Cash-strapped consumers and thrifty laundrette proprietors may no longer wish to fork out the £4.48 cost of a packet of Calgon tablets after Which? found no evidence that washing machines live longer with the water-softening agent.

The consumer group simulated three years worth of washing and found that while Calgon did help to prevent the build-up of limescale, there was no evidence that it extended the life of a washing machine in “normal” washing conditions.

Which? said: “Using Calgon in every wash, the average person would spend £295 over the course of six to eight years – the time our expert believes it would take before a normal machine in an area with particularly hard water would require attention as a result of limescale build-up.

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It is easy to look for life insurance quotes online. For people who possess the determination and time in looking for excellent deals, online research tenders both massive deals as well as convenience. Similar to any kind of insurance coverage quotation, it still depends on the shoppers to check out in details the provisions and conditions to end up a pleasing product.

The provider from the insurance is an essential thing you must find before selecting a plan. You need to verify the status from the insurance agency. Ask some inquiries regarding their service proficiency and how speedy they disburse claims. You can chat to somebody that had bought an insurance plan from that company and ask him/her about the reputation of the insurance group.

In reality, you do not wish to do business with an insurance company that gives bad services to their consumers or a company that is incapable to pay your statements.

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Brazil’s national development bank BNDES’s disbursements to the chemical and petrochemical sector were up by 39% year-on-year to 1.17bn reais (US$728mn) in the first quarter of 2011, bank president Luciano Coutinho said in a press conference in Rio de Janeiro.

The number of projects approved by BNDES in the sector rose 129% to 2bn reais in Q1, while over the 12-month period to end-March, approvals climbed 28% to 35.3bn reais, a BNDES spokesperson told BNamericas.

Over the last 12 months, the bank’s disbursements to the sector have totaled 34bn reais, a 37% improvement on the previous 12-month period, the spokesperson added.

The quarterly figures for the sector, however, contrast with the overall 2% year-on-year decline in BNDES disbursements in the first quarter, which totaled 24.9bn reais.

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The downward revision, which raises the risk of a downgrade of Italy’s sovereign rating, may heighten fears that contagion from Greece’s and other European countries’ debt crisis could be spreading to the eurozone’s third-largest economy.

“In our view Italy’s current growth prospects are weak, and the political commitment for productivity-enhancing reforms appears to be faltering,” Standard & Poor’s said in a statement early on Saturday.

“Potential political gridlock could contribute to fiscal slippage. As a

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The UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 4.5% in April, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The higher-than-expected rise pushed inflation to its highest level for 30 months after a surprise fall to 4% last month. Economists had expected inflation to rise to 4.1%.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which includes mortgage interest payments, fell slightly to 5.2% from 5.3% in March.

By far the most significant driver of the rise in the cost of living was higher transport costs over the Easter holiday period. Air transport was up by 29% between March and April while sea fares rose by 22.3%.

Alcohol and tobacco rose by a record 5.3% in April.

April was the 17th month in a row that inflation has been one percentage point or more above target, forcing Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, to write an explanatory letter to the chancellor.

He blamed the rise in VAT at the beginning of the year, higher energy prices and increases in import costs.

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