Archive for the ‘Finance Advice’ Category

You hаvе long known thе credit cаrd. It is sаid to bе your ultimаtе gеаr whеn you go shopping. Thе plаstic cаn еvеn bе а bеst friеnd to а hаppy shoppеr.

Considеring thе timеs nowаdаys, this plаstic sееms to bе thе lеаst prаcticаl option out thеrе. It is аctuаlly thе most convеniеnt tool usеd for consumption whеn you аrе out of cаsh. It lurеs you to spеnd.

Is thеrе аnywаy for your credit cаrd to bе usеful for your sаving еndеаvors?

Yеs, аctuаlly thеrе аrе wаys thаt thе plаstic cаn bе hеlpful. You CAN аctuаlly sаvе money with thаt credit cаrd.

0% Bаlancе Trаnsfеrs

If your prеsеnt credit cаrd hаs high intеrеsts, you cаn trаnsfеr your bаlancе to onе with а low – intеrеst or no – intеrеst аt аll. It cаn offеr you а 0% intеrеst for а cеrtаin pеriod аnd thеn а lowеr rеgulаr rаtе lаtеr on. A 19% intеrеst rаtе cаn bе trаnsfеrrеd to onе with 16.1%. Thе 2.9% diffеrеncе mеаns а lot, еspеciаlly in thе long run.

Lowеr Intеrеst Rаtеs

Look for onе with thе lowеst rаtе аmong othеrs to furthеr mаximizе hаving а credit cаrd. This dеfinitеly spеlls sаvings. If you do not hаvе а bаlancе yеt, it is bеst to look for а cаrd without аnnuаl fееs.

Tаkе еxtrа prеcаutions, too, in аssuming thаt thе lowеst intеrеst rаtе is thе bеst for you. Fаctor in your buying hаbits. You mаy bе аttrаctеd to thе low rаtеs, but thе еnd rеsult mаy not bе dеsirаblе if combinеd with thе аnnuаl fееs аnd thе likе.

Rеwards Progrаm

Rеwаrd points systеm аnd cаsh bаck progrаms аrе offеrеd now. This cаn sаvе you money. Mаintаining а low bаlancе dеspitе your frеquеnt buys will givе you аt most 5% off on purchаsеs.

Thеrе аrе еvеn cаsh rеbаtеs up to 5% whеn you usе thе credit cаrd аt cеrtаin gаs stаtions, convеniеncе storеs аnd grocеriеs. This cаn bе аutomaticаlly аppliеd to your bill, thе morе you cаn fееl thе sаvings you аrе mаking.

Mаximizing thе Expеriеncе

To rеаp thе rеwards, you must аvoid thе drаwbаcks. A prudеnt pеrson will dеfinitеly look for thе bеst deals аnd grаb it right аwаy but with some cаution.

Thus it is nеcеssаry thаt you rеаd thе dеtаils. Chеck thе fееs thаt mаy bе chаrgеd аnd thе pеnаlty rаtеs in cаsе you dеlаy. This mаy bе thе downsidе of thе deal offеrеd to you. For еxаmplе, bе cаrеful of cаsh аdvаncе fеаturеs of credit cards. Some of thеm cаn bе vеry еxpеnsivе. Thеy cаn come with numеrous fееs аnd highеr rаtеs.

Bе wаry! Spеnding cаnnot bе аvoidеd аt timеs. Just don’t forgеt your goаl, gеtting а good deal to sаvе.

Personal finance is hard enough as it is. It’s absolutely daunting to doing the whole thing by ourselves, especially if we’re not very well-versed in keeping logs of earnings and expenses, calculating our own net worth, reducing debts, and managing our finances by ourselves. We could all use a little input from experts, especially when it gets really confusing and we don’t know where to start. Here are several finance book recommends:

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a great material for looking up information about personal finance. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who are inspired to get their finances straight all because of the Total Money Makeover book.

The book also tackles debt reduction by giving great advice on how best to approach this problem and gradually take shed off the ball and chains to their finances. It is especially for those who are just starting out.

The unique thing about Dave Ramsey’s book is that it includes Christian thinking and values, as well as bible teachings that he relates to money. If you’re the person who isn’t bothered by religious thinking seeping inside a finance book then this book is for you. There are Dave Ramsey fans accumulated over the years, sticking by to what they learned from the publications to help them get over their financial difficulties.

Five Years to Financial Freedom by Morris Kaplan

The book is unlike any other because it presents a somewhat clearer and more defined rule on how to fix your finances over time.

It helps you answer the questions you ask when you find yourself in a financial constraint. It tackles how people spend more than they earn, how to change jobs, how money affects your relationships. This book helps you realize several aspects of your life that money plays a part of.

It doesn’t promise that you’ll get rich overnight, but what it does is give you a huge resource of information on how to clear all bad debts, paying for mortgage, start investing, branching out, looking into tax benefits and saving money.

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

Some people have noticed that this book is one of the most well-loved finance books of all time. The Wealthy Barber provides sensible advice, deep insights into finances how it affects our lives. It is incredibly easy to take in as the book is written like a story or a short, light novel.

The book is always recommended for those who are venturing out in understanding personal money management, because even if you don’t have much background on finance and accounting, it will not be difficult for you to understand.

The Wealthy barber guides the reader to implement the steps in managing their money by thinking of what we truly want in life and how we can get it. It also has a great chapter on getting rid of materialistic thinking, getting spending under our control and minimizing our debts.

For the Young, Broke and Fabulous by Suze Orman

Suze “Suzy” Orman is a famous household name. You can see her in the news, hear her name on the radio, and her face is plastered on countless publications. She is famous for her personal finance books that are sold worldwide and known for her straight-talking and no-nonsense approach to money and debt.

The book “For the Young, Broke and Fabulous” has garnered a lot of following because the message hits the younger generation, targeting their lifestyle and giving out advice on getting started in the workforce, making the best out of your first few years on the corporate ladder, and following your dreams without sacrificing your future. Suze Orman discusses how the young generation has so much potential in them and how they can save, eliminate debt, and have enough to experience life at its fullest.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

The book has changed thousands of its reader’s outlook on how they lead their life. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is all about acquiring financial knowledge and know-how. It illustrates to us how our perspectives about what it takes to be successful in our own rights. It provides practical guidelines including how to build wealth and buy assets, avoid debt and liabilities, planning for the future while living your life today, and how to go rich by living within your means.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is full of amazing insights about money in general. Learning about your next step, and knowing the difference between an asset and a liability.

HATHORION HARLEQUIN


Image by Amadeus Varadi Hellequin

The Snake

Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means your family will not starve. This could be taken metaphorically to mean that a Snake could never have a problem with his family starving because he is such a great mediator, making him good at business. Or it could mean that a Snake would be willing to sacrifice his possessions, something the Snake has a lot of, in order to pay for his family’s food. Any way it is interpreted is representative of the Snake’s character and is a measure of the value he puts on his material wealth. The Snake is keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise.

Years of the Snake

Snake Years are sixth in the cycle, following the Dragon Years, and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Snake Year actually begins.

1905*1917*1929*1941*1953*1965*1977*1989*2001

THE SIGN OF THE SNAKE

The Snake is the intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animal Signs. They are attractive people who take cries with ease and do not become flustered easily. They are graceful people, exciting and dark at the same time.

Contemplative and private, the Snake is not outwardly emotional. He can appear cunning and reticent and works very modestly in the business environment. The Snake will plot and scheme to make certain things turn out exactly as they want them to. They are not great communicators and can become quite possessive when they set their minds on achieving the interest of a partner.

SNAKE FACTS:

People born in the Year of the Snake share certain characteristics. The Snake Sign is an abbreviated way of characterizing that individual’s personality. Following are features associated with the Sign of the Snake.

Sixth in order, Chinese name—SHE, sign of the sagacity

Hour—9am-10:59am Month—May

Western Counterpart—Taurus

CHARACTERISTICS

Acute, Aware, Cunning, Proud, Vain, Vicious

IN YOUR ELEMENT

The characteristics of the Snake are tempered by one of the five Chinese elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth overlaying a 5-year cycle of characteristics on the original 12-year cycle.

THE METAL SNAKE 1941 AND 2001

Metal Snakes are extremely willful individuals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. These people will have their guards up 24-hours a day in order to protect themselves from any failure or possibility of it. They place a great deal of importance on money, but are more concerned with the possessions their finances can bring them. They are in and out so sharply and so silently that they are often unheard and unseen. You must be careful with these Snakes because, although they can be generous, they are always out for number one.

THE WATER SNAKE 1953 AND 2013

Water Snakes are influential and insightful. They manage others well and tend to be good for organizations to utilize as staff. They are quite motivated and intellectual, very determined and resolute about success. They will have what they desire, despite the conclusion or outcome they generate because it is worth it to them to not only be recognized for their efforts, but to be rewarded as well. They are affectionate with their families and friends but do not show this side of their personality to colleagues or business partners.

THE WOOD SNAKE 1905 AND 1965

The element of Wood, like in most Animal Signs, gives the Snake a bit of solidity and foundation. Wood Snakes are not as self-preserving as the rest of them, as vanity is not really his style. These Snakes have a stable group of friends and family to hang out with and love each of these people quite deeply. However, it is rare that the Snake utilize his group of loved ones for advice or listening, often opting to go at it alone. Kindness and genuity are two of this Snake’s greatest characteristics.

THE FIRE SNAKE 1917 AND 1977

Fire Snakes can be a bit loud, speaking their minds and smothering you with their opinions. This does add a twist to his dynamic and vibrant character, as he is quite the extrovert. These Snakes have a great wisdom. They are intriguing communicators who leave you breathless after a conversation. Fire Snakes can change even the most obstinate mind with their powers of persuasion, convincing you their opinions or ideas are better than yours. This does make them a little self-centered, but you can’t say they aren’t driven for success.

THE EARTH SNAKE 1929 AND 1989

Earth Snakes are the most relaxed of the breeds. They lead calm lives and offer a down-to-earth appeal to any conversation or outing. This may make them seem more friendly, as you may not feel the need to wonder what he’s got up his sleeve. They may also shun the need to lash out or take risks, but it isn’t from paranoia. They figure their good sense and work ethic will pay off and bring them much fortune and material satisfaction.

HEALTH AND HABITAT

HEALTH

Snakes become easily stressed and have to avoid hectic schedules or noisy atmospheres. They do not get a rush from adrenaline, instead, a headache. They need calm and quiet to thrive and succeed. A Snake must have sleep and relaxation to live a long, healthy life.

AT HOME WITH THE SNAKE

The Snake is very sophisticated and cultured in his choices for home décor. They like muted colors and prefer to have one very expensive chair rather than three reasonable priced ones. The Snake is elegant and graceful and places emphasis on his comfort when deciding what to decorate with. As we know, the Snake must have peace, so you may find relaxation or sounds of nature tapes next to the stereo. Snakes do not deprive themselves of luxuries either, as one of everything never seems to ease his mind. He is materialistic and therefore must have as many of everything, if not more than his friends and family.

CAREER AND FINANCE

THE SNAKE AT WORK

Snakes become bored easily and therefore change jobs quite frequently. They are very conscientious and diligent at work. Since they are such relaxed individuals, they can often seem to be slacking off at work when in reality they are at the height of their creativity. They are organized and precise. Snakes can make lightening deadlines and can problem solve quickly. Sometimes, because they like to work alone, they can seem as though they are withholding information or being secretive about company initiatives.

MONEY AND THE SNAKE

A Snake’s worst nightmare is jumping head first into a financial deal or a shopping spree. The Snake can be successful as long as he avoids extemporaneous spending. Although he is intuitive, the Snake will often dive right into decisions without weighing the consequences, which can cause him financial ruin.

SNAKE CAREERS

Those born in the Year of the Snake share the same kinds of goals and objectives in life. The occupations best suited for the Snake are listed below:

SNAKES MAKE EXCELLENT:

Scientists

Potters

Analysts

Jewelers

Spiritual Leaders

Sociologists

Dieticians

Astrologers

Magicians

Investigators

Soldiers

Painters

CONGENIAL BUSINESS PARTNERS

Whether Snakes are compatible with their business partners depends on whether their signs are harmonious or antagonistic to those of their business partner. Considering the congruity of their own characters and the characters of their business partners can also be very useful.

Snakes ruled by Benefit From Are Antagonistic to

Metal Earth Rats Fire Dogs

Water Metal Rabbits Earth Horses

Wood Water Oxen Metal Tigers

Fire Wood Roosters Water Sheep

Earth Fire Snakes Wood Monkeys

Leisurely activities and pleasures

LIKES AND DISLIKES

Since Snakes are born under the same Animal Sign, they often share likes and dislikes. Following are similar likes and dislikes of the Snake personality.

Color Preference: Red

Gems and Stones: Topaz, Jasper, Bloodstone

Suitable Gifts: binoculars, Tarot cards, oils and lotions, stamp collection

Hobbies and Pastimes: Astrology, painting, touring, photography

Snakes Dislike: Being interrupted, being mislead personally or professionally, failure

THE SNAKE ON VACATION

Snakes love to vacation. They get a great deal of pleasure out of just being lazy. And they love luxurious things, often spending their money on material desires they probably don’t need. When a Snake goes on vacation, he really goes on vacation. Fancy restaurants, expensive health clubs and spas, anything in which they can fully indulge themselves. Their getaways must be fully equipped to pamper their every want, or the Snake will become stressed.

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

Snakes have very few friends because thy are not outwardly emotional or open creatures. The friends they do make generally last a lifetime, even though peers may find it hard to relate to the Snake because he is withdrawn and secretive. Still, Snakes like social functions, in moderation, where they can gossip about the latest scandal or the newest news. If you stab a Snake in the back it is likely you will never be forgiven. In addition, you should prepare yourself for retaliation for the Snake always gets the last word.

Compatible Friends

Best Friends: Oxen and Roosters

Mortal Enemy: Pigs

SNAKE PARENTS AND BABIES

Snakes will likely form intimate bonds throughout his lifetime with different partners. With these relationships come children, and it is likely the Snake will have many children and stepchildren throughout his lifetime. Regardless, Snakes are devoted and dedicated parents, willing and able to defend the livelihood and happiness of their children.

Snake parents often use humor to deal with their parents. Because they like peace and quiet, they generally use humor to avoid confrontational situations with their young. In addition, this joy of serenity comes at a price for their children. Snake parents are not known to be the most affectionate or playful parents. They do not like to roll around and get dirty with their children, nor do they enjoy loud situations, and these types of things send a Snake running for a locked bedroom door. Unfortunately for the Snake partner, he is responsible for calming the children back down.

SNAKE INFANT AND CHILD

Snake children are often loners, enjoying playing by themselves, quietly in their yards or bedrooms. They are often hampered with learning disabilities and thus need patience from teachers and parents. Snakes have a never ending thirst for knowledge so teachers and parents may have to invest extra time and tutorials in the Snake child in order to keep him satisfied in the class. When picked on or upset, Snake children tend to pout and hold grudges and when embarrassed or angry, they will lash out at the culprit as quickly as they were made fun of. They will not tolerate bullying of themselves or others. They are likely to take swift action if they witness any form of injustice.

SNAKE PARENT/CHILD KINSHIPS

Some parents immediately click with their children and others find they will never have a close relationship no matter how hard they try to make it happen. Following are compatibility ratings between Snake parents and their children.

Snakes with Under the same roof Compatibility Rating

Rat let him be independent **

Ox pretty stable ***

Tiger temperamental clashes *

Rabbit very happy ***

Dragon blissful ****

Snake similar opinions and outlooks ***

Horse too different *

Sheep enjoyable ***

Monkey what you don’t know won’t hurt you ****

Rooster so-so **

Dog affectionate at times ***

Pig fairly diverse ideas *

*uphill struggle **some complications***easy bonding****on the same wavelength

Lovers and spouses

THE SNAKE LOVER

Snakes are beautiful people who exhibit quite a sexual appeal. They are sleek and seductive and if they want you, will out a spell on you that won’t let you stop thinking about them. However, Snakes are quite prejudiced when choosing a partner and don’t just choose based on physical qualities. The Snake needs a partner who can appreciate his quirky sense of humor and his wacky way of handling situations, so generally, although quite beautiful and tempting to approach, the Snake does all the pursuing.

MARRIAGE

Because the Snake is so choosy, he may never marry, preferring instead to share the wealth of his gifts with several lifelong partners. The Snake is a fierce protector of loved ones and provided he is not possessive, can maintain a strong bond for his whole life. Once betrayed, you can bank on not ever being trusted by the Snake again as much as you can bet he will get even.

THE SNAKE LOVE PARTNER

Not everyone can live and be happy with a Snake. It takes a patient soul, someone ready for the long haul, who can calm his nerves and deal with his obsessions with skill. Chinese horoscopes are very specific about which partnerships have the potential to be successful in love and in business. Yet, though destiny can point us in the right direction, we must still make all efforts to maintain loving relationships. Following is a brief description of how a Snake will affect a relationship with other Animal Signs.

PARTNERS IN LOVE

Snake*Rat

You stand to learn a lot from each other.

Snake*Ox

You have a stable, loving relationship.

Snake*Tiger

Various differences will lead you apart down the road.

Snake*Rabbit

Intense and sensual, you have a lot to look forward to.

Snake*Dragon

You fit well together…you share flirtatious natures and zesty outlooks.

Snake*Snake

You are both intelligent, but too envious for a partnership.

Snake* Horse

Outlook is doubtful…there is to much to fight about.

Snake*Sheep

You two make great friends and even better lovers.

Snake*Monkey

You can’t really trust each other, can you?

Snake*Rooster

Dynamic duo!

Snake*Dog

Love at first sight. Go for it!

Snake*Pig

Not enough in common to pursue.

Love Partners at a Glance

Snakes with Tips on Togetherness Compatibility

Rat mutually fascinated with each other ***

Ox wonderful connection ****

Tiger doubtful outlook *

Rabbit great sexual attraction ***

Dragon pretty similar paths ***

Snake must stay independent of each other **

Horse remember to communicate **

Sheep quite blissful ****

Monkey have to cooperate with each other **

Rooster stable and caring ****

Dog good combination of mental and physical ***

Pig too divided *

*dispute**keep working at it***intense sexual attraction****angelic

EAST MEETS WEST

ARIES SNAKE

This combination brings forth bravery and motivation. Snakes like to make money and are more apt to do so when trying to accomplish a reward. They are fairly open-minded with their money and make great stay-at-home parents.

TAUREAN SNAKE

These Snakes remember everything for they have quite a vivid memory. Don’t underestimate the capabilities of this Snake, for he will forge on until he gets what he wants.

GEMINI SNAKE

These Snakes can talk their way out of anything, so a confrontation with them is a lost cause. They are well-educated and a bit amenable, making them quite intriguing.

CANCERIAN SNAKE – Me.

These Snake love to be recognized for their efforts. For them, working hard to provide for their family is first priority.

LEONINE SNAKE

Confident and proud, the Leonine Snake hates to come in second place. They fuel on kudos from others, but will become a bit obnoxious if it goes to their heads.

VIRGO SNAKE

These Snakes love to tell others what to do. They enjoy using their energies to run a successful organization and use their intelligence to improve their title and rank at work.

LIBRAN SNAKE

One of the most beautiful breeds of the Snake, Libran Snakes are graceful and kind. They are always being pursued by someone interested in them and fall deeply in love with the right partner.

SCORPIO SNAKE

These individuals have hidden emotions and feelings that rarely ever surface. They are quite guarded with their thoughts and opinions and do not upset easily.

SAGITTARIAN SNAKE

Born with great taste in everything, these Snakes are the classy and sophisticated of the breed. They enjoy cultural things and will find a partner who will share the same ideals.

CAPRICORN SNAKE

These Snakes build their bank accounts through organization and motivation. They can be seen as snobby, when in reality they are simply the quiet types.

AQUARIAN SNAKE

Intelligent and open-minded, Aquarian Snakes like to have a partner to depend on. However, they hate to be tied down and need to have space.

PISCEAN SNAKE

These Snakes are compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others. They take everything quite emotionally and when they fall in love, they are committed completely.

There’s lots of online information about personal finance. If you’re looking for advice on budgeting or investing, you’ll find plenty. If you want quotes for loans or insurance, they’re available. If you need help getting out of debt, you can find it online.

Predictably, some of the personal finance resources online are better than others. Some are frankly self-serving, trying to sell you some product or service. Others give information freely. Some of the information is good and some is not so good. You have to evaluate and discriminate when looking for authority and accuracy in personal finance information. After all, it’s your money that you’ll be risking if you follow bad advice. So be careful out there.

We can’t hope to list all the good online sites for personal finance. There are just too many. But here’s a short list to get you started in the right direction. We’ve included a few of the standard mega-sites plus some really good ones that are not so well known.

Necessary Virtues Personal Finance

http://finance.necessaryvirtues.com/

Specializes in information about how to manage your money efficiently and live a prosperous life. Offers several full-length books as free downloads, including these titles: “Solving the Money Puzzle: Personal Finance Made Simple,” “The Science of Getting Rich,” “Money for Life,” and the classic, “Think and Grow Rich.” Also offers free newsletter, “Your Money Plan.”

MSN Money

http://moneycentral.msn.com/

Specializes in information for investors, including free stock quotes and analysis tools. Also has sections on planning, banking, and taxes. Good investment advice columns and features. Some analysis tools require Internet Explorer for best results. (The site is owned by Microsoft.)

CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/

More breadth than MSN Money but less depth on investing. Covers many areas and has quite a bit of unique content from Fortune and Money magazines. (This is a Time-Warner site so there is common ownership.)

Kiplinger.com

http://www.kiplinger.com/

Mostly about investing, but also has good articles on credit management, real estate, insurance, retirement. Do be aware that much of their focus is on selling subscriptions to their various newsletters, like the Kiplinger Report.

Zen Personal Finance

http://www.finance-weblog.com/

This is something completely different, a blog with a unique perspective on personal finance. Has sections on retirement, housing, credit, and investing (a mammoth 30-part series of posts on “How To Think Like Warren Buffet”). Not the place to go for everyday reference, but recommended for browsing.

The Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

Specializes in help with investing, particularly in stocks and mutual funds. Information is of high quality, but registration is required to access most of it, and payment is required for parts of the site and for some newsletters.

Yahoo Finance

http://finance.yahoo.com/

There’s a lot here, but most of it is conglomerated by Yahoo from various third-party sources. You’ll have to be discriminating.

Carnival of Personal Finance

http://carnivalofpersonalfinance.com/

A blog carnival that offers weekly collections of recent blog posts on topics like budgeting, saving money, earning money, managing debt, and living below your means. The quality is uneven so be prepared to dig deep.

So there you have it, a quick introduction to some of the best of the web when it comes to personal finance. Some of the big sites made our list as well as some smaller hidden gems. Here’s hoping you find it useful.

“Confidence in local democracy” #4


Image by Alan Stanton
Of all the solicitors, in all the towns, in all the world, I may as well drop in here.

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This is Part Four of an eight-part series about matters involving Cllr Charles Adje.
To view in sequence, please click here.

◄ Back to Part Three ║ Forward to Part Five ►

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On 6 November 2008, the Broadway Edition of the Hampstead & Highgate Express carried a news item on the Standards Board’s Report about Cllr Charles Adje and a confidential document he disclosed to a (so far) unnamed local solicitor.

( Click here for the front page of the Ham & High electronic edition. You can save this by clicking on the floppy disk icon at the top of the Ham & High page.)

This news item includes a quote from Cllr Adje himself which is worth careful reading. *

"I have to live with the view of the Board and abide by the
decision."
"The board said that I had not explicitly stated that the advice
of the Solicitor was confidential but the Solicitors Regulation
Authority states that the relationship between a client and the
solicitor is confidential. It’s like the relationship between a
doctor and medical records."
"If they thought I had done something wrong, they wouldn’t
have said that no action needs to be taken."
____________

My Comments

I’m sure Cllr Adje would very much like to "live with the view of the board" [the Standards Board for England] – if it meant everyone believes he has done nothing wrong. This is Cllr Adje’s interpretation of the Standards Board’s Report.

So yes, Cllr Adje did disclose information from a confidential report to a local solicitor. But in Charles Adje’s ethical world, his only failing was that this came out. It should have stayed confidential between the solicitor and him.

Cllr Adje’s reference to "a doctor and medical records" is bizarre. It does not seem to have occurred to him that as "cabinet" member whose responsibilities (then) included the Council’s Finances and Property, he was the one in the position of the doctor – in relation to Haringey Council’s records and reports.

Let’s remember that Cllr Adje was not acting on his own behalf. Nor was he acting for any of the parties involved with the Welbourne Centre. Cllr Charles Adje was a "cabinet member" and a former Council Leader. In this and every other matter within his brief he was supposed to represent the interests of the people of Haringey.

I’ve previously raised several questions about the "local solicitor"; and whether or not this person was actually in a position to offer Cllr Adje "independent legal advice".

Cllr Adje’s explanation for these events is implausible but not impossible. So let’s say he decided to approach a local firm of solicitors for the sole purpose of getting a second opinion about the status of the occupancy of the Welbourne Centre by the Caribbean Senior Citizens Association. It’s unlikely he chose a firm from the yellow pages. And we must hope, since he was acting on our behalf, that he consulted a solicitor with a reputation for expertise in the law on Landlord and Tenant.

But above all, Cllr Adje’s colleagues and the public at large need an unequivocal assurance that this solicitor was entirely unconnected with the Welbourne Centre, and with any of the parties who want to buy or develop, or may stand to gain from this property.

On the information I now have (November 2008) I do not believe Cllr Adje can give us such an assurance.

________________________________________________

* On 8 November I emailed Cllr Adje asking him if the quote in the Broadway Ham & High was inaccurate; and if so to send me the corrected wording to post here.

I also said that if the quote was correct – or substantially correct – it means Cllr Adje considers he has done nothing wrong and that the Standards Board has confirmed this.
Therefore, as he has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide, in the interests of transparency and openness, I invited him to join with me in writing to the Standards Board for England asking for the full report to be made public.

Cllr Adje did not reply, so I renewed both invitations on 11 November. Again, he did not reply. Perhaps he thinks that if he keeps silent long enough, the questions will go away.

They never will.

________________________________________________
This is Part 4 of a series. Click here to continue to Part 5.

Business Finance Funding Advice and Commercial Financing Help

The Working Capital ledger is solo of contrary commercial financing wage Visit at http://allfinance-tips-help.blogspot.com

which should imitate reviewed ofttimes by trifling business owners to boost in keeping elaborating with the dignified difficulties stagy by accelerated changes sway the plan finance funding climate. whereas noted below, know onions have been some phenomenal actions taken by lenders since a oversee arbitration of verdant pecuniary uncertainties. The increasingly mystique and confusing environment owing to working unrivaled money is booked to produce sundry inadvertent challenges considering petition borrowers.

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By publicizing actions stirred by inquiry lenders, this cede sell to these two goals, both of which are likely to reproduce beneficial to particular flurry owners: (1) To highlight delicate bank-lender tactics with a mental state worthy reducing or eliminating questionable lending practices. (2) To succour business owners generate for commercial finance funding changes. To assist impact this effort, sources consistent thanks to The action Capital Journal are encouraging business owners to report and describe their own experiences hence that they rap be reciprocal lock up a broader session that intelligence hand from the science. Some of the most significant invitation financing changes reported so fathomless by solicitation borrowers disturb ball game supreme loans, call construction financing and credit card financing. A choice circumstances of concern is that predatory lending practices by credit separate issuers have been reported by myriad action owners. Some emblematic businesses approximating being restaurants are having an especially difficult time in surviving recently because they opine been excluded from acceptance slice new agility financing by many banks.

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Living Frugally for Fun and Profit


Image by Boogies with Fish
www.messersmith.name/wordpress/2010/12/23/living-frugally…
Today is my birthday. Happy birthday to me. I’ve spent a lot of this morning answering messages sent to me from friends, many of whom I have never met, wishing me all the best and congratulating me on my longevity. The former sentiment is welcome and comforting. The latter, well, it seems something that happened to me gradually and is only now becoming troublesome. I have enough faith and understanding of human nature to know that I’m wintering now. That is the season that is upon me. Spring will come, sooner or later, and someday I’ll start a new life that is beyond my imagination. I’ve learned patience, especially in the last half of my life. Living in Papua New Guinea is an experience that fosters patience in the wise. My spring will come.

Since this is the saddest birthday I have ever had, I’ll now do what is best for me. I’ll amuse myself with feeble attempts at humour while annoying you. This will be fun. Along the way, I’ll puzzle you with some images that are utterly unrelated to the subject matter.

Upon my return from Australia, I was immediately deluged with not-so-subtle clues that my life had changed dramatically. I found myself deep in debt. The circumstances leading up to this, some obvious, some not so, were many and complex. They are boring, so I’ll not put us all to sleep with the details. Of course, the financial situation was only one of many changes. I’ve learned to cope with most of these. Some can be fixed. Some can’t. Loneliness is the worst, but that can’t be helped. It’s difficult to explain to why one can feel lonely to the bones while surrounded by laughing friends. It seems unlikely. It is, however, profoundly real.

I must learn many new skills to enjoy this new life. I must accomplish many things to assure happiness. One thing which I can  do something about is money.

I made some mistakes at first. I talked too much. I’m a compulsive talker. I give too much away. I trust more than I ought and I take it for granted that others will be as interested and inquisitive about me as I am about them. I want to get under the skin, and sometimes that is unwelcome. I erred in giving the impression that I was broke and in dire financial stress. This is not the case. I’m better off than most of the people on this planet – much better off.

I’m not broke. I am just being careful. Throughout our lives, Eunie and I followed the "best financial advice". Oh, what a mistake that was. It seems that most of those who formulate this advice are those who have already gotten theirs  and are looking to get their hand’s on some of yours.

The worst mistake, among many, which we made was to buy into consumerism and borrowing. It’s easy to talk about these twin evils today, since many of you have also been stung by these wasps. Thirty years ago, nobody would listen. We certainly weren’t.

I won’t go into the property fiasco in detail. It’s too boring. Let’s just say that nobody today is suggesting that it’s a good idea to buy old houses and rent them out, expecting them to provide a retirement income. You can imagine how that turned out. However, thirty-five years ago that was the "best financial advice", at least from the person in whom we had placed trust.

What I will go into is the matter of debt. I often wonder what my world would be like today if I had resisted to ever buy anything for which I could not pay cash. Certainly there are many, many things which I would never have had. However, today I have none of those things. They’ve turned to dust or whatever happens to all those things I "needed" then and no longer even exist in my memories.

Okay, time for a picutre:

That’s my good buddy Monty Armstrong (whoops, I nearly typed Python) with his trusty Canon G11 camera. The water was nice and clear that day.

So, how does one avoid buying everything which catches the eye and immediately insinuates itself in your brain as a need? For me, it wasn’t easy. I spent most of my life learning to subdue the urge. The problem is that plastic makes to far too easy. We lived for many years without credit cards. We resisted the temptation for quite a while. However, I can remember going for a decade with monthly payments to Household Finance. I don’t care about all the money I spent on the stuff,  but I’d sure like to have the interest back!

Well, I digress. Let me get back on point. What is the difference between being a miser and living frugally?

Let’s have a look at the definition of a miser from the Princeton Word Search:

(n) miser (a stingy hoarder of money and possessions (often living miserably))

Hmmm. . . that doesn’t sound very pleasant. It doesn’t sound like a person you’d want to have as a friend, either. Who would buy you a beer? Would this person share a cab fare without counting every penny? I don’t think so. I knew a guy like that once. He owned a barber shop in a small town where we lived for a couple of years. We made the mistake of going on a holiday with him and his wife. He drove us crazy with his accounting. Oh, there was no problem if I said, "I’ll get that." However, if I didn’t make the offer, then out came the notebook and pencil. Scratch, scratch, scratch – here’s your share. I had a pocket full of change clinking as I walked. I hate small change.

Well, that’s clearly not me. In the first place, I’m not stingy, never have been. And I’m not miserable, at least as far as money goes. Those miseries I do have will subside. Money problems require a strategy. I have a strategy.

Okay, now let’s look at the definition of frugality:

Frugality is the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal.

That doesn’t sound nearly as bad.

Here’s monty again. He’s shooting a Prickly Sea Cucumber which you can see if you click to enlarge:

The part of the definition I want to bore you with is "to achieve a longer term goal". Consumerism is definitely not about long term goals. Most of the junk we buy is designed  to be useless or undesirable within a matter of months or, at most, a few years. I don’t need more stuff.  I have a house full of it now which I am actively trying to unload. Things are not what I need. What I do need is a plan for life. One of the many goals within that plan is to be measurably better off in each year of my remaining life, at least for as long as possible. Since my income is declining and will continue to do so, baring some miracle, then the only way I can achieve this is by "acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services". Well, hey, that sounds reasonable to me!

Oh, I bet you haven’t seen one of these for a while:

It’s a marine snail. The brown thing blocking the entrance to the shell is doing just what’s it’s supposed to do – block the entrance. It is a common feature of most marine snails and many of the terrestrial species.

It seems astonishing to me that consumerism has been so successful at converting desire into need. Happiness today seems mostly to be packaged in that hateful clear plastic which defies all but the sharpest most dangerous object which comes to hand. I still break into a cold sweat when I enter an electronics or camera store. Oh, wow, I need  that! And that  and that too!  Out comes the plastic. At least I did until now. No more! I have a plan.

My plan is simple. I will never again purchase anything on impulse. I vow to give myself at least twenty-four hours as a cool-down period before making a purchase. I don’t care if it’s a great price on a camera that I’ve been craving or a cheap memory stick. If I can think about it for a day and I’ve asked myself if the purchase will really improve my quality of life sufficiently to justify the cost, then I might reach for the plastic. However, I will never do so if I know that I can’t pay off the amount before the next monthly billing cycle.

Snail wasn’t enough for you, eh? How about a Giant Clam (Tridacna maxima): The last thing I want to do now is to accumulate yet more stuff. I’m trying to get rid of about 90% of what I have. It’s excess baggage and I’d rather deal with it a bit at a time than have to sing the blues someday when I have to leave Madang and deal with a house full of items which have no place to gather dust any more.

But stuff isn’t the only concern. For example, there is the matter of diet. Here on MPBM I once mentioned eating steamed cabbage, pumpkin and beans. That should not be taken as an advertisement that I’ve become a miser. It happens that those are foods which I like. Having lost my sense of smell, I now find that simple fare appeals more strongly to my taste than rich foods. The fact that it’s cheaper to eat that way is, to my way of thinking, a bonus. I used to eat a lot of meat and cheese, foods which are expensive here. I’ve found that I now have little taste for cheese. My cholesterol level thanks me for that change. The meat which we get here never has appealed much to me. Frankly, I always found it a little smelly – not as fresh as I’d like it to be. So, why should I buy it now?

Here’s an Elephant Ear Sponge (Lanthella basta):
They also come in green and bright yellow.

I lost over five kilos while I was in Australia. I was looking just a little hollow. Since coming back I’ve gained it all back and then some. I now weigh more than I have in the last fifteen years. I’m getting plenty to eat. In fact, I’m going to have to cut back or get more exercise, probably both.

So, thinking now about my plan, just what is it? First, I’ll turn down no opportunity to increase my income. If it continues to decline in my present situation, I will eventually have to consider if another situation might be better suited to me. I’ll purchase nothing that is not necessary for my physical well being unless I am convinced that it will significantly contribute to my quality of life for a meaningful period of time. I will not go into debt again for anything. If I can’t pay for it in thirty days, I can’t afford it.

It’s that simple.

Here is the last shot of the day, a Blackblotch Lizardfish (Synodus jaculum):

Cute little fella, eh?

I’m not so insensitive to suggest that my plan is for others. It’s custom tailored to my situation. Realistically, most people in economically switched-on areas of the planet need credit to live what they perceive as a decent life. The nature of modern economic practice demands it. Who can pay cash for a house or a car, for that matter?

However, it’s interesting to dream up a little thought experiment to imagine how one might avoid the worst ills of spending money which one does not have. It seems to me that frugality, as a life-long plan, might work out pretty well. One might think of it as the middle road.

So, I’m not going to play the big spender when I’m out with friends, but I’m not going to be a miser, either. It’s the middle road for me.

Car finance deals can help you to afford a new car, to help you choose the right deal for your needs here is some useful advice to consider when you are looking for car loan finance options.

Check Your Credit Rating

Before you start applying for quotes for car finance deals, check your credit rating. You can do this by contacting the main credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian or Call Credit. Your credit rating will directly affect what types of deals you are eligible for. It is important to have a good credit rating in order to access the best car loan finance options.

Monthly Repayments

Most car finance deals will involve monthly repayments. This means you need to work out how much you can afford to pay to your car finance deal each month. This will be a key factor to help you decide how much money to borrow. Paying off a loan on a car adds to the overall running costs so you will need to consider all of these points when you are looking for a deal.

Shop Around

There are so many different finance options available for financing your new car you will need to shop around to get the best deal. This means researching on the Internet, calling dealers and looking at the adverts in auto magazines. Compare deals from as many different lenders as possible including independent financial brokers, car dealers, banks and buildings societies. This will help you to see which are the best deals available for your situation. Make sure you check if the rates are fixed or variable as this could have a big impact on the overall costs of the deal.

Short Term vs. Long Term

The longer you take to pay off a car finance loan the more expensive it will be in terms of interest. This is why it is a good idea to take out a short term deal. However, if you have a tight budget then long term deals will have lower monthly repayment options which could help you to manage your finances better.

Cash Transactions

If you intend to buy privately then you will need the cash upfront in most cases. This means a personal loan can be a good choice as the money will be paid into a nominated account. Dealers can offer some very good car finance deals which may actually work out cheaper than taking out a personal loan and paying in cash. Make sure you consider all of the possible options before you sign up for any finance deal.

Deposit

Even if you intend to take out a car finance deal it is important to save up some money towards your new car. By paying as much money as possible upfront you can lower your following monthly repayments. This is a much more cost effective way of using car finance deals.

If you’re looking for a Pittsburgh lawyer with experience in real estate law or a law firm in Pittsburgh to represent your case, the following article will provide guidance. Pittsburgh lawyers can assist clients with leasing, real estate financing, land use, and other areas of real estate law.

Pittsburgh Lawyers and Law Firms in Pittsburgh Specializing in Real Estate Law:

Should you require legal service or advice throughout the course of a real estate project or development, choose a Pittsburgh law firm that specializes in guiding local and national clients through projects and transactions. Pittsburgh lawyers who understand the perspective of both landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers, and borrowers and lenders can help guide clients through property acquisitions, turnkey developments, and complex commercial lease issues.

Pittsburgh Lawyers specializing in real estate law can assist clients with a variety of real estate projects, including:

Real estate development

The sale and acquisition of property

Financing

And leasing of the following:

Commercial office parks

Retail centers

Industrial sites

Residential projects

Flex and mixed-use developments

Warehouse and manufacturing buildings

Raw land

Your law firm in Pittsburgh should represent both tenant and landlord cases in all areas of lease negotiation, including tenant construction and build-out issues, complex commercial office leases, restaurant and retail leasing, and ground leases. Should you have questions regarding construction, environmental, zoning, taxation, title insurance, financing, and other land use and development concerns, a Pittsburgh lawyer can provide assistance.

Real estate law firms in Pittsburgh specialize in representing real estate developers (with regards to building and leasing major office complexes), mixed use developments, and strip malls as well. Retail establishments, professionals, and anchor tenants benefit advice from a Pittsburgh law firm. Your Pittsburgh lawyer should monitor all leasing issues and news in real estate law to provide current and comprehensive advice.

Should you have questions about financing, a Pittsburgh lawyer can provide assistance. A Pittsburgh law firm specializing in real estate financing can help represent both lenders and borrowers in connection with real estate credit facilities. Your Pittsburgh law firm real estate team can represent clients involved in documenting, negotiating, and closing different types of real estate financing transactions (including development loans, construction loans, and permanent and bridge financing). Your Pittsburgh law firm can provide the direction, services, and advice necessary to close a real estate transaction.

A Pittsburgh law firm can counsel both residential and commercial developer, homeowner, and business in zoning, site plans, and matters of subdivision before government agencies and various boards. Should you have questions regarding laws, regulations, and procedures affecting a property owner’s use and development of real estate, contact a Pittsburgh law firm or Pittsburgh lawyer for further information.

Import and exporting business, finance and advice for home based intermediaries, agents and brokers. If you don’t verify supplier you are wasting your time and will never earn a cent in commissions- ADVICE FORMS Part of the publication “THE WORLD IS YOURS” AND URPIB RULES OF TRADE CREATED BY FTN EXPORTING-

More Finance Advice Articles

Carlyle Finance can offer a range of car loan choices in the UK as well as offering loan advice. This company specialises in motor finance so you can be sure you are getting a specialised and professional service. Carlyle Finance offer over 40 years experience working in the motor finance industry and have valuable contacts with a wide range of dealers all across the UK.

Choosing the Right Car

A car is an essential part of modern life and despite the rising price of fuel this is still one of the most cost efficient methods of travel. People use cars for everyday activities such as getting work and going shopping. As you will most likely be using your car a lot it is important to get the right one to suit your needs. For example, if you are going to be commuting to and from work you need a car that is reliable, comfortable and economical. If you have an older car then you could actually save money in the long run on fuel and repairs by upgrading to a newer model with less mileage. If you cannot afford to buy a new car then you should consider taking out a car loan. Carlyle Finance can provide you with a way to finance your new car and get the make and model that better suits your needs.

Finance Options

There are so many car finance deals out there it can be difficult trying to work out which option would be best for your individual circumstances. Carlyle Finance can guide you through the wide range of finance options and help you to buy the car you want, whether it is new or used. Many lenders have reduced their options following the recent economic upheaval and recession. However, dealer finance has remained very strong in the assets market and this can provide borrowers with some competitive options. Dealer finance is also convenient, widely accessible and offers high levels of consumer protection.

Carlyle Finance can provide a Credit Loan Adviser service that will help you discover the right finance option for you. You can compare the features and benefits of each deal and this ensures you can work out the best finance package available for you. Carlyle Finance can help you to avoid the common pitfalls for car loans and make sure you are getting value for money.

Award Winning Service

Carlyle Finance provides an effective service structure that can help you to find the right car finance product for your needs. This company has recently been recognised for the quality of its service by being awarded the Asset Finance Company of the Year Award 2010 by Credit Today. Carlyle Finance have also been short-listed for the On-line Innovation Award by Motor Trader magazine.

Related Finance Advice Articles

Your bаd credit will not bе а big hurdlе in tаking а loаn if you аrе rеаdy to plаcе your propеrty with lеndеr аs sеcurity. Bаd credit sеcurеd loans аrе, thеrеforе, аvаilаblе еаsily to borrowеrs hаving аdvеrsе credit history. But bаd credit sеcurеd loans should bе аvаilеd cаrеfully аs othеrwisе thе loаn mаy rеsult in аnothеr bаd credit. Bаd credit sеcurеd loans cаn bе put to mаny usаgеs such аs mееting finаnciаl rеquirеmеnts, going to а holidаy trip, homе improvеmеnts, buying а cаr еtc. Sincе lаrgеr аmount cаn bе еnsurеd, borrowеrs cаn еvеn pаy off thosе mаny bаd dеbts by tаking thе loаn. Borrowеrs аrе rеquirеd to tаkе bаd credit sеcurеd loans аgаinst аny of thеir propеrty likе homе. Thе propеrty plаcеd аs collаtеrаl with thе lеndеrs works аs sеcurity of thе loаn. So, lеndеrs hаvе no problеm in offеring loаn to borrowеrs with аdvеrsе credit rеport. In cаsе of pаymеnt dеfаult, thе lеndеr is frее to sеll thе collаtеrаl to rеcovеr thе loаnеd аmount. Bаd credit mеаns thе borrowеrs hаvе аt lеаst onе or two cаsеs of rеpаymеnt dеfаults or County Court Judgmеnts аgаinst thеm. Sincе thе loаn is sеcurеd, bаd credit is not а big concеrn to lеndеrs. Onе cаn аvаil bаd credit sеcurеd loans in thе rаngе of £3000 to £75,000.To offеr lаrgеr аmount of loаn thе lеndеr will еvаluаtе еquity in thе collаtеrаl. If thе loаn аskеd is still lowеr thаn thе еquity, thе loаn will еаsily bе providеd. Thеrеforе, to аvаil lаrgеr loаn, thе borrowеr should offеr thе lеndеr а propеrty likе homе, which аlwаys hаs highеr еquity, аs collаtеrаl. Thеrе is lаrgеr rеpаymеnt durаtion of 5 to 25 yеаrs аvаilаblе to borrowеrs going through bаd credit phаsе аnd tаking thе loаn аgаinst propеrty. Onе should, howеvеr, tаkе thе loаn for shortеr possiblе durаtion to аvoid cаrrying dеbt burdеn for long. Biggеst аdvаntаgе to bаd credit history pеoplе in tаking bаd credit sеcurеd loans is lowеr intеrеst rаtе. Bеing а sеcurеd loаn, lеndеrs rеаdily lowеr thе intеrеst rаtе in ordеr to hаvе thе customеr in his fold. Dеspitе аdvеrsе credit rеputаtion, thе borrowеr mаnаgеs to еxtrаct 2-3 pеrcеnt lowеr intеrеst rаtе thаn аny unsеcurеd loаn. Onе еffеctivе wаy to furthеr lowеr intеrеst rаtе is to аpply for thе loаn onlinе. You will bе floodеd with loаn offеrs from numеrous lеndеrs who hаvе showcаsеd thеir bаd credit sеcurеd loans on intеrnеt. Duе to growing compеtition in thе loаn sеctor, lеndеrs cut intеrеst rаtе to аttrаct borrowеrs. Mаkе еfforts to improvе thаt yours vеry credit rеport by pаying off еаsy dеbts аnd thеn gеtting thе rеport updаtеd by а rеputеd аgеncy. On thе bаsis of thе rеport, lеndеr givеs credit scorе to judgе thе risk involvеd in thе loаn offеr. Credit scorе of 620 аnd аbovе is considеrеd sаfе. Your аdvеrsе credit history will not comе in thе wаy of аvаiling thе bаd credit sеcurеd loans, but intеrеst rаtе аnd loаn аmount should bе givеn а thought bеforе finаlizing loаn dеаl.

One Word: Plastics


Image by kendrick
Mrs. Robinson would approve. Sound financial advice at Toy Joy in Austin, TX.

Is it that due to the cut-throat competition that you are in a confusion whether which advances to apply for? Here is an easy route for you to get finance where you have the money comes easily to you. It is the secured loans advice scheme in which advisors lead you in the maze whether for which type of advance is suitable for you.

In such type of finances, you have to give guarantee against the advance you take. In this type, you get suggestion from different advisors when you are in a confusion whether which monetary facility to go for. For being eligible for this finance, there are some basic eligibility conditions you should fulfill. The conditions are that you should be above 18 years, you should have a checking bank account, you should be a citizen of UK and you should have a fixed job.

The amount you can fetch in secured loans advice ranges from £500 to £100000. This amount has to be returned back within 1 to 25 years. These finances come with a low rate of interest. They help you arrange big amount with a long repayment process with easy monthly installments. Experts or advisors guide you to in selecting the appropriate type of finance for you.

This finance proves to be useful when you have financial needs which are to be met instantly. They can be for payment of various debts, hospital bills, going on a trip, education expenses and so on.

Online can be the most suitable way for you to apply for if you want to avail fast cash. You can compare the various rates on various websites and apply for the one you fell affordable. You have to fill in the simple online form. The company executives verify the details and then the amount is wired into your account.

Most people deal with Inflation and Deflation as it would be one single number. My point of view is different and I believe it helps to see the importance of undertstanding how Inflation is created through Deflation. I further believe it helps to put financial advice in the right context and making better financial decisions. Identifying the tipping point of Deflation into Inflation is important as it is the point where your tactics need to change.
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New U2 recording studio poster (update: design has changed)


Image by infomatique
Update: 22nd. February 2010

The U2 Tower was a proposed landmark skyscraper to be constructed in Dublin. The site was in the South Docklands (SODO) campshires, at the corner of Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and Britain Quay, by the confluence of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design announced on 12 October 2007 was by Foster and Partners. Its height had been reported at 120 metres, "well over 120 metres", and 180 metres, any of which would have made it the tallest building on the island of Ireland. The building would have been an apartment building, with a recording studio owned by the rock group U2 in a "pod" at the top. Construction was to begin in 2008 and end in 2011, at a cost of €200m. In October 2008, the project was suspended indefinitely because of the economic downturn.

In 2010 the economic outlook is very bleak so it is unlikely that this project will ever go ahead.

Update: 12th, October 2007:
This design has been rejected in favour of a taller building – more info is included below.

This is a photograph of a poster on a hoarding around a building site in Dublin. The poster mentions the new U2 recording studio which has yet to be built. I will add more U2 material as soon as possible.

===UPDATE====
Docklands Authority announces provisional preferred bidder for U2 Tower

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority has announced that Geranger Ltd, a consortium consisting of Ballymore Properties, Patrick McKillen and August Partners (U2 Band members and management) has been selected as the provisional preferred bidder to design, construct and finance the U2 Tower and Britain Quay Building, one of the most significant architectural projects to be delivered in the regeneration of the Docklands area.

The consortium’s architects, Foster + Partners, have proposed a stunning design for the 120 metre high tower and adjacent Britain Quay site uniquely situated at the confluence of three waterways, the River Liffey, River Dodder and Grand Canal. The inspirational building will include a public viewing platform at 100 metres, a public amenity area at the base; and hotel, retail, and residential accommodation including 20% social and affordable housing. At the top of the Tower, the U2 studio is included as a suspended egg shape pod.

Paul Maloney, Chief Executive of the Docklands Authority, said that, while all the submissions received were of an extremely high quality and it was a difficult decision to make, Geranger Ltd had been selected because its submission exceeded the expectations of the brief with the emergence of a breathtaking design uniquely suited to this prominent Docklands site. "We are delighted to have achieved our ambition of realising an inspirational landmark design, while at the same time maximising public usage and access. This design will be a very special building for Docklands and Dublin City while integrating the Britain Quay and U2 Tower buildings in a distinct and coherent fashion on the waterfront. It will also provide visitors the opportunity to experience spectacular views across Dublin city and bay, and for the community offers significant social and affordable housing potential".

The announcement of preferred bidder status for Geranger Ltd follows a rigorous EU tendering process where submissions from four short-listed consortia were considered.

John McLaughlin, Director of Architecture for the Docklands Authority said,: "We look forward to working with Geranger Ltd whose members bring a wealth of expertise in delivering tall buildings across the UK and further afield. This consortium working with Norman Foster will deliver an enduring landmark for Dublin".

The Docklands Authority appointed three architectural consultants -.Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Shih-Fu Peng of Heneghan Peng Architects and Michael O’Doherty, former principal architect at the OPW – to evaluate the architectural and design elements of the proposals.

Since the original design competition, the parameters of the development changed. The original design concept was for a 60 metre tower on a smaller footprint, but following the recent planning amendment for the Grand Canal Dock Planning Scheme area, the tower was increased to 120 metres in height, with an adjoining multi-storey building moving from what was considered a local landmark to a city landmark.

Developers were required to submit bids to develop the U2 Tower architectural concept designed by Burdon Craig Dunne Henry (bcdh) and were also offered the option of submitting a variant design for both the U2 Tower and the Britain Quay building. Two consortia opted to submit a variant design alongside a proposal for the original. In total, six schemes were assessed across criteria of architecture and design, project execution plans and financial offers. .

Taking all those considerations into account the Docklands Authority, advised by project consultants, selected the Foster design as the most appropriate.

It is estimated that the U2 Tower development will cost over €200 million to design and build. Construction is expected to start in 2008 and be completed by 2011.

Solicitors, A&L Goodbody provided legal advice throughout the tender process.

The U2 Tower is located in the Grand Canal Dock area, where the Docklands Authority is working with some of the world’s leading architects on projects such as the Studio Libeskind-designed Grand Canal Theatre, the Manuel Aires Mateus designed five star hotel, and the recently opened Martha Schwartz designed Grand Canal Square.

For further information and/or images, please contact:

Loretta Lambkin, Docklands Authority, 01 818 3300, llambkin@dublindocklands.ie

Sheila Gahan, WHPR, 01 669 0030 or 087 234 2409 sheila.gahan@ogilvy.com

Editors Notes

Norman Foster – Biog Note

Norman Foster was born in Manchester in 1935. After graduating from Manchester University School of Architecture and City Planning in 1961 he won a Henry Fellowship to Yale University, where he gained a Master’s Degree in Architecture.

He is the founder and chairman of Foster + Partners. Founded in London in 1967, it is now a worldwide practice, with project offices in more than twenty countries. Over the past four decades the company has been responsible for a strikingly wide range of work, from urban masterplans, public infrastructure, airports, civic and cultural buildings, offices and workplaces to private houses and product design. Since its inception, the practice has received 440 awards and citations for excellence and has won more than 70 international and national competitions.

Current and recent work includes the largest construction project in the world, Beijing Airport, Millau Viaduct in France, the Swiss Re tower and the Great Court at the British Museum in London, an entire University Campus for Petronas in Malaysia and the Hearst Headquarters tower in New York.

He became the 21st Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate in 1999 and was awarded the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture in 2002. He has been awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Architecture (1994), the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture (1983), and the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture (1991). In 1990 he was granted a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, and in 1999 was honoured with a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

Architectural Assessment Team – Biog Notes

Chris Wilkinson (OBE, Dip Arch RIBA RCSD)

Sir Chris Wilkinson founded Wilkinson Eyre Architects in 1983 together with Jim Eyre. Chris was elected to the Royal Academy in April 2006. His firm cemented itself in the top league of architects when it won the Stirling Prize for the best building designed by a British Architect in 2001 for the Magma Science Centre outside Rotherham. Wilkinson Eyre also won the Stirling Prize in 2002, for the Gateshead Millennium Bridge on the River Tyne. Wilkinson Eyre is the only practice to win Stirling Prize twice.

Further information can be found at www.wilkinsoneyre.com

Shih-Fu Peng (Heneghan Peng Architects)

Shih-Fu Peng is a Director of heneghan.peng architects. Following his graduation from Cornell University USA in 1989, he received a master of Architecture from Harvard University in 1992. Shih-Fu has won numerous high profile competitions including the National Gallery of Ireland extension; the Giants Causeway Visitor Centre and Carlisle Pier, Dun Laoghaire.
He is currently working on projects for the Grand Museum of Egypt; Kildare County Council Civic Offices and Mountjoy Redevelopment Masterplan and Custom House Landscaping. Shih-Fu is a member of both the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and the American Institute of Architects.

Michael O’Doherty

Michael had a 35 year long and distinguished career working with the Office of Public Works. The last 14 years of his career with the OPW was as Principle Architect with full responsibility of all projects involving the OPW nationwide. Michael is currently Vice President of the Royal

Taking out commercial finance can be complicated and expensive depending on whom you go with for the loan. There are also factors to take into consideration such as the technical jargon that is regularly associated with finance and hidden costs which could give a nasty surprise. If you want the best start in your new venture then getting help is essential. Going with a specialist website can save you time and a great deal of stress and money. A specialist website will be able to search the UK commercial loan marketplace for the best deal for your circumstances. Often they are able to get the lowest rates of interest though negotiation with lenders who specialise in the type of loan you are looking for. A specialist will also be able to get you finance in the shortest time possible because lenders will go all out to deal quickly with a broker. You will you get the right type of commercial finance by going with a specialist and it is important to remember that a commercial mortgage is not like a residential one. There are many different factors that are taken into account when wanting finance for commercial reasons. The lender will take all these factors into account and this is what will determine how much you pay. The individuals different circumstances will mean that, unlike a residential mortgage, the rate of interest you will pay will be based on what you are going to do with the money you borrow and an assessment of the property in question relating to the loan. After these factors and others have been taken into account the rate will be set out. As with any loan the amount of interest you pay will be a percentage above the base rate. In the majority of cases this can be between 1.5% and 2.5%/ Usually when taking out commercial finance you are able to take out a loan from one year onwards. Of course the duration of the loan will have to be based on many different factors. Factors that will have to be taken into account are the size of the undertaking and the nature of it. The majority of loans taken this way will be limited to interest only borrowing unlike the choices for residential mortgages. When getting things off the ground, then a specialist in commercial borrowing will go through your proposal with you which can save an enormous amount of time. This can be of particular benefit when it comes to getting the property appraised for the loan. They will also be able to help and give advice when it comes down to loan to project costs. This can often be confusing so advice is essential, the rate for perceived gross total development values vary with each project. While they do vary typically rates fall are 70% to 75% of the purchase prices and build costs. The majority of brokers will work alongside you from start to finish of the project and although there will be brokers costs to pay you can still save. It is thought that around 80% of those who borrow commercially do so with the high street lender, yet they could be saving a lot of money with a specialist. While the majority of people do not like to admit they need help then it comes to something as costly and important as commercial finance getting as much advice and saving as much as possible is essential.

Taking out commercial finance can be complicated and expensive depending on whom you go with for the loan. There are also factors to take into consideration such as the technical jargon that is regularly associated with finance and hidden costs which could give a nasty surprise.

If you want the best start in your new venture then getting help is essential. Going with a specialist website can save you time and a great deal of stress and money. A specialist website will be able to search the UK commercial loan marketplace for the best deal for your circumstances. Often they are able to get the lowest rates of interest though negotiation with lenders who specialise in the type of loan you are looking for.

A specialist will also be able to get you finance in the shortest time possible because lenders will go all out to deal quickly with a broker. You will you get the right type of commercial finance by going with a specialist and it is important to remember that a commercial mortgage is not like a residential one. There are many different factors that are taken into account when wanting finance for commercial reasons.

The lender will take all these factors into account and this is what will determine how much you pay. The individuals different circumstances will mean that, unlike a residential mortgage, the rate of interest you will pay will be based on what you are going to do with the money you borrow and an assessment of the property in question relating to the loan.

After these factors and others have been taken into account the rate will be set out. As with any loan the amount of interest you pay will be a percentage above the base rate. In the majority of cases this can be between 1.5% and 2.5%/ Usually when taking out commercial finance you are able to take out a loan from one year onwards. Of course the duration of the loan will have to be based on many different factors.

Factors that will have to be taken into account are the size of the undertaking and the nature of it. The majority of loans taken this way will be limited to interest only borrowing unlike the choices for residential mortgages. When getting things off the ground, then a specialist in commercial borrowing will go through your proposal with you which can save an enormous amount of time. This can be of particular benefit when it comes to getting the property appraised for the loan.

They will also be able to help and give advice when it comes down to loan to project costs.

This can often be confusing so advice is essential, the rate for perceived gross total development values vary with each project. While they do vary typically rates fall are 70% to 75% of the purchase prices and build costs. The majority of brokers will work alongside you from start to finish of the project and although there will be brokers costs to pay you can still save. It is thought that around 80% of those who borrow commercially do so with the high street lender, yet they could be saving a lot of money with a specialist. While the majority of people do not like to admit they need help then it comes to something as costly and important as commercial finance getting as much advice and saving as much as possible is essential.

www.bills.com Ethan Ewing, President of Bills.com provides advise and tips to get the best deal on your mortgage loan online. These days, getting a mortgage loan can seem overwhelming. It does not have to be complicated if you follow a few simple steps. Watch this video with Ethan Ewing, President of Bills.com, to learn about tips to get the best possible rate on your mortgage. Find more personal finance advice, services and information at bills.com

Anybody Know Anything About Getting Sponsorships For Large Scale Art Installations


Image by Thomas Hawk
So I’ve never shown my work in any sort of art show. I get asked by people to be in shows or am I doing shows, or stuff like that alot. I always sort of just say I’m not really ready to start doing shows or books or all that yet. I’ve only ever sold a couple of prints and those were only for charity auctions.

The truth of the matter is that in my own mind, how I visualize showing my work is really complicated. What I’ve wanted to do for a while is to build a large scale installation involving various simultaneous plasma or LCD screens doing slide shows of my photographs of neon signs.

I’ve probably got about 9,000 photographs of neon signs now from all over America and I envision a huge wall (the bigger the better) of flat panel screens, one after the other making a square or rectangle larger display. Each display would be the same size (40 inches or larger) and each would rotate through these 9,000 photos of neon signs at random. The result would be a fast moving chaotic installation centering on neon imagery.

I’ve never pursued this because it seems to me it would be enormously expensive to purchase or rent large numbers of plasma screens and the computers needed to run the slide shows. I figure each plasma would need it’s own computer or I’d need to hire someone to write a program that could use one computer linked to many displays to rotate the slideshows.

Anyways. While in Miami this week I had the good fortune of getting to meet Jim Winters of Bulldog neon. Jim is a hell of a nice guy and made me feel really at home. He showed me some amazing old signs that are in in his live/work loft (including the old animated dog racing sign from the Biscayne racetrack and a huge RAYCO sign). He also took a group of us out on his bus all over Miami showing us great signs and other Miami sites (he has an old special ed school bus that he uses for tours). Jim’s also a great photographer and keeps his photoblog here.

To make a long story short, Jim is involved in the arts community down in Miami and has access to some indoor/outdoor space to possibly show work this coming December during Miami’s Art Basel. This is one of the most prestigious art shows in the world. Jim contacted me about maybe doing something together. He could do some cool neon signs. I could do my plasma display idea, etc. He’s got access to some very visible great space down there.

So I’m looking to get my hands on a bunch of plasma displays and computers that I could borrow for one week during art basel. I don’t need to own them or anything, just use them for a week down in Miami to build this display to show down there.

I’m thinking I’d need a minimum of 12 screens and 12 computers, but really the more the better. 24 would be even better. I could certainly promote a corporate sponsor associated with financing this showing. It would be an amazing display and combined with Jim’s real neon signs could be an amazingly vibrant and well visited installation during this huge arts event.

I’ve never done anything like this before so I thought I’d blog about it and see if someone at some company, or someone who knew some company might be interested in underwriting an installation like this. Hopefully it would be the first of many large scale plasma photographic displays showin in the future. Maybe nothing will come of this, but I thought I’d throw it out there on the blog and see if anyone had any suggestions or advice.

Carlyle Finance can offer you with the advice you need to help you find the right car loan for your needs. Buying a new car can be an expensive task. Car loans can help bridge the gap in your finances to make sure you can afford the car you need. However, there are so many options available you may feel overwhelmed. Carlyle Finance has over forty years worth of experience in the industry and can help to guide you through the many choices available to finance a car. Buying a new car need not be a drain on your finances if you choose the right option for your individual circumstances. Carlyle Finance offer professional, practical advice to make sure you buy the right car for both your needs and your budget.

Credit Loan Advisor

With Carlyle Finance you have access to a Credit Loan Advisor service. This will provide you with instant advice on the finance options available to you when it comes to funding the purchase of your new car. This service will help you to quickly and easily compare the pros and cons of each finance option from dealer agreements through to personal savings, to ensure that you can make an informed decision about your credit options.

Benefits of Dealer Finance

If you are interested in dealer finance then Carlyle Finance has relationships across the entire dealer market who will be able to help you find a competitive package to suit your needs. Dealer finance is convenient and available from your local showrooms. This means you will not have to spend hours searching around and contacting lenders for finance options. Dealer finance is also ‘motor focused’ and this means you will get the expertise and specialist credit and insurance support to ensure you get the best deals available.

Carlyle Finance services are convenient, quick and easy to use. You could usually get an answer within as little as 30 minutes and this could see you driving away the car you want on the same day, subject to underwriting. There is no waiting around for lenders to come back to you or spending hours trying to navigate your way through call centres to get to the person you need to speak to. This means if you see the car you like, you do not have to worry about it being sold whilst you try and sort out finance.

Unlike a personal loan, if you take out dealer credit products through Carlyle Finance, you will be provided with an aftercare service. This means that if you are unhappy with the car you have bought Carlyle Finance will work with both you and the dealer to find a satisfactory resolution. Dealer finance also offers high levels of consumer protection, so that you can be sure your finances will be safeguarded and your needs met.

Booker T Washington


Image by dbking
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 15, 1915) was an African American political leader, educator and author. He was one of the dominant figures in African American history from 1890 to 1915.

He was born into slavery at the community of Hale’s Ford in Franklin County, Virginia. As a young man he made his way east from West Virginia to obtain schooling at Hampton in eastern Virginia at a school established to train teachers. In his later years, Dr. Washington became a leading educator and was a prominent and popular spokesperson for African American citizens of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. Although labeled by some activists as an "accommodator", his work cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists helped raise funds to establish and operate dozens of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of black persons throughout the south.

Within the context of the times he did much to improve the friendship and working relationship between the races.

I will let no man drag me down so low as to make me hate him.

During Reconstruction, after he was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Washington worked with his mother Jane as a salt-packer in a West Virginia facility, and, when he could, attended school. At 16, Washington worked odd jobs to make his way across Virginia to reach Elizabeth City County near Hampton Roads where he enrolled at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University), in Hampton, Virginia. It was a school founded for the purpose of training black teachers and had been funded by individuals such as William Jackson Palmer, a Quaker, among others. From 1878 to 1879 he attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C.

In 1881 Booker T. Washington founded and became the first principal of the Normal School in Tuskegee, Alabama. It later developed into the Tuskegee Institute and Tuskegee University. Still an important center for African-American learning, the Institute was created to embody and enable the goals of self-reliance. He wed Olivia A. Davidson, his second wife, in 1885. She was a Hampton graduate and the assistant principal of Tuskegee. They had two sons, Booker T. Washington Jr. and Ernest Davidson Washington before she died in 1889. His third marriage took place in 1893 to Margaret James Murray who died in 1925.

Active in politics, Booker T. Washington was routinely consulted by Congressmen and Presidents about the appointment of African Americans to political positions. He worked and socialized with many white politicians and notables. He argued that self-reliance was the key to improved conditions for African Americans in the United States and that they could not expect too much having only just been granted emancipation.

His 1895 "Separate as the fingers" speech given at the Cotton States and International Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia sparked a controversy wherein he was cast as an accommodationist among those who heeded Frederick Douglass’ call to "Agitate, Agitate, Agitate" for social change. A public debate soon began between those such as Washington, who valued the so-called "industrial" education and those who, like W. E. B. DuBois, supported the idea of a "classical" education among African Americans. Both sides sought to define the best means to improve the conditions of the post-antebellum African American community. Washington’s advice to African Americans to "compromise" and accept segregation, incensed other activists of the time, such as DuBois, who labeled him "The Great Accommodator". It should be noted, however, that despite not condemning Jim Crow laws and the inhumanity of lynching publicly, Washington privately contributed funds for legal challenges against segregation and disfranchisement (see Giles v. Harris (1903)). Although early in DuBois’ career the two were friends and respected each other considerably, their political views diverged to the extent that after Washington’s death, DuBois stated "In stern justice, we must lay on the soul of this man a heavy responsibility for the consummation of Negro disfranchisement, the decline of the Negro college and public school, and the firmer establishment of color caste in this land."

Henry H. Rogers 1840-1909Around 1894, Dr. Washington developed a friendship with millionaire industrialist and financier Henry Huttleston Rogers. The latter had attended one of his speeches in New York City, and had been surprised that no one had "passed the hat" afterwards. Rogers had risen from a working-class family in a small town to become a partner of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust. With additional interests in natural gas, copper, mining, and railroads, Rogers was one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Despite his great wealth, and widespread reputation for tough business dealings, Rogers was apparently both a modest and generous man. Dr. Washington became a frequent visitor to Rogers’ office, to his family’s 85-room mansion in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and was an honored guest aboard Rogers’ yacht Kanawha. Their friendship extended over a period of 15 years, during which time Rogers quietly financially supported and encouraged Washington in his work.

Handbill from 1909 Tour of southern Virginia and West VirginiaAmong many other enterprises, Rogers was the builder of the Virginian Railway, completed in 1909. Although Rogers had died suddenly a few weeks earlier, Dr. Washington went on a previously arranged speaking tour in June, 1909 along the route of the new railroad which was built to transport bituminous coal from the mountains of West Virginia to port at Sewell’s Point on Hampton Roads.

Dr. Washington rode in Rogers’ personal rail car, "Dixie", making speeches at many locations over a 7-day period. He told his audiences that his recently departed friend, Henry Rogers, who was held in their esteem for having financed the railroad from his personal fortune, had urged him to make the trip and see what could be done to improve relations between the races and economic conditions for African Americans along the route of the new railway, which touched many previously isolated communities in the southern portions of Virginia and West Virginia.

Some of the places where Dr. Washington spoke on the tour were (in order of the tour stops), Newport News, Norfolk, Suffolk, Lawrenceville, Kenbridge, Victoria, Charlotte Courthouse, Roanoke, Salem, and Christiansburg in Virginia, and Princeton, Mullens, Page and Deepwater in West Virginia. One of his trip companions reported that they had received a strong and favorable welcome from both white and African American citizens all along the tour route.

It was only after the multi-millionaire’s death that Dr. Washington said he felt compelled to reveal publicly some of the extent of Henry Rogers’ contributions for his causes. The funds, he said, were at that very time, paying for the operation of at least 65 small country schools for the education and betterment of African Americans in Virginia and other portions of the South, all unknown to the recipients. Known only to a few trustees, Rogers had also generously provided support to institutions of higher education.

Dr. Washington later wrote that Henry Rogers had encouraged projects with at least partial matching funds, as that way, two ends were accomplished:

1. The gifts would help fund even greater work.
2. Recipients would have a stake in knowing that they were helping themselves through their own hard work and sacrifice.

In an effort to inspire the "commercial, agricultural, educational, and industrial advancement" of African Americans, Booker T. Washington founded the National Negro Business League (NNBL) in 1900.

Booker T. Washington’s coffin was being carried to grave site when his autobiography, Up From Slavery, was published in 1901, it became a bestseller and was one of the major influences to Marcus Garvey in the founding of the UNIA in Jamaica. He was also the first African-American ever invited to the White House as the guest of a President – which led to a scandal for the inviting President, Theodore Roosevelt.

"Think about it: We went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens. We went into slavery with chains clanking about our wrists; we came out with the American ballot in our hands… Notwithstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, we are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe." – from Up From Slavery

Washington finally collapsed in Tuskegee, Alabama due to a lifetime of overwork and died soon after in a hospital, on November 14, 1915.

For his contributions to American society, Dr. Washington was granted honorary degrees from Harvard University in 1896 and Dartmouth College. On April 5, 1956, the house where he was born in Hardy, Virginia was designated a United States National Monument. Additionally, the first coin to feature an African-American was the Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar that was minted by the United States Mint from 1946 to 1951. On April 7, 1940, Dr. Washington became the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp. Numerous schools across the country are named for him, including the Dallas Independent School District’s Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Booker T. Washington Magnet High School in Montgomery, Alabama where the choir there is outstanding.

Carlyle Finance is the UK’s fastest growing Independent motor finance Provider, but they don’t only help you to purchase your new car through dealer finance where you can spread the costs over monthly payments. They have for many years been at the forefront of introducing innovative technology and tool’s that assist the consumer in making the right decisions when it comes to their finances.

One of the latest developments in this field of their expertise is a newly launched website branded as Carloanadviser and dubbed as the VBM or Virtual business Manager to the Motor Dealer. This new website which has been devised and developed entirely in the UK uses some innovative calculation and video technologies in a clever way of delivering car loan advice to the online consumer.

Taking a look at all the different methods of funding the purchase of a new car Carlyle Finance have developed this tool in such a way as to give clear concise advice to the various “pro’s and con’s” for each method and the savings that can be made when using Dealer Finance. Currently available online Carlyle Finance are now looking at moving this technology into the actual dealerships where they plan to trial “finance booths” so buyers can consult the website at the showroom itself.

This way it is hoped that the VBM can provide the dealership with instant online access to the expertise of Carlyle Finance in the areas of motor finance and car loan advice without the expense of employing a dedicated Business Manager for which many of the smaller dealerships cannot justify the expense.

Carlyle Finance have always stressed in their approach to dealers, the benefits to a dealers profits in increasing finance sales and improving their brand and levels of customer services and the VBM is another step towards achieving these goals. The dealer will still maintain control of the rates and terms as the online business manager through the VBM will work to the parameters already agreed with the local Carlyle Finance Account Manager.

Customers would be able to manage their own proposal process online either at the showroom or in their own homes, by keying in details of the chosen car and following prompts they would be able to identify the best finance package to suit their needs.

The Virtual Business Manager really puts the consumer in control, allowing them to discover new financing options for themselves and then comparing and choosing the best option. The dealerships just need to point the client in the right direction either at one of the booths or by providing the website url.

Carlyle Finance believes the benefits of this are significant; the customer can already collate huge amounts of information on what car to buy from resources all over the web and in magazines. But the main challenge has then always been getting the right advice and professional information on how to pay for their new car. The VBM or Carloanadviser is now bridging that gap and providing this information any time and anywhere.

Related Finance Advice Articles

Doug Richard’s recent report on business support in the UK highlighted that there are 3,000 government agencies and most of them simply direct people to other agencies. This can lead to a never ending cycle of being passed from pillar to post and having to explain yourself over and over again. So if you want help with your business finance, where can you go?

Here are the various options open to SMEs in the UK to help you decide the best route for you.

1. Your Bank

The high street banks (RBS, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds) can certainly give you advice in terms of loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and they can also give you some guidance on developing cashflows and general business advice. Usually the advice is coming from staff who are well trained internally and have seen lots of businesses from the outside but may not have had the direct operational experience of running a business.

2. Your Accountant

Accountants come in many guises and it’s important that you understand whether you are dealing with an auditor (responsible for verifying your accounts after the year end), a tax advisor (helping you with Tax and VAT issues) or a firm helping with your bookkeeping, management reporting and accounts. Each of these has different specialist skills and you shouldn’t assume that just because someone helps you with your tax, they’ll also be giving you overall business advice. Equally, you’ll find that many firms from the big four (PWC, Deloitte, KPMG, E&Y) , the mid tier (Grant Thornton, BDO, Baker Tilley) and the fast growing newer firms (Tenon, Vantis, Target) can give you good specific advice on business finance issues. However, make sure that you have agreed this specifically in any engagement letter. Otherwise they might think they’re just keeping your books or auditing your company and you might think they’re advising you on how well your business is performing and highlighting any potential finance issues. The gap between these expectations has caused significant problems for many companies.

3. Your own FD or CFO

If you have your own finance staff then make sure you make the best use of them. It’s easy to dismiss the finance team as being too much in the detail and always taking a negative view but they are often highly experienced and well trained professionals who have a very good insight into your business. Listen to what they have to say and don’t just disregard their views because you prefer to hear all the good news that your sales director is telling you. A good FD or CFO will often have experience from other companies that they can bring to bear in your business.

4. Part Time FD Companies

These have been rapidly growing in popularity for SMEs and even some larger corporates and they can provide an excellent source of support and advice. They provide someone in your business on a part time basis who can guide you from their knowledge and experience in a way that’s particularly relevant to your business. When you can’t afford your own full time FD or CFO these companies (FD Solutions, Secantor, Marshall Keen, FDUK, MyFD) can all provide the support and guidance you require for your business finance in a manner that can be very beneficial for your business. Having an FD or CFO in your business, even on a part time basis can give your company a real boost and can give you a trusted advisor to turn to for advice on your company finances.

5. Government Agencies

As the Richards Review highlighted it can easily end up feeling like you’re chasing your tail when you deal with these agencies and sometimes the time and effort you put in can feel wasted when you don’t get anywhere. Business Link, which provides somewhat of a hub, has a variable reputation depending on your local region. Some of the Enterprise Hubs are more supportive and operations like Finance South East have built a good reputation for clear and relevant advice.

6. Corporate Finance Firms

There are many companies competing in the market to help you raise money for your company. These are businesses in their own right who are seeking to make a profit but that shouldn’t put you off. It means they are incentivised to help you succeed. Generally these firms do charge an upfront fee but most of them earn more of their fees from a back-end success component (a percentage of whatever is raised). Charges will range from £2k to £15k upfront and success fees are generally in the region of 5%, although they can go up to 20%. Beware of companies that either offer the service for free (on the basis that you generally get what you pay for) or that charge a very high upfront fee. There are also some who appear to guarantee an investment providing you pay for Due Diligence (DD). You end up paying £40k in advance and they find something in DD that prevents them investing (which they never really intended to do anyway). Make sure you understand and agreements before you enter into them.

7. Your Friends and Family

In reality, this is where many people go for initial advice. Now unless your friends and family happen to fall into any of the previous 6 categories, it’s likely that their advice may be somewhat questionable. If they’ve had actual experience of the same issues and they’ve resolved it then by all means listen to them. However, you should always think about the source of your advice. Where has their knowledge and experience come from?

The key lessons here are to consider where the information is coming from, whether that information is based on real world experience and training and how relevant it is to your particular business.

New immigrants to Canada need to make important financial decisions in order to help them get settled and start building their new life. Tips are available on: opening a bank account in Canada before they move; the transfer of money from one country to another; building a credit history; buying a car or home; saving for their children’s education; and starting a business.
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Imagine you are in an aeroplane on a long distance flight to the other side of the world. There you are, drink in hand, cruising along at high altitude nice and smoothly, the engines humming quietly, watching an entertaining in-flight movie and with scarcely a care in the world.

Suddenly, and with little warning, the aeroplane encounters terrible turbulence. It rocks and bumps, then rapidly plunges a few thousand feet to find calmer currents while distress and panic sets in as passengers and crew fret about what fate might have in store.

What do you do? Well one thing you don’t do is jump out of the plane! You fasten your seatbelt, brace yourself and hope and pray that it will all be short-lived and that calm will soon be restored.

It is an analogy that has some resonance in the midst of the current turmoil in the global financial systems and the way people are reacting to it. For a few years now, the markets have been calm, showing steady growth and delivering good returns to investors. Now there is instability as they react to the tumultuous effect of the credit crunch on global financial systems.

The history of financial markets, however, has consistently shown that falls have always been followed by recoveries, and that a calm and measured long-term view on investment has always been the best stance to take, whatever the circumstances. When the credit crunch and the fall-out from it has become a thing of the past, those investors who did not panic or capitulate will be the ones who benefit.

So how has all of this come about? Well, the credit crunch is a reduction in the availability of loans which has been caused by a long period of relaxed and inappropriate lending, leading to bad debts and losses. It started in the USA with the fall-out from the sub-prime mortgage crisis, where loans were made to large numbers of people who defaulted when interest rates rose and repayment costs escalated. As a result, major American sub-prime lenders filed for bankruptcy.

All of this has knocked the markets, created uncertainty and clouded the short-term outlook.  Banks have lost confidence in lending while individual and corporate investors have lost confidence generally. Governments, including our own, have had to step in with massive and unprecedented bail-out initiatives to shore up the banks and try to restore some semblance of order. On top of that, fears of recession in Western economies have compounded the situation.

Unquestionably, all this has provided a very stiff examination of the resilience of investors.  However, investors should try very hard not to be disconcerted by short-term fluctuations and to regard investments as long-term commitments.  That is not to minimise the current turmoil in the global markets, the like of which we have not seen for a very long time.

The fact is, though, that markets are notoriously difficult to predict as they have always tended to react sometimes irrationally to economic news and can be influenced one way or another by excitement or mass panic.  The Wall Street Crash of 1929, probably the most devastating of them all, came at the end of the so-called Roaring Twenties, an era noted as a time of prosperity and excess.

The stock market collapse of 1973/74 was one of the worst stock market downturns in modern history, while Black Monday in 1987 saw huge values being shed in a short period.  The birth of the internet and e-commerce technologies in the 1990’s led eventually to the Dotcom bubble burst of 2000.  In all cases, the markets recovered. 

And while volatility, like the latest bout of turbulence, has always been a feature of markets across the globe, equities historically have always had the ability to deliver inflation beating returns. Indeed, history is firmly on the side of the wise investor who looks at the long term value of equities.

For those bold enough to take them, short term market volatility presents sound medium to long term investment opportunities – but be warned, this is no time for the inexperienced individual to be diving headlong into the markets thinking this is the moment to invest.  Instead, it is the moment when individuals should be seeking specialist, reliable financial advice along with investment products and fund managers you can trust. 

The world is so uncertain that no one can make decisions based on short-term conditions.  No one knows if and when the market has reached its low point, and unless you believe you are likely to be lucky, the best advice is to remain invested over the medium to long term.  Delaying investing when the market has fallen is a natural instinct, but experience shows that when a falling market turns, it tends to do so sharply.

Trying to enter and exit the market at the right time, therefore, is almost impossible, because not even the most experienced investment manager knows with any certainty when is the best time to invest in the market.  Your time in the market is the most important aspect of investment, not timing the market.  And in a medium to long term strategy, the only prices that matter are the ones you buy and sell at.  However awful it all may look, try to ignore what is going on in between.

For many investors, regular saving as part of a long-term investment strategy offers a flexible, affordable solution.  Some wealth should be kept liquid in a deposit account or somewhere that can easily be turned into cash without losing value, so that investors are not forced into cashing in investments during bad periods of market uncertainty like these.

Additionally, with all the short-term uncertainty, investors should always be thinking of diversifying, spreading capital over different types of investment with varying characteristics.  Your money should be in the hands of different investment managers – and the best ones you can find – who will be selecting from a variety of countries, sectors and shares to spread your risk widely. 

But remember, unless you really are a highly experienced investor, there is absolutely no substitute for professional wealth management advice from a specialist adviser who, even in difficult market conditions, will be focussed on the longer term objective of aiming to deliver superior returns for all investors.

#160/365 (+1 in comments)


Image by Kirstea
Day one hundred and sixty: I went to Boots today to grab some lunch and what did I find? Innocent Smoothies are taking part in ‘The Big Knit’ in aid of Age UK so all their little smoothies have little winter hats on! SO COOL! I decided to put mine on my phone and iPod! You can find out more information at www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/bigknit/. Today has been a good day – I really enjoyed my lecture and tutorial and then I went to the Plymouth Business School Graduate and Placement Fair at University – it was such a big help! I got some really good advice from people at The Chartered Institute of Marketing and a few books on CV preparation and interview technique! I’ve also got 10 words to go on my finance essay…some how I think it’s going to be needing a cut down!

Budgeting isn’t rocket science. But, it does take some preparation, consideration and a healthy dose of reality, combined with a willingness to change some unhealthy spending habits.

There are no hard and fast rules when creating a budget that works for your family. Every family is different; and so is every budget. The key is to create a spending plan that fits your income, and that everyone in your household can live with. Setting stringent spending limits that are impractical or unattainable isn’t going to help get you on the right financial track. Being realistic will. A firm commitment to spend less than you make, and save for the more important things in your life is even better. Take the time to begin the budget process right: with good planning. Here’s how:

1: Keep A List of Every Household Expense for One Month.

Everyone usually has a clear idea of the big bills: mortgage, car loans, and groceries. It’s the little stuff that can kill a budget. Before writing out your first set of budget numbers, it’s first important to know exactly where your money has been going. For one month, record every household expense – no matter how small. You may be surprised at how much those little conveniences and splurges really add up to.

2: Make A Complete List of Spending Areas.

Once you see what you’ve been spending your money on, on a regular basis, it’s time to make a thorough list of household and personal expense categories. Most people find their spending areas include such things as: mortgage/rent; car loans; insurance premiums; utilities; groceries; entertainment; school lunches; clothes; business expenses, etc. Include everything! Those school lunches, manicures and even that morning coffee all add up by the end of the month. Don’t forget less regular bills such as annual car insurance premiums, birthday gifts/parties, summer vacations, holiday outings, field trips, membership dues, magazine subscriptions, and more.

3: Compare Your Expenses To Your Income.

Now comes the hard part: add up all of your expenses and compare it to your NET income (this is your take-home pay after taxes, insurances, 401K contributions, etc.). Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they make ,000 a year, they can spend ,000. Wrong! You usually only receive about ,000 to ,000 after normal payroll deductions. If you’re like most Americans, your expenses may be much higher than your income. Now what? It’s time to start getting serious.

4: Be Realistic.

Let’s get real here: no one can continually spend more money than they make without serious repercussions. Eventually you won’t be able to juggle the payments anymore, and something won’t get paid. You’re walking a slippery slope headed toward financial ruin, and it’s time to be realistic. Now that you’ve had a chance to clearly see where your money is going ever month, it’s time to start chipping away at all the waste.

Start big or start small: the decision is yours. The goal is to slash as much frivolous waste as possible from your current spending plan. That may mean taking your lunch to work twice a week, and coloring your own hair, or it may mean selling your second car and taking the train to work. The severity of the things you’re forced to give up depends on how much overspending leeway you’ve been allowing your family.

5: Together Come Up With A New Spending Plan.

Once you’ve cut out all of the things you know you can do without, it’s time to prioritize your spending list to see what else can go. List the most important life expenses first: your house or apartment; food; health insurance; car costs; school fees; etc. As you move further down the list, add entertainment; eating out; taking the kids to an amusement park; summer pool fees.

You know, all the things you think you need, but may be able to do without. Now, if you’re expenses remain higher than your income, its time to start condensing and cutting from the bottom of this list. Sure, having a pool in the backyard may be great, but if you both work, and the kids are at summer camp all day, is the cost of its upkeep really worth being in debt? Or, would that money be better spent in some other category? How about fast food? If your family is spending more than 0 a month eating out, it may be time to reevaluate why you’re not cooking a home.

Are your kids involved in too many extracurricular activities, not leaving you the time to cook and eat in? Or have you just allowed yourselves the luxury of easy dinners so long they now feel like a necessity? Now’s the time for you to discuss, as a family, what is really important. If eating out three times a week is more important than going to the movies on Saturdays, or going on that beach vacation, so be it. That’s your choice. Just remember, that every expense has an impact on your financial future.

Looking at your finances with open eyes and a new attitude won’t be easy. Changing your spending habits will be even harder. But, establishing a solid budget, and learning to live within your means may make the difference between a life filled with financial struggles and stress, and a worry-free existence that allows you to spend money on the important things with little or no angst at all.

Numbers, the ‘beautiful’ spreadsheet app


Image by nimboo
Love it!

Macworld review

Slowly, but surely, Apple’s iWork is turning into a full-fledged office suite, as iWork ’08 gains Numbers, Apple’s latest foray into the world of spreadsheet programs. So what is Numbers? Is it at long last a replacement for the spreadsheet component of AppleWorks? Is it a direct competitor to Excel? Will it enable users looking for alternatives to finally move from either AppleWorks or Microsoft Office to iWork?
The answer to these questions is any of yes, no, and maybe, depending on your specific spreadsheet needs. Those with basic needs will be impressed with Numbers’ ability to make short work of their projects. People with more complex requirements, and those hoping to migrate from Excel or AppleWorks, will find the transition more difficult. And some people—scientific users, students, and advanced Excel users in particular—may find that certain details in Numbers make it impossible to use the product in its current form.

All in the family
Numbers is part of iWork ’08 (Best Current Price: .41), which means you have access to a lot of common features—the Inspector pane; the new Format Bar for making quick changes to common formatting settings; the Media Browser for placing artwork; powerful image-editing features such as transparency and shadows; the ability to easily place shapes; colorful and well-designed charts; and a customizable toolbar.

A new approach to spreadsheets
Traditionally, spreadsheet programs have presented users with a full-screen grid of rows and columns. Numbers, however, is more like a page layout program—you start with a blank canvas, into which you can drag as many tables as you need onto the work area. Each table is a miniature spreadsheet of its own, complete with its own grid of rows and columns, cell formatting options, and row and column heights and widths. There are even handy styles, shown in the left-hand of the document window, that can be applied to any of your inserted tables. These tables are treated like separate objects, and they can be positioned anywhere on the page.
This free-form layout feature overcomes one of the big problems with traditional spreadsheet programs: it’s difficult to make all of the rows and columns look attractive when printed (wide cells in one column will throw off rows above and below, for example). Since each table in Numbers is an independent object, setting differing heights and widths for rows and columns has no impact on other tables, and you can easily align tables wherever you want them on the page.
If you’re an experienced spreadsheet user, you may find that this new approach takes some getting used to—it’s visually very different from an Excel or AppleWorks spreadsheet module. It’s worth the effort, though, because it provides real flexibility and aesthetic value.

Time saving templates ease workload
Templates for spreadsheet programs aren’t new; Excel has had them for years. What is new with Numbers is the quality of the provided templates, thanks in part to the flexibility of the spreadsheet anywhere design of the program, and in part to the skill of Apple’s designers. When starting a project, you can choose from 18 templates spread across four categories, covering typical projects from Budget to Travel Planner to Science Lab. Within each template, you’ll find well-designed worksheets, with comments that help explain how they work. Plug in your numbers, customize the graphics, and you’re ready to print without any further work. You can even save your own customized templates (with the Save As Template command), and from then on they’ll be available in the Template Chooser.

Useful new data features
In addition to rethinking the basics of spreadsheet layout, Numbers also provides some new ways of working with the numbers on the spreadsheet itself. Drag-and-drop formulas, for instance, make it simple to place a sum, average, minimum, maximum, or count formula on your worksheet. Highlight a column of numbers, and you’ll see the current value for each of those formulas in the left-hand sidebar. Just drag-and-drop the one you’d like to use into an empty cell on your worksheet, and you’re done.
There are also four special formats you can apply to cells via the Inspector: Pop-up Menu, Checkbox, Stepper, and Slider. The first two are self-explanatory; Stepper and Slider are methods of quickly changing a value within a cell. When you apply a Stepper or a Slider to a cell, you specify a minimum value, maximum value, and step size. When you click on a cell with a Stepper format, an up/down arrow pair appears next to the cell; click and hold the arrows to increase or decrease the value in the cell. Click on a Slider-formatted cell, and you can then pull a sliding dot on a bar to the left and right to change the cell’s values. Both are great ways to see what effect a range of values will have on your model’s results.
Drop-down menus on row and column headers make it easy to sort, add, delete, and hide rows and columns. You can also add rows and columns by simply dragging and resizing the corners of the table.
Printing has also been given special attention in Numbers. Instead of setting a print range, a special Print View lets you see and control exactly how your printout will appear. This mode is fully interactive, so you can rearrange your document as you wish, and a scaling slider at the bottom of the screen resizes your output in real time as you change the scaling factor. The downside of this method is that you can’t easily print just one section of your document, unless you can scale it so that it takes up a full page. Instead, you’ll have to design your document such that the one section you wish to print is on a page of its own.

Excel compatibility
Numbers features compatibility, to some degree, with the vast majority of Excel spreadsheets, except for password-protected worksheets, which cannot be opened.
There are some caveats, of course. Numbers has no macro support, so if you import a macro-enabled Excel worksheet, the macros will be lost. Numbers also doesn’t have as many functions as Excel (about 100 fewer), so cells that use unsupported formulas will be converted to values. There are other differences relative to print settings, cell formatting, and sorting that may cause Numbers to modify your Excel file as well. Any changes Numbers makes will be shown in a summary report, and the specific cells will be flagged with a small blue triangle. Mouse over the triangle, and a pop-up window will display exactly why that cell was changed; in the case of unsupported functions, you’ll be able to see the original Excel function.
In my testing, basic Excel files imported either perfectly or in need of only minor correction. Such files can also be successfully exported back to Excel. More advanced spreadsheets, though, cause more problems. Depending on how heavily the imported worksheet relies on macros, formulas, and unsupported formatting options, it may not be possible to replicate Excel’s functionality within Numbers.
Exporting an original Numbers document to Excel is possible, but the end result will likely not resemble the original, due to the free-form nature of Numbers. When exported to Excel, each separate table on a Numbers worksheet becomes a separate sheet in an Excel workbook. So your perfect layout from Numbers won’t be saved, but all of your data and formulas will be.
Numbers can read Office 2007 for Windows Open XML formatted files, as well as the older .xls format, but the current version of Numbers can export only to .xls and CSV (as well as PDF), not Open XML. Numbers can also read AppleWorks files, OFX files from Quicken and other financial institutions, and CSV and tab-delimited text files. You can also work with Apple Address Book contacts via drag-and-drop from the Address Book, though you have to format your table properly to accept the dragged-in data.

The flaws
As noted up front, Numbers isn’t ideal for everyone. Scientific users will find the chart options lacking—there aren’t many pure scientific graphing options.
Students may find that Numbers makes it hard to display a formula (instead of its result) in their worksheet (some teachers require this on printouts to show how the model was built). To show formulas in Numbers, you need to format the formulas as text, and manually adjust cell widths to show all of the formula. In Excel, you simply check a box in its preferences, and all this happens automatically.
Advanced Excel users may find Numbers’ lack of macro support (there’s no AppleScript support, either) and smaller function set a limiting factor. There are also quite a few power user features missing from Numbers, such as custom number formats, pivot tables, cell naming, cell locking, password protection, splitting windows, and text orientation within a cell, among others.
The other problem for advanced Excel users is Numbers’ poor performance with larger models. I tested a couple of large financial models from my prior career as a finance MBA for a number of businesses, and although Numbers loaded the files, basic operations—typing numbers, adding and deleting rows—were quite slow, often taking 10 to 15 seconds to complete.
Even a smaller test sheet I created, with 1,500 rows and seven columns of random number calculations, led to slowdowns of a few seconds when trying to add anything new to the file—and that’s on a 2.66GHz quad-core Mac Pro. Opening the exact same file in Excel 2004 caused no such delays, even though it’s running in Rosetta on the Mac Pro. Similarly, scrolling the file from top to bottom took over twice as long in Numbers as it did in Excel. I even ran this file through AppleWorks, and found it performed just as well as Excel.
For users of large worksheets, such performance issues are just not acceptable. To make matters worse, Numbers lacks a manual recalculation feature, which would allow you to control when the sheet recalculates.
There are minor annoyances as well. For instance, Find and Replace works on entire files, not just text you’ve selected within the current table or sheet. The useful Sort and Filter tool applies its sorting to all columns in a table, even if you have only one column selected. This will also cause troubles for formulas in adjacent cells. For now, the only way to work around this problem is to isolate data to be sorted in a table of its own. In short, if you’re coming from Excel, the way these tools work is notably different.

Macworld’s buying advice
Numbers ’08 is a strong entry for Apple in the spreadsheet arena, especially for those who find Excel’s feature set overwhelming. With its free-form layout, easy-to-use templates, and elegant interface, Numbers is a powerful, yet approachable, tool. If you work with large data models, rely on Excel’s macros, or some of its more advanced functions and features, you probably won’t be migrating all your work to Numbers just yet—at least not with this first version. You may still find Numbers useful for smaller projects, though, as its ability to quickly create stunning reports could help you win some clients or promotions.

Invoice Finance remains a mystery to many businesses in the UK. Unfortunately, although the benefits of this solution are slowly becoming increasingly well known, Invoice Finance is still a largely undiscovered gem amongst the possible funding options available to SMEs.

Invoice finance is increasingly becoming a more popular way to fund a business as an alternative to the traditional overdraft. Unlike an overdraft, which is usually secured on personal and/or property guarantees and set at a rigid limit, an invoice finance facility is secured on sales invoices and will increase as your business grows.

There are facilities to suit most businesses, from new-starts to long-established, from 100k to 50 millon pound turnovers, from those with only UK customers to those trading overseas. As long as you have business customers being sold to on credit terms, then funding may be provided against their invoices.

There are two main types of facility; factoring and invoice discounting. Within these are a variety of options.

Factoring – a service, not just funding

The services available with a factoring facility can free up a great deal of management time, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best. It will also take away the pressures of managing your cash-flow, as the facility will be growing as your business does.

Up to 90% of the value of your outstanding invoices could be made available to you immediately and credit limits will be provided for your main debtors. Credit control & collections services are provided by the factor and an internet based facility enables you to manage the funds available.

There may be the option of the facility being ‘confidential’. It’s also possible for you to do your own credit control if you can demonstrate good procedures.

Invoice discounting, funding with the funder staying at arm’s length

This is normally for companies who have good systems in place. If the company can demonstrate this as well as being profitable, then the facility may be offered as confidential (your customers don’t know the involvement of an invoice discounting provider).

Less management of the facility by the provider is required and so, can prove a cheaper alternative to a full factoring facility.

As with Factoring, up to 90% of the value of your outstanding invoices could be made available to you immediately, credit limits will be provided for your main debtors & an internet based facility enables you to manage the funds available to you. In addition, you will retain control of your sales ledger management

Charges: Two charges apply to the facilities, a service charge for the administration of the facility and an interest charge, which is calculated for the funds you are using at any time. The service charge is calculated as a % of your projected turnover. The % will depend on the turnover and amount of invoices you are raising.

Providers: There are around a hundred providers ranging from high street banks to independent lenders. On the surface, many appear to offer the same facilities but a specialist brokers can ensure that you are introduced to the most suitable for your needs.

More Finance Advice Articles

Sometimes to set-up fresh and small ventures, handsome finance is required. You might also be planning the same. But the toughest hurdles are the insufficient funds with you. If you are thinking of borrowing a financial helping hand from any external source, then considering the small business finance is the right option. Small business finance gives you the flexibility of availing a loan i.e. with or without letting use of collateral. And because of this reason it is classified into secured and unsecured loans.

Based upon these two forms, all the provisions of Small Business Finance are unleashed. Individuals looking for a huge amount can approach for the secured loan; on the contrary, candidates reluctant to pledge collateral can consider unsecured loans. Reimbursement terms and loan amount is calculated on the use and equity of the collateral. Moreover, taking all issues and bad credit category of persons into notice interest rates are calculated at economical rates.

Despite all this, you can make the small business finance in your favor by following some steps. These tips are provided after taking into account all the pros and cons of small business finance. Applicants while approaching lenders for small business loans should rationally plan and furnish the propositions of the intended business. Applicants should cater their investments and returns in a well defined manner.

Furthermore, the simplest and quickest way of approving small business finance is the online application method. In less time span, you can hear positive results by filling the online candidature with accurate details pertaining to credit and personal profile. Small business finance release funds to meet demands in numbers. And under a single loan you can purchase heavy machineries, commercial sites, renovation of office, buy stationery items.

So, small business finance is the gate way of establishing and expanding the business activities towards an expected horizon.

question 52 views without much discussion SIGH! Except for Encouragement!


Image by larryosan
I have a question for anyone looking at this. One of my contacts has raised the issue of using flickr to promote themselves and their art in a productive manner versus other outlets for their art. So my question is this, has flickr paid off for you in any way as far as making money or marketing your art that led in a knowable way to work or contracts or sales? Also perhaps like me you have a zazzle or cafe press of one of the many other one off printing sales sites. Have you made any money off of those sites, how has it worked for you, do you spend a lot of time marketing, is flickr part of your marketing, or do you do it on that site or do you use your own site? I am not looking for money making advice, I am really wondering how all this web 2.0 social site, showing off your work, working out for you, or are you like me more interested in the exposure of your work. Or like me, are you torn about moving up a level on the seriousness of creating art to do it for some part of your livelihood and actually believing enough in your work to see if you can actually produce in this manner. I see lots of very talented people here and wonder how they fit in on this stuff. Some of you I know are professionals, some are not, so I figured I would put this out there and see how people respond.

Again, I am not looking for advice, just what are you doing and how is it working out for you.

thanks for those who participate in this discussion.

ta ta for now.

Have you been struggling with your finances over recent weeks, recent months and now wonder where to turn and what to do next? Has what was once just a cash flow issue turned into something more serious? Do you receive mail you’d choose to ignore rather than open, phone calls you’d rather not answer, sleepless nights, the pressure and anxiety that so often comes with financial worries? You’re not alone.

Worries and concerns over financial problems and especially bankruptcy in the UK are at record levels. Recent research by AXA PPP Healthcare estimates that 1.4m British workers have taken time off work in the last 12 months as a result of concerns over their financial situation. A reported 1.2m spend more than 25% of the day feeling anxious and 70% admit they spend time at work worrying about their finance, with over 30% spending worrying up to 15 minutes a day.

Bankruptcy in the UK

According to the Insolvency Service a record 134,142 people in England and Wales were declared insolvent in 2009, a figure well above the previous 2006 high of 107,288
When it came to full-blown bankruptcy as opposed to IVAs (Individual Voluntary Agreements) or other formal arrangement with creditors, a total of 74,670 individuals were declared bankrupt over the year. This is a rise of nearly 11% on 2008′s figure. Bankruptcy in the UK is clearly not uncommon. Fortunately bankruptcy advice is easily available. When it comes to debt management advice on IVAs and bankruptcy UK debtors are very well supported.

The trick though is finding the right kind of bankruptcy advice – impartial, experienced and trained professionals who can help you with financial concerns and give you clear, concise bankruptcy advice on what steps to take and how to take them. For example, don’t allow yourself to be told that bankruptcy is an easy option. In many respects it is the most radical form of debt management that you can turn to – a last resort not the first. There are long-term consequences and it might well be that an alternative form of debt management is more suitable. A good, free advice agency will be able to clearly and simply present you with all the bankruptcy advice to help you choose the path that is best for you. Let the experts in financial management and bankruptcy advice guide you on the best steps to take and help you spend less time worrying about your financial future.

One of the ironies of my profession is that, if you want to accumulate wealth and financial security, you would benefit greatly from the services of a financial planner. Yet generally people can’t afford a financial planner until they have already accumulated some wealth.Rick Kahler, CFP, resides in Rapid City, South Dakota and is a fee-only financial planner. He is the co-author of “The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge” and “Conscious Finance,” both available on Amazon.com. You can learn more about Rick at wwww.kahlerfinancial.com.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Sunset over the Welbourne Centre


Image by Alan Stanton
This is Part Seven of an eight-part series about matters involving Cllr Charles Adje.
To view in sequence, please click here. In any case, it’s better to read at least Part Six first..

Back to ◄ Part Six ║Forward to Part Eight ►

________________________________________________________

The previous Part Six was about the Haringey Council meeting on 19 January 2009.

Part Seven is in three sections.

► First, there’s a recap of key paragraphs from my transcript of part of the Council meeting. These cover Cllr Charles Adje’s stated reasons for consulting an “independent solicitor”.
The repetition is just to save you having to click to and fro. So you may want to skip to the next section which has new material.

►A second section sets out the questions I asked Haringey officers after the meeting. It summarizes the answers they gave me.

►The last section gives my comments.

What Cllr Adje told the Council
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On 19 January 2009, Cllr Adje faced questions at the meeting of Haringey Council. This was originally webcast. But the videos of Council meetings are removed after six months. (They can be requested by residents.)

Here again is part of what he said – and the focus of this post.

Cllr Charles Adje : “As a matter of fact and just for the record I do indeed feel that there are occasions when a cabinet member may feel it appropriate to seek independent legal advice. I do not wish to go into detail, and will not be pressed further on the matter. But in this case I had reason to feel that I was not being given adequate and proper advice on this issue. And thus decided, for the sake of my own understanding of the situation, to seek independent advice, as repeated requests for clarification on the matter was not forthcoming despite my escalation of same. That is all I have to say by way of explanation, as the matter has been investigated and decided upon already, Mr Mayor."

"It is always difficult for members to always take officers’ advice as gospel. Especially when it is out of kilter with the normal Council practice, and when it has been applied in the past and not on this particular occasion. Bearing in mind the District Auditor’s comments that members should always satisfy themselves. I therefore make no apologies for seeking to safeguard the Council’s image and interest, both as a local councillor and the cabinet member in this regard."

My questions to Haringey officers
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I asked Haringey officers how many times Cllr Adje had repeated his requests for legal clarification? And whether or not there was "an escalation of same".

I was told that from records available it appears that Cllr Adje made two requests for legal clarification. The first was in a written note to the Head of Corporate Property Services after a meeting on 12 October 2007.

The second request from Cllr Adje was in an email on 13 November 2007 to the Chief Executive and the Director of Corporate Resources. On both 12 October and 13 November the substance of the request was the same – i.e. were the provisions of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 excluded from the "tenancy at will" granted by the Council to the occupiers of the Welbourne Centre?

There appears to be no record of Cllr Adje making a direct approach to Haringey Legal Services for advice on this point. However, his request for clarification was conveyed to Legal Services and the draft report was amended to deal with the points which Councillor Adje was raising, He was sent a copy of that draft report on 16 November 2007. There are no records of subsequent requests from Councillor Adje for advice or clarification on this after that date.

Haringey officers do not know what Cllr Adje may have meant by "escalation of same" – other than that he made the two requests above.

I asked whether Cllr Adje had asked for a second opinion from counsel [i.e. a barrister] with relevant expertise in Landlord and Tenant law. And if so whether or not counsel’s advice was obtained.

Officers replied that:
“There is no indication that Cllr Adje asked for Counsel’s advice to be obtained at any time before he took his own action to seek independent legal advice from outside the Council.”

I asked about Cllr Adje’s reference to the decision to sell the Welbourne Centre on the open market as being ". . . out of kilter with the normal Council practice, and when it has been applied in the past and not on this particular occasion."

Officers gave me a detailed reply, the key paragraph of which is that:

" To achieve best consideration from the disposal of property assets the Council always starts by establishing a proper benchmark valuation at the time of the proposed sale and normally seeks a buyer through a competitive process in order to maximise the actual price achieved. In most cases this is achieved through an open marketing exercise which also has the advantage of being demonstrably transparent.

I asked about cases where the Council chose to sell to a preferred purchaser rather than seek the best consideration on the open market.

The reply from Haringey officers was that:
“In some circumstances it is possible for the Council to obtain best consideration by negotiating with a single purchaser without offering the property to the open market. This is only in cases where the purchaser can be considered to be a ‘special purchaser’; and is therefore in a position to generate a greater value than other potential purchasers in the open market.”

They also told me that surplus Housing land may be sold to Registered Social Landlords (Housing Associations) at below market price, as the aim is to produce homes for Haringey residents. This does not apply to the Welbourne site.

My Comments
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Overall, this is a far different picture than Cllr Adje gave at the Haringey Council meeting on
19 January 2009, when he chose to publicly criticise officers for not giving him “adequate and proper advice."

Did Cllr Adje make "repeated requests for clarification on the matter"? It turns out there was only one repetition; he asked the same question twice. Was there: "escalation of same"? This also seems to mean repeating his question.

So was there a "lack of adequate and proper advice?" Or was it that entirely adequate advice from Haringey officers was not what Cllr Adje wanted to hear?

Let’s give Cllr Adje the benefit of the doubt and assume he really was unclear about the advice he was getting. In that case, why didn’t he ask for an indisputably ‘independent’ second opinion – from ‘Counsel’ – a barrister expert in the law of Landlord and Tenant?

One point – perhaps the only point – on which I agree with Cllr Adje is that councillors should not accept without question what officers tell us. But equally, Cllr Adje knows very well that when there is a contentious legal issue he could – and perhaps should – have asked for Counsel’s opinion to be obtained. It is by no means extraordinary or even unusual.

Cllr Adje is a former Leader of the Council, and until May 2009 was the “cabinet” member whose responsibilities included Finance and Property. His job was to safeguard not just the Council’s interests but those of all the residents of Haringey. It will come as no shock to him that when the Council sells property it wants the “best consideration” – i.e. the highest price. The idea that a councillor in his position thinks it’s “normal Council practice” to sell publicly-owned land and property at below market price is deeply disturbing.

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► In Part Eight: who was the supposedly "Independent solicitor" Cllr Adje consulted?

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Copyright (c) 2008 Kimberlie Hutson

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