Savings stories make way for utilities and mortgages articles in the mid-week coverage table

This mid-week’s money sections saw savings and investment stories take a tumble from their strong positions last week and utilities and mortgage stories rise in their stead, accounting for 21 per cent and 17 per cent of all articles respectively.

Despite having dealt with a series of price hikes this winter, in the Daily Mail, Lauren Thompson (@MailOnline) warned many householders to expect a surprise energy bill this month if they pay by direct debit as their fixed price may be too low. Moreover, further hikes are expected as a result of Japan’s earthquake, with gas prices already increasing.

Fortunately, these higher charges could be offset by a drop in the cost of calling mobile phones from landlines. In the Mirror, Clinton Manning (@clintonmanning) explained how Ofcom has ordered an 80 per cent cut in rates charges by mobile networks for connecting customers from rival services.

The rise in mortgage stories was partly due to the new ‘Local Lend A Hand’ scheme, covered in both the Daily Mail and the Mirror, which allows first-time buyers to put down a 5 per cent deposit on a home if their local authority agrees to put up 20 per cent as security on the property.

Another mortgage article that caught our eye was the worrying revelation in the Mirror that the number of people struggling to pay their mortgage rose by nearly 39,000 in the last quarter of 2010. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, as the number of repossessions fell in this quarter to reach the lowest level for three years.

The rest of the scores on the board were as follows:

Charity                  0%

Credit cards        4%

Fraud/scams      8%

IFAs                       0%

Insurance            21%

Investment        4%

Mortgages          17%

Pensions              7%

Property              0%

Regulation          0%

Savings                 10%

Tax                         8%

Utilities                 21%