Following today’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting the Bank of England has announced that it is keeping interest rates on hold at 0.5%. Although the interest rate has been left on hold it is still at its lowest level in the history of the Bank of England, which goes back over three hundred years.
The government has already indicated that there is no more room for base rate cuts at present, but has launched a plan to try and assist the economy through quantitative easing. In addition to announcing that the base rate will be kept on hold the central bank also said that a further £50 billion is going to be pumped in to the UK economy as part of this process.
So far the government is though to have ploughed around £54 billion into the economy through quantitative easing, and was set to have pumped £75 billion into the economy by June. However, the figure has now increased to £125 billion, which means an additional £50 billion that will be used to try and ease the stress on the economy.
Industry experts had expected the Bank of England to wait until next week before making any announcement with regards to extending the quantitative easing programme, as it is then that up to date economic forecast figures were expected to be published. However, the central bank has announced its decision today.
The Bank of England has been given the go ahead to spend up to £150 billion in total on quantitative easing by the Treasury, and some officials have expressed surprise that the announcement has only increased the amount of money that will be ploughed into the economy to £125 billion. One economist said that this could be because Bank of England officials were confident that the recovery was going as planned.
In its statement the Bank of England stated that “the world economy remains in deep recession” but also added that “surveys at home and abroad show promising signs that the pace of decline has begun to moderate”.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Top talent being driven abroad due to tax changes
There are concerns that the tax increases that were announced in yesterday’s budget could result in some of the top talent in Britain being driven abroad. This comes after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced that top earners would face paying the highest tax rates since the 1970s.
Darling announced that around 350,000 people in Britain were earning in excess of £150,000 a year, and these people will be paying the new 50p income tax rate. According to reports when new reductions in allowances and higher national insurance rates come into force part of the income of these high earners will be subject to a tax rate of 61.5%. Also, those earning over £100,000 are likely to lose some if not all of their tax allowance.
The changes are due to come into force earlier than many expected, as they have been scheduled for April 2010. The announcements made by the chancellor in yesterday’s budget were also far grimmer than those that were outlined by the chancellor in his pre-budget report last year. The new 50p tax rate will be amongst the highest in Europe, and some industry experts are warning that this could lead to much of Britain’s talent being driven abroad, which would result in a reduction in the amount of tax collected from higher earners.
One official said that many of Britain’s higher earners would start looking at places such as Switzerland to try and escape this drain on their finances, and that this could mean that people in key industries – people who would play an important role in helping to get Britain out of the ongoing recession – could head off to pastures new, leaving Britain and its extortionate tax rates behind.
Many countries are now experiencing a slowdown in the economy, and in order to boost the economy some are touting for people in certain industries to move abroad in order to help boost the economy. This could look like an increasingly attractive offer for many talented high earners in the face of the new tax announcements from Alistair Darling.
Darling announced that around 350,000 people in Britain were earning in excess of £150,000 a year, and these people will be paying the new 50p income tax rate. According to reports when new reductions in allowances and higher national insurance rates come into force part of the income of these high earners will be subject to a tax rate of 61.5%. Also, those earning over £100,000 are likely to lose some if not all of their tax allowance.
The changes are due to come into force earlier than many expected, as they have been scheduled for April 2010. The announcements made by the chancellor in yesterday’s budget were also far grimmer than those that were outlined by the chancellor in his pre-budget report last year. The new 50p tax rate will be amongst the highest in Europe, and some industry experts are warning that this could lead to much of Britain’s talent being driven abroad, which would result in a reduction in the amount of tax collected from higher earners.
One official said that many of Britain’s higher earners would start looking at places such as Switzerland to try and escape this drain on their finances, and that this could mean that people in key industries – people who would play an important role in helping to get Britain out of the ongoing recession – could head off to pastures new, leaving Britain and its extortionate tax rates behind.
Many countries are now experiencing a slowdown in the economy, and in order to boost the economy some are touting for people in certain industries to move abroad in order to help boost the economy. This could look like an increasingly attractive offer for many talented high earners in the face of the new tax announcements from Alistair Darling.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Should You Use an Online Checking Account?
Do you have a checking account? How many checks do you write every month? Probably not many. When you do write checks, it is probably just to pay some bills. What if you never had to write checks?
If you didn't have to write checks, you would save a lot of paper and some time. Saving paper is always good for the environment, as is going paperless in any way. I will tell you there is a way to stop writing checks.
Online checking accounts are great. One popular one is Electric Orange from ING Direct. If you ever need to pay a bill or pay someone, you just send it through your account and they send an e-check. If you need to send a physical check to someone, they take care of that for you, too.
If you want to take money out of an ATM with Electric Orange account, you can. You get free ATM withdrawals at over 35,000 ATMs. Most banks charge a fee at any ATM if it's not from your bank. You don't have to worry about this.
Not sure how you're going to get the money into your checking account? It's pretty simple, you just have your money directly deposited into your account. Talk to your employer about setting up direct deposit. This way you don't have to go pick up a check and you don't have to make yet another trip to the bank to cash or deposit it.
With an online bank checking account, you can earn money from your money just as with an online savings account. The online bank doesn't have to pay for the same expenses that a brick and mortar bank has to pay for, and this means you can get a higher interest rate and earn more money.
You don't have anything to lose with this because it's free to join and set up an account. If you don't like it, then just stop using it and go back to your own checking account. You might as well try it to see if there's something you can gain.
If you didn't have to write checks, you would save a lot of paper and some time. Saving paper is always good for the environment, as is going paperless in any way. I will tell you there is a way to stop writing checks.
Online checking accounts are great. One popular one is Electric Orange from ING Direct. If you ever need to pay a bill or pay someone, you just send it through your account and they send an e-check. If you need to send a physical check to someone, they take care of that for you, too.
If you want to take money out of an ATM with Electric Orange account, you can. You get free ATM withdrawals at over 35,000 ATMs. Most banks charge a fee at any ATM if it's not from your bank. You don't have to worry about this.
Not sure how you're going to get the money into your checking account? It's pretty simple, you just have your money directly deposited into your account. Talk to your employer about setting up direct deposit. This way you don't have to go pick up a check and you don't have to make yet another trip to the bank to cash or deposit it.
With an online bank checking account, you can earn money from your money just as with an online savings account. The online bank doesn't have to pay for the same expenses that a brick and mortar bank has to pay for, and this means you can get a higher interest rate and earn more money.
You don't have anything to lose with this because it's free to join and set up an account. If you don't like it, then just stop using it and go back to your own checking account. You might as well try it to see if there's something you can gain.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Pets on Your Checks
A dog may be man's best friend, but the fact is that animals of all kinds have been adored and immortalized because of their beauty, companionship, usefulness and even religious significance. In their Eastern religions, for example, the Chinese subscribe to the doctrine of reincarnation, and in that they included cats in that cycle of reemergence, believing them to be reincarnated souls and moving them one step closer towards Nirvana. Cats were also thought to possess godlike powers in the Egyptian religions, which immortalized them as goddesses and appeared in the tomb paintings. Perhaps this respect accorded to the cats was owing to their utility: they could eat rodents in granaries while leaving the grain itself preserved.
Surely one of the greatest and most elegant of animals celebrated for its awesome strength and beauty is the horse. They have won many races in competitions throughout history. The Chinese assembled over 5,000 horses with riders to be at the service of their emperor more than two thousand years ago. Horses have been a part of our mythical and religious folklore as well. The well known Greek beast centaur was made of part human and part horse, and played a powerful role in Greek mythology. There is no doubt that the human race adores and prizes horses as one of the chief of animals. Nonetheless their breed has been on the decline in the past few decades and so breeders have been actively worker to ensure these animals never go out of existence.
Finally we come to that most popular of pets, the modern day dog, which exists in hundreds of breeds and breed mixes. There are countless ways that dogs have earned their rightful trust of humans as indeed being our most cherished companions. They protect us, help us, can assist the disabled by serving as Seeing Eye dogs and even help police by serving as search dogs. Of course, they are the perfect pet as well. It doesn't matter the style or breed or temperament of dog, there is a dog to match every human personality and unique situation. Dogs have been elevated to their own roles in Greek mythology as well, serving as watchdogs to protect the gates of Hades.
Truly the human race has had a long standing love affair with animals, and this collective affection has made them a part of our family and we've ensured that they remain a part of our memorabilia as well. It is for this reason that we've emblazoned pictures of our beloved pets on our T-shirts, hats, mugs, plates and just about every other example of personal paraphernalia you can think of. Artists throughout history have carried on this tradition by including animals of all kinds in pictures and portraits alongside humans, both the great and the humble. One of the most well known and humorous of these is the "Dogs Playing Poker" painted by C.M. Coolidge in 1910. Pets, famously enough, have even been noted as being the beneficiaries of estates upon the benefactor's death so that the pet can continue to enjoy the "good life" when the master is gone!
With such a love affair with dogs, it's no wonder that people want their own portraits of their beloved pets to cherish as keepsakes for the rest of their lives. Some people are even prepared to spend extravagant sums of money to have these masterpieces done, anywhere from $150 to more than $1,000 for quality oil paintings. Some prefer other styles such as charcoal or pastel, or even prefer simply drawn sketch paintings instead. Pets pose their unique challenges for the artist, as some of them, like cats, can rarely sit still long for a painting. In these circumstances the painter can use a photo to base his painting on, or a mixture of a photo and some studio time as the best way create their finished product.
You have a variety of options to choose from if you want to immortalize your pet in this way, whether it's to stamp their image on personal trinkets or to create a full blown portrait. Ask around from professional photography and painting studios to learn about their options. And if you want to stylize your personal checks with images of your beloved dogs, you can't go wrong with Checks-For-Less and their line of dog breed checks. Their checks cost about half of what the banks charge and offer a whole range of design and customization options.
"Dogs Playing Poker" painted by C.M. Coolidge in 1910. Pets, famously enough, have even been noted as being the beneficiaries of estates upon the benefactor's death so that the pet can continue to enjoy the "good life" when the master is gone!
With such a love affair with dogs, it's no wonder that people want their own portraits of their beloved pets to cherish as keepsakes for the rest of their lives. Some people are even prepared to spend extravagant sums of money to have these masterpieces done, anywhere from $150 to more than $1,000 for quality oil paintings. Some prefer other styles such as charcoal or pastel, or even prefer simply drawn sketch paintings instead. Pets pose their unique challenges for the artist, as some of them, like cats, can rarely sit still long for a painting. In these circumstances the painter can use a photo to base his painting on, or a mixture of a photo and some studio time as the best way create their finished product.
You have a variety of options to choose from if you want to immortalize your pet in this way, whether it's to stamp their image on personal trinkets or to create a full blown portrait. Ask around from professional photography and painting studios to learn about their options. And if you want to stylize your personal checks with images of your beloved dogs, you can't go wrong with Checks-For-Less and their line of dog breed checks. Their checks cost about half of what the banks charge and offer a whole range of design and customization options.
Surely one of the greatest and most elegant of animals celebrated for its awesome strength and beauty is the horse. They have won many races in competitions throughout history. The Chinese assembled over 5,000 horses with riders to be at the service of their emperor more than two thousand years ago. Horses have been a part of our mythical and religious folklore as well. The well known Greek beast centaur was made of part human and part horse, and played a powerful role in Greek mythology. There is no doubt that the human race adores and prizes horses as one of the chief of animals. Nonetheless their breed has been on the decline in the past few decades and so breeders have been actively worker to ensure these animals never go out of existence.
Finally we come to that most popular of pets, the modern day dog, which exists in hundreds of breeds and breed mixes. There are countless ways that dogs have earned their rightful trust of humans as indeed being our most cherished companions. They protect us, help us, can assist the disabled by serving as Seeing Eye dogs and even help police by serving as search dogs. Of course, they are the perfect pet as well. It doesn't matter the style or breed or temperament of dog, there is a dog to match every human personality and unique situation. Dogs have been elevated to their own roles in Greek mythology as well, serving as watchdogs to protect the gates of Hades.
Truly the human race has had a long standing love affair with animals, and this collective affection has made them a part of our family and we've ensured that they remain a part of our memorabilia as well. It is for this reason that we've emblazoned pictures of our beloved pets on our T-shirts, hats, mugs, plates and just about every other example of personal paraphernalia you can think of. Artists throughout history have carried on this tradition by including animals of all kinds in pictures and portraits alongside humans, both the great and the humble. One of the most well known and humorous of these is the "Dogs Playing Poker" painted by C.M. Coolidge in 1910. Pets, famously enough, have even been noted as being the beneficiaries of estates upon the benefactor's death so that the pet can continue to enjoy the "good life" when the master is gone!
With such a love affair with dogs, it's no wonder that people want their own portraits of their beloved pets to cherish as keepsakes for the rest of their lives. Some people are even prepared to spend extravagant sums of money to have these masterpieces done, anywhere from $150 to more than $1,000 for quality oil paintings. Some prefer other styles such as charcoal or pastel, or even prefer simply drawn sketch paintings instead. Pets pose their unique challenges for the artist, as some of them, like cats, can rarely sit still long for a painting. In these circumstances the painter can use a photo to base his painting on, or a mixture of a photo and some studio time as the best way create their finished product.
You have a variety of options to choose from if you want to immortalize your pet in this way, whether it's to stamp their image on personal trinkets or to create a full blown portrait. Ask around from professional photography and painting studios to learn about their options. And if you want to stylize your personal checks with images of your beloved dogs, you can't go wrong with Checks-For-Less and their line of dog breed checks. Their checks cost about half of what the banks charge and offer a whole range of design and customization options.
"Dogs Playing Poker" painted by C.M. Coolidge in 1910. Pets, famously enough, have even been noted as being the beneficiaries of estates upon the benefactor's death so that the pet can continue to enjoy the "good life" when the master is gone!
With such a love affair with dogs, it's no wonder that people want their own portraits of their beloved pets to cherish as keepsakes for the rest of their lives. Some people are even prepared to spend extravagant sums of money to have these masterpieces done, anywhere from $150 to more than $1,000 for quality oil paintings. Some prefer other styles such as charcoal or pastel, or even prefer simply drawn sketch paintings instead. Pets pose their unique challenges for the artist, as some of them, like cats, can rarely sit still long for a painting. In these circumstances the painter can use a photo to base his painting on, or a mixture of a photo and some studio time as the best way create their finished product.
You have a variety of options to choose from if you want to immortalize your pet in this way, whether it's to stamp their image on personal trinkets or to create a full blown portrait. Ask around from professional photography and painting studios to learn about their options. And if you want to stylize your personal checks with images of your beloved dogs, you can't go wrong with Checks-For-Less and their line of dog breed checks. Their checks cost about half of what the banks charge and offer a whole range of design and customization options.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Dealing With Children During Financial Difficulties
If you are in financial difficulties, its always good to have some time with your children and let them understand your financial problems and also explain to them what you are going through. In case the children are young, just tell them that everything is not okay. Sometimes you will be forced to turn a deaf year to what your children are asking you to buy them.
If in any case you normally give your children money for lunch, prepare them enough packed lunch to cut the cost on food. Let them understand why everything has changed suddenly and assure them that life will be back to normal soon. If you have phones for your children, do not load airtime in them, instead use the money to pay off your bills. Let the children use the school bus especially if your working place is quite far from school.
Its good to buy nice clothes that are in fashion for the children but, if they they really have enough clothing, tell them to wait until you have cleared all your debts. Whenever you go shopping with the kids, make sure you stick to the budget to save as much money as you can. This will be very hard for the children but, keep on encouraging them and if possible take them for dinner at least once or twice a month to let them know that you are still concerned.
Sit down with your kids and discuss about credit cards if they have to use them. Accompany them when going shopping to avoid buying things you had not budgeted. However, sometimes its good to let them have the credit cards on their own to know how much responsible they can be.
If in any case you normally give your children money for lunch, prepare them enough packed lunch to cut the cost on food. Let them understand why everything has changed suddenly and assure them that life will be back to normal soon. If you have phones for your children, do not load airtime in them, instead use the money to pay off your bills. Let the children use the school bus especially if your working place is quite far from school.
Its good to buy nice clothes that are in fashion for the children but, if they they really have enough clothing, tell them to wait until you have cleared all your debts. Whenever you go shopping with the kids, make sure you stick to the budget to save as much money as you can. This will be very hard for the children but, keep on encouraging them and if possible take them for dinner at least once or twice a month to let them know that you are still concerned.
Sit down with your kids and discuss about credit cards if they have to use them. Accompany them when going shopping to avoid buying things you had not budgeted. However, sometimes its good to let them have the credit cards on their own to know how much responsible they can be.
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