Inflation has risen more than expected and the headline rate is now at its highest level since July 2014. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit an annual rate of 1.6 per cent in December - up from 1.2 per cent the previous month. Economists had predicted an increase to 1.4 per cent. Weaker sterling since the Brexit vote has affected the cost of many prices. The ONS said that higher food prices and air fares helped to increase the CPI. Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'December’s producer price data contains a strong indicator that higher inflation is coming. Input costs rose 15.8 per cent year-on-year – the highest figure recorded for more than five years.

As fears over the state of the NHS continue to hit the headlines, new data shows that the number of people buying private medical insurance has increased significantly for the first time since the financial crisis. Figures compiled by LaingBuisson, a healthcare consultancy, and reported in The Guardian, reveal that 'after falling steeply between 2008 and 2011 and then staying flat, demand for private medical insurance cover in Britain rose by 2.1 per cent in 2015 with just over 4 million people insured'. Housing ThisisMoney reports on Rightmove's latest index which shows that house prices soared by more than 6 per cent in some parts of the country in 2016.

I'm drowning in a sea of Post-it notes. They are everywhere. Yellow, blue, orange, pink. They dominate my life to the point where, every now and then, I consolidate the lot into one big pile in the hope that will force me to deal with them. Life admin is exhausting. From the endless list of things to do jotted on said Post-it notes to the additional chores recorded in my diary and on my phone, it's a wonder I have time to earn a living. Added into the mix of 'must buy cat litter' and 'must pay lecky bill' is the myriad of personal finance-related contracts and accounts. Money management is a modern malaise now that so many of our transactions require log-ons, pin numbers, usernames and passwords.

More bumper retail results today with M&S reporting an increase in clothing and homeware sales over Christmas for the first time in two years. Surpassing expectations, sales in the division rose by 2.3 per cent. John Lewis also reported results this morning, revealing that Christmas sales increased by 2.7 per cent. Meanwhile, a demand for fresh food helped Tesco over the festive period. According to the BBC, the supermarket giant reported that Christmas like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new store openings, grew 0.7 per cent in the UK, and were up by 0.3 per cent across the group as a whole. In addition, Dunelm, the homeware retailer, has reported a 0.2 per cent rise in like-for-like sales over Christmas to £235.

Supermarkets continue to reap the benefits from our Christmas spending with two major retailers reporting record sales today. Sainsbury's said it witnessed Christmas sales of more than £1 billion across the group, adding that like-for-like sales increased 0.1 per cent in the 15 weeks to January 7. According to the BBC, this surpassed analyst expectations. It also emerged that Sainsbury's Bank plans to start selling mortgages by early 2018. Meanwhile, Lidl said it saw record sales over the Christmas period. In a sign that shoppers are visiting budget supermarkets to buy luxury items, Lidl said that lobsters were one of the best-sellers. The German chain said group sales increased 10 per cent during December.