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Unless you're going to spend your whole time switching it's good to look for a consistent provider

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"Unless you're going to spend your whole time switching, it's good to look for a consistent provider."It is the smaller building societies and the mutuals, and other institutions such as Yorkshire, Britannia, Legal & General, Nationwide, Scottish Widows and Standard Life which tend to offer more consistently good interest rates on savings, Nanette Whitwood, of the financial data firm Moneyfacts, says. "They don't tend to launch new products just to get into the best buy tables,and then leave their other customers standing. They tend to have reasonably good rates across the board."If you want to stick to one bank for more than one type of account, pick one that appears regularly in the best-buy tables. But you still cannot afford to sit back forever, Rebecca Fearnley of the Consumers' Association, says. "Even then, it's a matter of keeping an eye on things, because if they are (in the best-buy tables now) it doesn't mean they'll stay there. Fundamentally, what we say is, shop around." WHEN SIMON Reynolds pays his credit card balance or adds to his savings, he has only one website to go to. He now banks with the Halifax subsidiary Intelligent Finance, and has used the full range of IF's offerings, current account, savings account, personal loan, credit card and mortgage.He has no mortgage, because he and his partner, Karen Heath, are renting, between selling their home in the Nottinghamshire village of Watnell, and buying another.Apart from IF's much-trumpeted financial benefit of offsetting, having linked accounts where the bank takes account of the money he has deposited before charging interest on the money he has borrowed, Mr Reynolds appreciates having everything under one roof, and being able to move money around easily.His e-business is based on graphic design and new media.

Flexible banking, where borrowing can easily be increased and repaid any time suits Mr Reynolds Some months his income is low, then a large sum will arrive. He says: "If you have no savings, it's probably no use." Mr Reynolds is dissatisfied with NatWest, part of Royal Bank of Scotland. "It's the inflexibility of dealing with a big bank I find unpalatable," he says, adding that IF has been much more friendly and accessible.CONTACTS* Cahoot: * NG Direct: 0800 376 7799* Lombard Direct: 0800 215000* Kent Reliance: 0800 783 4248* Intelligent Finance: 0845 609 4343* Direct Line: 0845 2468910* Yorkshire Building Society: 0845 1200 300* Britannia: 0800 132304* Legal & General Savings: 0845 609 0705* Nationwide: 0800 302010* Scottish Widows Bank: 0845 845 0829* Standard Life Bank: 0845 755 5657* Fiona Price: 020 7611 4700. It is hard to agree that the future's Orange. The mobile group has lost a lot of its original edge, in terms of both marketing and corporate strategy It is hard to agree that the future's Orange.

Vodafone Live! is already streets ahead on the multi-media front. And with 3, BT and Tesco among the new competitors on the scene, call prices are sure to be driven down, not up.There are short-term plaudits to be won through cost-cutting, but it is possible that in the run-up to Christmas the competitive weakness of Orange will be exposed Sell. Unilever The Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant has had a slow start to its financial year, when leading brands such as Dove soap, Flora margarine and Hellmann's mayonnaise grow by barely 3 per cent. But the good news is that the bad news is already in the price. Hints from the group suggest it will use its cash to buy back shares, supporting the price, so the stock is for the store cupboard. Croda International Croda International, the chemicals group whose products are used in suncream, air fresheners and lipstick, among scores of applications, has showed its pursuit of high margin, niche business has held it in good stead through the economic downturn Hold.

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