There is barely a week to go until the conclusion of the 2017/18 financial year, which means that, as ISA season begins to hot up, time is running out to take advantage of your ISA allowance.

The so-called Beast from the East may have subsided, but despite a welcome rise in the mercury, there is one inescapable consequence of the cold winter we've just endured - high energy bills.

There are a number of statistics which emphasise the growing generational wealth divide in the UK; such as the projection that so-called millennials will be the first in modern history to be poorer than their parents.

Investors around the world have enjoyed a remarkable run over the past 18 months, with major stock markets and headline indices soaring without relent. The Dow Jones worked its way up from the 20,000 mark a year ago to an impressive 26,616 last week. The Nikkei 225’s sharpest gains have come in the past six months, rising from around 19,500 to 24,124 at the end of January. The DAX Performance-Index shot up from under 12,000 to almost 13,600 in a similar timeframe.

On our shores, UK stocks and shares have done well to a slightly lesser extent, although the FTSE 100 has flown along from 6,021 at the time of the EU referendum to record highs of 7,778 when trading closed on 12 January 2018.

As the world's dependence on technology escalates, so too do the twin threats of fraud and cybercrime. And Brits, in particular, seem to be affected, especially so by the latter.

A study released this week by cybersecurity firm Norton revealed that cybercrime – including phishing, ransomware, online fraud and hacking - accounted for over £130bn in losses for consumers in 2017; with Britain's share amounting to a staggering £4.6bn, and around 17 million of the victims hailing from these shores.