Virtual banking shut down
Second life the virtual world where there are some weird and wonderful things going on, has been suffering from what can only be described as a financial crisis, a bit similar to the real world I suppose. But there have been rumours of some not very nice things going on in the island world that [...]
February 21, 2008Build a life from nothing
Start off with nothing but small change and a rucksack, is not everyone’s idea of getting out in the real world and try to find your way, which is not always easy.
But for one man who decided to leave all of his family’s comfortable lifestyle and made a conscious decision to not use any family [...]
Stuck in the rat race
The way that we live today is entirely different to that of a few years ago; no longer can we reply on job security or in some cases in the security of knowing that our future is safe from hardship. But there are things that can be done that will ensure that life can be [...]
February 5, 2008Bin Laden out to bankrupt the US
It could not have been timed more perfectly, right in the middle of the US lead up to the presidential elections. The message could not be any clearer, Osama bin Laden stated that it was al Qaeda’s goal to force the US into bankruptcy.
“We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point [...]
The $10 million note
With the state of the financial world as it is, the maybe we should take a look at Zimbabwe, where they have just released a $10 million note, which sounds all very grand and that, but it is not great as we think it is.
The country is suffering what could be termed as hyper [...]
Stock markets crash around the world
The world stock markets to a dive for a day running fuelling rumours of a US recession and the fallout too, which would affect virtually every other country around the world.
The US market and economy has been seriously battered for the last six months or so, with housing market problems and now with a recession [...]
Debt crisis, what debt crisis?
There are growing concerns in the States regarding the possibility of a recession happening or it is possible that there may already be the beginnings of a recession already upon us.
This follows what the top Wall Street firms Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been saying, but if we are to take notice [...]
Save energy and money
Whenever the environment is mentioned this is almost always followed by the fact that we all need to cut back on the amount of energy that we are all using as this effects the emissions released into the atmosphere and therefore goes on the cause global warming.
Here are some energy saving tips:
Lower your water [...]
Oil reaches $100 a barrel
Whatever the reason given, the troubles in Pakistan, Africa or even the weak US currency the price of a barrel of crude oil rising by over four dollars to over a $100 is not going to be good news, unless you actually own an oil field.
This may seem an insignificant bit of news, but couple [...]
Banks get cheap money
There is a real move going on to revive the world banking industry, this is being coordinated by the US Federal Reserve and involves banks from the UK, Canada, Switzerland, USA and Europe. Where they will provide billions pounds worth of loans to banks that need it, but at very attractive rates of interest, the [...]
December 7, 2007Women take control of finances
A role that has been traditionally that of the man of the house, the main earner, is being taken over by the woman. This is partly down the fact that there are more women these days who are earning more money than the man of the house, in fact in the past five years this [...]
November 20, 2007Low borrowing rocks the global markets
The global financial markets are in a dire position, the melt down which stated in the States is spreading around the world and every time there is a slight bump the whole industry flinches. Given that the property values have not really been entered into the equation, there is a very delicate situation.
With all of [...]
Barclays write off £1.3 Billion
The UK’s number one bank saw its shares fall after announcing that they would be writing off almost £1.3 billion of bad debt. This figure includes a massive £800 million loss that resulted from the now infamous US “Sub Prime” crisis in October, the other £500 million had accumulated over the third quarter of trading, [...]
November 14, 2007The UK’s inflation worries
Inflation we have lead to believe was under control, and yet the annual output price inflation has risen from 2.8% to 3.8%, this is the highest rate in twelve years! Food, chemicals and petrol are said to be the main reason for this, but considering the former Chancellor of the Exchequer is now the PM, [...]
November 12, 2007Bad news from banks this week!
The financial markets in the States are bracing themselves for some bad banking news this week as the banking sector will be reporting on its forth quarter, it is estimated that there may be as much as $20 billion in loses. This is due to the anticipated problems with the mortgage based loans and other [...]
November 8, 2007Banks put pressure on credit card users
Surprising as it may seem, in the past two months or so the banking industry has added nearly 125 different rate increases and other fees in order to obtain even more money out of their customers. This coupled with the fact that there has been a huge increase in the amount of credit card applications [...]
October 24, 2007Combining finances after marriage
Money and finances has to be one of the major causes for marriages breaking down. It is essential before entering into a situation where a couples finances are merged. Not that it is a bad thing, if a relationship is going to work then joint finances are essential.
But there are a few points that need [...]
$300 million for Forests
Some forests around the world could become eligible for some serious grants from the World Bank. The plan is to use the cash in order to prevent deforestation, which causes so much damage to local eco systems.
The program is named The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and will initially be providing up to $300 million. [...]
Virgin and Northern Rock deal struck?
The troubled bank Northern Rock has been the subject of many takeover speculations, but there has been only one serious enough to be taken as being a solid claim, that is the Richard Branson bid. It seems that he believes the Northern Rock group could be a nice addition to the Virgin Money business.
The whole [...]
No Help for failing Banks
There has been a warning from the EU regarding the use of public funds to help out banks and other financial institutions that have had some sort of financial crisis.
This all comes in the wake of the US Sub Prime crisis, the UK’s Northern Rock bank run and funding problems for two German banks too, [...]