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UK businesses big and small are getting in on Olympic funding, with some 18,000 in the running for associated contracts.

Sporting and financial attention has turned to the 2012 London Games following the success of China’s hosting of the event.

Statistics from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is overseeing the planning, show the site were tenders are published has had 18,000 registrations.

Around 7,000 main contracts and 75,000 sub-contracts are up for grabs, which will see some small and medium-sized businesses land some of the billions in set up costs.

Kevin Fisher is managing director of Portmere Rubber, which is involved in supplying materials for gates for a river through the main Olympic site in the capital.

He told businesszone that companies need to “keep an eye” on the press and government websites for details of new contracts and said many big jobs are divided up into small portions.

The future is expected to be bright for companies which can take advantage of UK sporting events.

More contracting is likely to be prompted by the 2014 Commonwealth Games, due to be held in Glasgow, and England is among the front runners to host the 2018 World Cup.

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Thousands of UK small and medium-sized businesses stand to benefit from the next Olympics thanks to a host of contracts up for grabs.

London 2012 is set to see business opportunities spring up for firms across the nation, with around 18,000 having already registered to tender.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is overseeing preparations for the event, says 90 per cent of these firms are small or medium-sized.

Experts have been giving advice as to how entrepreneurs can benefit, with some saying companies will need to be ready to deliver on big requirements.

Quoted by businesszone, Andy Webber of Lloyds TSB said it is “vitally important” for companies to ensure they have sufficient suppliers and to make sure they can cope with cashflow issues as contracts may not be paid until they are fulfilled.

Some companies are expected to be able to piggy-pack onto firms which have won big contracts and grab a slice of the action via subcontracting

The London 2012 Games are expected to cost billions of pounds with the National Lottery alone expected to cough up some £2bn towards a total of around £9bn.

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Smaller UK businesses need better business mobile contracts, with "good quality" voice services among the most important demands, according to a study.

Research by Quocirca shows more than 33 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) find using their phones at work problematic.

The study even showed companies with existing landline deals may still prefer to use a business mobile contract.

Such contracts are still the most common telecoms solutions adopted by many companies.

Mark Keenan is RadioFrame Networks general manager for Europe the Middle East and Africa.

He says business contracts will grow in significance as employees start using devices for an expanding number of software applications.

He said: "The research shows that while interest in new kinds of mobile services is high, good quality voice services and at the right price is what really matters to SMBs today."

A recent article by computer publication PC World suggested phone designers are set to produce more "daring and personal" devices in the next few years.

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Consumers need to “protect themselves better” given the economic outlook and increasing risks of redundancies, experts have said.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) was reacting to a study it conducted revealing nearly 70 per cent of UK residents would not be willing to take out payment protection insurance (PPI) to cover regular outgoings.

Around nine in 10 people also think the country’s economy is in a worse state than it was a year ago, the research showed, with around two thirds saying they would face problems if suddenly made redundant.

ABI chief economist and research director Rebecca Driver said: “Given the economic outlook and the risk of rising unemployment, people need to develop strategies to protect themselves better.”

Fifty per cent of respondents to the ABI study said they had a life insurance policy, but 39 per cent said they did not have life insurance, payment protection insurance or mortgage payment protection insurance.

ABI assistant director of health and protection insurance, Nick Kirwan, said: “It is worrying  so many people are not prepared to look at taking out protection insurance, even mortgage insurance or insurance which covers redundancy given the uncertain economic outlook.”

He added the ABI would need to “work harder” to get the message across to consumers about peace of mind and the value in income protection.

According to city analyst firm Capital Economics, middle class workers are now more likely to be taking on second jobs to make ends meet.

Typical extra work for this social group includes freelance work, selling items on eBay, designing websites and even working as chauffeurs.

Trying to save money wherever you can is important to us all. Car insurance should be no different. Do not assume that your agent knows everything about you and your vehicle.

Drivers should take advantage of all discounts that many providers offer, that can significantly reduce the cost of car insurance. Understanding discounts and how they can affect auto insurance premiums can help smart shoppers make better decisions about their coverage and possibly save themselves some money in the process.

Read below to identify possible discounts that could help you save on auto insurance this year. Other than discounts, there may be some other ways for you to save on your insurance premiums. We will go over several discounts that can help with your current situation.

First, there are discounts for Auto Safety features. Certain states will give you discounts for anti-lock breaks. Make sure you know if it is two or four wheel anti-lock break vehicle. Automatic seatbelts and airbags are frequently discounted on your insurance premiums. In most states, a defensive driver class discount may apply. If the principal driver usually 55 years old or older has completed an approved defensive driving class a discount could apply. Keep in mind that most states will only approve this class if it is voluntary meaning that it was not the result of a violation or infraction.

Some insurers will give you a discount for having multiple vehicles. In some cases, this will only apply if you have two or more drivers. If you have a clean driving record, meaning you do not have any tickets, accidents or suspensions in the last three years (some companies require five years) then you could be eligible for a safe driver’s discount.

Many companies will reward you with staying with the same insurance company for many years without any accidents reported. They will offer you a renewal discount. It makes sense, you have carried insurance with a company for several years, and have not had an accident, your insurance company likes you and wants to reward and keep your business. Some companies honor you with a discount if you had prior limits on your previous policy. They discount you because they understand you are a better risk.

Conversely, if you do decided to change insurers a proof of prior insurance discount may apply. Most insurers request at least 6 months of consecutive insurance from the previous insurer. If you are a full-time student who meets certain grade requirements and are unmarried and usually under 25 years of age (some states the age is 21) you could be eligible for a good student discount. If you own a home, including condominium, town home, or mobile home, which is used as a principal residence, a discount could apply. Military personnel either currently active or retired from any branch of the US military a discount could apply. If your vehicle is equipped with an anti-theft device, a discount could apply.

You could lower the cost of your insurance in other ways.
For people who own older cars, it may not be necessary or cost-effective to protect them with collision and comprehensive coverage. By comparing the book value of your vehicle and the premium that the insurer has offered, you may find that it cost as much for the insurance as it does for the vehicle. If the car is worth less than $2,000, you will probably spend more insuring it than it is worth. The whole idea of driving an older car is to save money, so why not get what is coming to you.

In addition, keep in mind that the type of vehicle you buy could greatly affect your premium. A flashy red sports car is usually going to cost more to insure than a mid sized sedan. This is also true of vehicles that are on the list of most stolen. There are many ways that policyholders can save on their insurance. Knowing more about auto policies and premiums can help consumers take advantage of less obvious discounts while ensuring that they have the appropriate protection for their vehicles. The last way to save is to assume more risk. If you chose higher deductible on your Personal Injury Protection or Comprehensive and collision coverage will lower your premium as well. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before your insurance company begins paying the rest.

Understanding how discounts affect your insurance rates is important to save you money.

A financial services company stated that in order to add to their disposable income a number of homeowners in the UK were making use of the beneficial equity release.

Director of financial services of Help the Aged subsidiary intune group, Mark Gettinby stated that a number of people were using the products to pay back mortgages and debts due to credit cards.

He further issued a warning that people who were interested in equity release should seek counsel and guidance before going in for a plan. As he believes that people are quite unaware of the workings of equity release.

He encouraged the public to take advice from a specialist before taking any further steps, as equity release was not to be taken lightly.

Dean Mirfin, business development director of Key Retirement Solutions voiced Mr. Gettinby’s thoughts and said that retired homeowners should seek advice in order to make sure that they don’t land up paying too much for these equity release plans.

Since providers looking for sales were highly unlikely to urge retirees in the right direction towards the best deals.

A new report suggests that nearly one in ten people who were planning to buy a house have fast forwarded their plans.

38 percent of the people, who want to buy a house, want to do it this year and nearly 34 percent are planning to buy one in 2009. This is per a survey that was conducted by fool.co.uk

Fool.co.uk’s, head od personal finance, David Kuo stated that given the current situation in the market, many people will realize their dream of buying a house. What these people should be asking is, how much can I afford to repay as against asking, how much can I borrow?

The report states that, the next five years or so will see more sellers than buyers, which means there will be five sellers for every four people who want to buy a house.

Fool.co.uk is an organisation that aims to redefine the people’s perception of finance.

A new research reported that as household budgets became tighter, millions of bills were not paid last year.

People tended to overlook the council tax in the second half of the last year and nearly 2.3 million did not pay this tax or made a late payment. This was revealed in a research that was undertaken by

YouGov for MoneyExpert.com. Also 1.3 million people found it extremely tough to pay up their energy bills as the due date.

The financial advice website further warned that with increasing gas and electricity prices in addition to the ongoing credit crisis, people may find it still harder to pay their bills on time. As a result of this many would have to face serious consequences.

Chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, Sean Gardner stated that while paying a bill late is not something quite serious, however if this becomes a habit then action would be taken.

He further adds that missing bill payments could have serious repurcussions, it could mean that you could lose that service or might even land up in court.

YouGov statistics provided by moneysupermarket.com revealed that about 3 million people in the UK did not make their credit card payments on time and thus had to shell out 35 million in fees.

Nationwide Building Society demanded that with the average savings rates falling below inflation, savers should be warned as to when introductory savings rates expire and accounts fall to low rates.

The current situation is such that some banks and building socities offer high initial rates of interest on savings. This is generally for a year, which then falls below the Bank of England’s base rate.

Nationwide is demanding that all savings providers warn customers when their account rates will go low. Customers should be also informed if better deals are available.

Rivals firms are benefiting from customer’s apathy, which means that many people do not monitor their returns on savings carefully, claims the building society.

Director for savings at Nationwide, Matthew Carter, stated that due to the savings market being so competitive many providers are eying the market share. In fact a couple of providers are more interested in making profit and achieving what is best for them rather than offering customer long term value.

He further adds that just as customers are informed about the change in their mortgage deals, this shouldn’t be any different. With so many introductory deals becoming common, the society is quite worried that it’s getting tougher for savers to make the right decision.

Moneyfacts.co.uk’s Lisa Taylor, advises savers to look into accounts with steady rates of interest instead of switching over to what seems like a better offer. She stresses on the fact that most often a simple account will provide a good return and one does not need to go through the rigmarole of dealing with complicated rules and regulations. Given the ever changing market, a good performing account will offer good returns and there’s really no need of spending endless time and effort to search the market on an on-going basis.

With the interest rate cut in December, savers have seen a lowering of rates, nearly by 0.25 percent points removed from the base rate.

Ms. Taylor further elaborated, that a number of savers have seen their rates cut down by more than twice the base rate cut.  Moreover with a couple of accounts already offering uncompetitive rates, the proportion of the rate cut down is actually much higher. Taking Halifax Liquid Gold as an example, she points out that they saw a 0.36 percent cut. The rate in November was 1.36, which means that more than a quarter of the entire rate was done away with.

Big players such as Lloyds TSB, HSBC, Abbey, Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax, NatWest and Alliance & Leicester are other lenders who have cut saving rates.

She added that many customers were keeping their hard earned savings in accounts that in the long run would not yield any value. Currently as 3.77 percent is the average savings rate of  Moneyfacts.co.uk.

In fact she said that a number of accounts that were hit the hardest were no longer marketed and were just held by loyal long standing customers. This however is an example of loyalty not being beneficial.

It is advisable that for those Britons who made a resolution this New Year to take stock and settle their financial woes, should make a 12 month budget plan.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) stated that planning ahead was always useful for people with a couple of outgoings such as annual car insurance, quarterly bills etc.

Spokesperson for CCCS, Frances Walker stated that people should sit down and plan a budget. It’s always advisable to create an annual budget and dividing it by 12 so that you properly account for things. Moreover at this time people should also think about income maximisation.

Ms. Walker said that those who paid over 20 percent of their income towards monthly repayments, were stretching limits. A single monthly payment with the help of debt consolidation was the key to reducing monthly outgoings as well as handling these situations in a better manner.

As per Credit Action statistics, the total UK debt currently sits at 1,400 billion pounds.