SIX in ten households (61 per cent) are fearful of energy bills this winter, says price comparison site uSwitch.com, and 19 million households aim to cut their normal consumption.

Nearly half (48 per cent) have improved the energy efficiency of their home, and 24 per cent want to do so before the cold weather arrives.

● So many savers grabbed one-year fixed rate deals at 3.95 per cent from National Savings & Investments in October 2009, a product which was 0.20 per cent above its nearest rival and 100 per cent guaranteed by HM Treasury, that it was soon withdrawn.

Now, says Andrew Hagger, of moneynet.co.uk, money which it sucked out of banks and building societies is on the move again.

● Long-term savers are putting money into emerging markets of Asia – and gold, says Andy Parsons, advice team manager at The Share Centre. The most popular funds in September, he says , were Legal & General UK Index, First State Indian Subcontinent, Aberdeen Emerging Markets, Investec Global Gold and Invesco Perpetual Monthly Income Plus.

● Savers are missing out on £12bn a year because banks and building societies keep them in the dark about miserly interest rates, claims new research by Which? The consumer group found that almost half the 1,200 savings accounts available in the UK pay 0.5 per cent interest or less.