40 dollars for bread

The inflation of Zimbabwe on annual basic in July has broken the worldwide record with a percentage of 231 million and the main cause is the price of bread and grain.

For example, bread costs between 7.000 and 10.000 Zimbabwean dollar, or 41 to 58 American dollars. According to analysts, these figures aren’t correct and the inflation might be higher and some people say the inflation in august had a percentage of 600 million.

When you compare these figures with Belgium (5, 46 % in September on annual basic and 0, 16 on monthly basic), you can notice a huge difference.

Lies Gossé

sources

http://yeinjee.com/discovery/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/zimbabwe-cash-inflation.jpg

http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF09102008_065&kanaalid=17

Is online banking safe?

The banks themselves are highly secured, but the weak link is your own personal computer. The risk is that if a hacker is able to break the codes on your pc, he can use your account and pretend to be you. When this happens, it’s very difficult to persuade the bank it wasn’t you, although everything happened through your computer. If you want to protect yourself from being robbed, here’s a tip: a big network of computers, like at work, is in most cases safer than your home computer.

Sien Deserranno

Source: http://www.tinhat.com/banking/online_banking.html

half a million Belgians poorer

For belgian families has the fall of fortis caused the largest finacial hangover in decades. Hundred of thousands small investors have lost there savings. the share fortis, that included bank values of the former Generale Bank and insurance agency AG, was the most distributed equity in Belgium. Conservative estimates by specialists have found the Belgian families 6 billion € lighter than before.

Maverick Huys

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/942/Economie/article/detail/443624/2008/10/08/Half-miljoen-Belgen-armer-door-val-Fortis.dhtml

The ATM swallowed my debit card!?

You go to a nearby ATM to withdraw some money, you insert your debit card, and then…nothing at all. You push the cancel button, but still nothing happens, most probably you will think the ATM has just swallowed your debit card, which you will pick up the next day in the bank office.

Unfortunately, the bank clerk will tell you the debit card has never been inserted because criminals have invented a manner to steal your debit card unnoticed with the aid of a piece of plastic that obstructs the ATM to read, swallow or return your debit card.

When you find yourself in the situation described up here, do not leave and call Card Stop (070 344 344) immediately to block your debit card.

Joachim Marginet

"It's something you see in the movies..."

In Brazil, thieves robbed a bank after tunneling into the safe. The well-organized gang was digging a 200m tunnel from a suburban house to the bank. The robbery wasn't discovered until monday morning because the theft happened over the weekend while the bank was closed. The robbers stole up to $65m what could be the biggest bank heist in Brazil's history.

Floris Kesteloot

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4133388.stm

Online banking becomes more popular

Over the last few years, online banking has become increasingly popular and is being used, on a regular base, by approximately 70% of current internet users.
Internet banking is getting more succesful because people are starting to see the benefits of this new way to bank, for example 24/7 acces to account information and the possibility to save time and money by not having to drive to a local bank. Over the last few years, internet banking also lost a big part of its risky and dangerous image, because the banking websites have become more secure and reliable, and are under constant surveillance. Because of this evolution, internet banking is expected to become a major part in banks' activities and there is a great possibility that banks will start to use this medium for the recrutement of new customers and to reach a higher market share.




Sources:
http://www.cartoonbank.com
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/online-banking-increasingly-convenient-594673.html



Steenhout Jean-Yves

‘Pay back credit card debt? No way!’

According to an education charity more than 50 % of all children have been in debt by the time they reached the age of seventeen, and even more shocking; they don’t care!

To show the ‘I don’t care mentality’ : teenagers consider a credit card as an easy way to spend far more money than they earn and if we may believe 5 percent of those teens, there seems no need to pay any credit card debt back!

The ‘I still depend financially on mommy and daddy’ attitude is also still alive between the teenagers, as they say only to use a credit card to buy goods and services when they’re sure mom and dad will take care of the bill.

The era of ‘the worryingly laid back teenagers’ has come to a climax, but still this won’t be the beginning of the end of the responsible adult, because the research also showed that two thirds were likely to learn about banking and spending.

To conclude; no worries no worries, also this shall pass.

Sanne D'Haese

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6356065.stm

Children + debit cards = bad combination

Lloyds TSB has reached a new low by sending Visa cards which don't require a guardian to under-16s . In the past, children were already able to withdraw cash from ATM's, but now they can also purchase things online without supervision of their parents. Banks use this tricky plan as a new way to get someone hooked and keep them for the rest of their lives. So it shows that banks still haven't learned their lesson from their irresponsible lending on credit cards and compound their problems by encouraging younsters to spend big money on these cards.

Katrien Cooremans

The US rescue plan: What analysts say

Economic analysts give their opinion on the governements rescue plan regarding the financial crisis in America, both positive and negative thoughts are on the table.

Most of the analysts think the rescue plan will create a situation of stability on the financial market, there might be some volatility left in the beginning, but eventually there will come an end to this. Robert Andres (strategist at Portfolio Management consultants)says the risk of a systemic collapse is taken away but this doesn't make people fully trust banks again and since the whole financial system is based on trust, this situation is very bad indeed.
Only future will tell if the economy will recover, but considering almost all comments were positive, there's a very big chance everything is going to turn out just fine.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/14/useconomy-georgebush-marketturmoil

Willem Herman

As the financial market keep collapsing, more and more people lose faith in the banking system and start cashing their money. Some even believe that living without a bank account would protect them from the current crisis. Although some consider stepping out of the system a brave decision, the consequences are serious. Receiving paychecks, paying bills, getting a loan,.. would become impossible and at the end the disadvantages will make them a victim and reduce their financial freedom.

Source : BBC NEWS 10/10/2008

Laura De Nys

Online banking

Online banking gives customers the opportunity to arrange their financial transactions on the internet. The advantages for the customers are a round-the-clock availability, an insured security and the ability to arrange very easily financial transactions at home.
Morover, online banking is also advantageous to the bank, they no longer need a bank clerk at the office window and also because they no longer need to send bank statements.
Because of these advantages, online banking has become very popular over the last few years.
Joke Maelfeyt

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_banking
http://search.statbel.fgov.be/query.html?col=statnl&qt=internetbankieren&charset=iso-8859-1&style=statbelnl

How to pay for expensive education

The cost of education has grown that much that some students can not afford to go to college for a degree, but student loans seem to be the solution.
They can cover the cost of living or they can help the student with paying for their books. A student loan can mean the difference between a minimum wage job and a high paying job because most jobs require some form of college education. So after you are employed, it will be no problem to repay the amount of money.

Source:
http://ezinearticles.com/?College-Loans---How-to-Pay-For-Expensive-Education&id=1555171

Nicolas Dierickx

Dexia chairman and CEO resigned

Dexia's chairman and CEO resigned on Tuesday, a day after the Franco-Belgian bank's shares lost almost a third of their value; Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments have agreed to inject 6.4 billion euros into the troubled bank.

Earlier Tuesday, the Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments agreed to pump fresh capital into the banking group, after its shares plummeted by nearly 30 percent on Monday.

Shares in Dexia, which had been suspended at the request of authorities most of the morning, surged over 10 percent once trading was resumed.

Dexia, whose corporate motto is "short term has no future", has run into trouble supporting its US bond insurer FSA, which has suffered from exposure to the slumping US mortgage market.

Marion Leenknegt

JetBlue lands on eBay

JetBlue thinks that in the future, eBay is going to be the place to be when it comes to buying flight tickets. The American low-cost airline started up a temporarily experiment to sell tickets to the highest bidder. The bidding starts at the price of 5 or 10 dollar cent and it’s a way for the customers to find a useful promotion. JetBlue has a lot of advantages with this sales strategy: it’s a very good way to sell ill-timed tickets to unsuitable places.

Edith Denys
Source: http://netto.tijd.be/geld_en_gezin/budget/Eenmaal__andermaal..._vliegtuigticket_verkocht.8072565-1767.art

Belgian government has bad luck?

The Belgian government has set up a system to repay a part of the losses from small shareholders from Fortis. This system implies that the profit on the share from BNP Paribas and the remitted dividends will all be “thrown together” in one fund, which will then(after deduction of several costs) pay back a part of the losses small shareholders led. But the government set a maximum on this return, namely  10 minus the average value of one share Fortis during the first week it comes back on the Brussels exchange stock. Unfortunately for the government, who was probably hoping that the value of the Fortis would stick around the 5.42 Euros it was when it got suspended so that this maximum amount would stay rather low, one share Fortis fell down to 1.22 Euros the first day it came back on Euronext Brussels.

Joeri Gussé

Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=DMF12102008_039

You've got it wrong, Hank!

Though it is the same crisis, Europe and the U.S. have other ideas on how to solve this problem. Europe believes that Henry "Hank" Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary, never should let "Lehman Brothers", an investment bank, fail because this caused anxiety in international banking. Europe believes in a different approach: state guarantees are provided for different loans and the European states will take measures before a bank goes bankrupt. Time will tell whether the plan of the U.S. or the plan of Europe will be more successful.

Ilke Eeckhout

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/13/news/international/gumbel_eurobank.fortune/index.htm

Art and antiques as investment

Everybody thinks the financial crisis is taking down the whole economy but nothing is further from the truth, there are some sectors which are taking advantage of the crisis. Travel agencies, real estate, bank institutions,.... all these industries are victims of our collapsing economy, art and antiques on the other hand experience benefit from it. People are afraid to invest in stocks and shares , so they look for other ways to secure their money. Investing in art and antiques is at this moment a smart way to protect you from losing all your money.

Hannelore Garmyn

Source: VRT news 10/10/2008, http://www.deredactie.be/cm/de.redactie/economie/1.395630

Minors free to buy online

There has been a lot of commotion in the UK because LLOYDS TSB has sent debit cards to thousands of children without informing the parents. Some of the children were only 11 years old. The cards permit the children to buy online without their parents knowledge. Lloyds defends that the cards protect the children from overdraw and adult or gambling sites. But a 15-year old boy already bought cigarettes, Viagra and a fake adult identification.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/borrowing/article4241836.ece

Stephanie Mahieu

a new way of investment

Because of the financial crisis it isn’t safe anymore to invest in stocks and shares and that’s why people are looking for safer ways of investment; such as gold….
The sales of golden coins have gone up by more than 230% since last year at “Vienna philharmonic gold”; the production there has actually gone into overdrive.

The banks on the other hand don’t know anymore what to do to keep the investors on their side during these difficult times.

I wonder what will be the next safe way to invest our money, maybe oil….

Deweer Audrey

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Discount for stockholders Fortis.

An owner of a restaurant in Oostende gives a discount of ten percent for one month to customers who are stockholders in Fortis and hopes other owners will follow his example. If others co-operate, we could give a sign to the government and at the same time help the victims of the credit crises. For example, if a Fortis-stockholder could get a ten percent discount for a washing machine, that could compensate for a part of the lost amount of money. Commercial enterprises would make less profit at the end of the year but the government would collect less taxes.

Eva Joye


Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=G7B21NFQ2

Iceland running out of food

Icelanders are flooding the supermarkets one last time, stocking up on food as the collapse of the banking system threatens to cut the island off from imports.

Iceland's foreign currency market has seized up after the three largest banks collapsed and the government abandoned an attempt to peg the exchange rate.
Many banks won't trade the krona and suppliers from abroad are demanding payment in advance.

The government has asked banks to prioritize foreign currency transactions for essentials such as food, drugs and oil, to assure the icelanders that there is no reason to panic!

Cédric Lanckriet

Source: http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/2401/Crisis-op-de-beurs/article/detail/450648/2008/10/14/IJslanders-gedoemd-tot-hamsteren-door-bijna-lege-rekken.dhtml

Banking & Finance

From the stockmarket to your bed

Because of the stockmarket crash, investors are scared to lose their money and they search for other ways to put their money safe. Some people are convinced that the safest way to keep their money, is to hide it under their bed, which means that the economy would freeze up if everybody stops investing. Other investors, who take a long-term view, see the price falls as buying opportunities. Everybody wants their money to be safe but every alternative has its advantages and disadvantages, so it’s very important to stay optimistic and think twice before you invest in something.

Charlotte De Ruyck

(source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/13/marketturmoil-shares-warrenbuffett)

What is a stock market? No idea!

Many pupils haven't got an idea of what a stockmarket is or what is happening in banks. They will get the chance to improve their knowledge of some important financial topics and they will learn how to build up their own career. The plan for this project includes lessons that will be rather practical. The training is not only available for pupils, also adults who have a low level of skills in banking are invited to be there.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6283708.stm

Timothy De Smet

Younger then 25 and already enormous debts

Almost one third of the working youngsters, who still live at home, already has a debt of 750 euros. They mostly borrow from their family or friends and at the age of 18 they use the overdraft facility on their current account. This is very alarming, because these youngsters don’t have fixed costs yet and so become in great problems when they leave home. These debts are the result of giving to much money to vacation, car or moped, clothes, shoes and going out.

Source:http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/inp/2005/11/01/R068.htm

Sofie Dhondt

A better future with life insurance!

Can a bank guarantee the safety of your money? Most people would say yes, but when you think about the current financial crises, that answer isn’t that obvious anymore. If you want to make sure that your hard earned money is save, you should invest in buying a life insurance policy. Although many people feel that a life insurance is a waste of money, it will help you to face many difficult circumstances very easily.


Source: http://www.bygpub.com/finance/finance10.htm
http://www.assuralia.be

Katrien Meert

Getting out of debt

When you have much debt, it's normal to want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Interest costs can be really high, and having to much debt makes it difficult or even impossible to take another debt for things you really need. Many people make the mistake of assuming they can pay off their debt really fast, they set unrealistic goals and get discouraged when they don't reach them. They should make a budget in advance, including all of their montly expenses, and think off which costs they can drop.

Lieselot D'hoop

Ethical Awareness

People's savings should be protected against any adventures or risks. That's what our prime minister, Yves Leterme, declared today while reading his government statement. He called bankers and managers up, to think much more ethically. To control the safety of our money, the government will enable measures.

www.deredactie.be

Aurianne Lambert

Playing golf

While the whole world loses money because of the financial crisis, the oil sheikhs can just keep playing golf without worries. Because of the high prices of fuel, the sheikhs will earn 407 milliard dollar this year, which is a rise of 75%. The sheiks are not intended to push their production so the prices will not decrease. But to help the world, they will establish a fund of 640 million euros to help the poor countries with the rising prices of fuel.

Josefien Maes

http://netto.tijd.be/actua/economie/Sjeiks_verdienen_tonnen_geld.7809514-1619.art

No cause for concern

Many people fear for their savings in this disastrous economic situation. Nevertheless we may assume that these are protected by the government.
A first reassurance is the set-up of an arrangement of guarantee which is now fixed on an amount of 100,000 euros, yet not legally.
Second, the government claimed to be responsible for certain life insurances.
Still no need to worry it seems…

www.trends.be

Jolien De Plus

Less jobs in "The city"

According to a report of the 'CEBR', there will be a considerable decrease in the number of jobs in the financial area in the city of London. "The city" was acquainted with an enormous boom in the last few years, but due to the financial crisis around 62000 jobs will disappear. These losses cause concern : on the one hand people are afraid of losing their jobs and no longer being able to pay their mortgage, and on the other hand it is very difficult to find a new job. But, despite the decline in the financial area, observers point to the huge positive impact that these difficulties will have on the surrounding economy in "the city".

www.tijd.be/nieuws/economie-financien/'62.000_jobs_minder_in_de_city'.8089510-600.art

Kelly Frederickx

Big banks, little confidence

We all know banks aren't a charity,that gives you money whenever you need it,yet, most of us trusted that our money is safe over there. But now, every time we put on the radio, they are talking about banks and the financial crisis, which causes a lot of suspicion. Some people even take all the money from their bank account to put it back in their old socks or in their piggy bank. Do we go back in time, or will the confidence slowly, but steadily return?

Nele Martens

A loan for everyone

The old fashioned pawnbroker shops are coming up again. Due to the credit crunch certain people aren’t creditworthy enough to get a loan and for those people pawnbrokers are a gift from heaven. More and more people use this credit facility as a short-term finance, though they also borrow considerable amounts of money. This trend is also reflected in the number of pawn shops in the UK that increased from 50 shops in the seventies to more than 1,000 shops nowadays.


Virginie Mataigne

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2008/08/15/pawnbroker_feature.shtml

Money on the bank or under the mattress?

President Bush and the G7 have decided that we need a global approach for our financial crisis. The plan is that the government will stand surety for all the money of the savers or the banks will fall into the hands of the national governments. But will this be enough to regain the trust of the savers, or will they keep their money in their hindingplaces at home? Hopefully the savers will see the difference with the crisis in the '30 and realise the importance of our banks in our economy.

Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleID=DMF11102008_032

Annelien Goessens

The safest places for your savings

Because of the financial crisis and the increasing number of concerned people, the Times has searched for the best ways to secure your savings. Next to chosing deposits that are 100% guaranteed, it's also a good idea to spread your money amongst several banks. When you've lost compleet trust in banks, you could start using a safety deposit box. That's much safer than keeping your money under the mattress, something one in ten people do.


http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/09/the-six-safest.html

An-Sofie Desmet

Money Mistakes

A lot of people do not know how to deal with money, especially not students. The biggest mistake is to get into a credit card debt, which takes you about 15 years to pay off this debt. Second, students with a student loan tend to spend more money on lifestyle than on their education, while there are smarter ways to spend the money. Last, the student is not budgetting enough, meaning that students have a low credit score when they graduate, which is inconvenient to obtain a home loan or a car loan.

Mélanie Ferrer

Source: http://financialplan.about.com/od/moneyandcollegestudents/a/CollegeMistakes.htm

Gates no longer the richest

Warren Buffett is for the first time for years richer than Bill Gates. The investor increased his fortune with eight billion dollars in spite of the financial crisis that influenced the whole world in comparaison with Bill Gates who lost about 1.5 billion dollars of his fortune. Forbes calculated that Buffett owns about 58 billion dollars while Gates owns about 57 billion dollars. As a result, the owner of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the most succesful banks of the world, is the richest american.


Source: http://www.gva.be/nieuws/economie/default.asp?art={0BB944BC-6376-41AA-80BF-E445AEA87369}


Ersin Kaymak

Poor us.

The omnipresent economical crisis seems to be our number one scapegoat for the declining purchasing power.
Strange, because when we look at some raw numbers, the average wage increased by 2.4%(before indexation), more than enough to maintain a rational prosperity level.
Unfortunately, we are very easily biased by todays consumer-society , wanting all of those "every-day" consumer goods(like that new Plasma HD-TV, the new cellphones for the kids with accompanying subscriptions, the new car and a GPS for the old one) without seeing any effect on our current/savings account.
So instead of changing our lifestyles, we demand an income fit for our expenses, rather than fitting our expenses in our income.

Because I Can
-Bram Steurtewagen

Source: "Trends"

Belgium loves champagne

2007 was a great year for the champagne business, the sales of the sparkling wine rose worldwide.
France is the best-selling country when it comes to champagne: 188 million bottles were sold last year.
But Belgium can definitely compete with those results: However it’s a pretty small country, 10 million bottles were sold in 2007 and with that result, Belgium has reached the top five in worldwide champagne sales!
But the expectations for next year are less bright: caused by slacking economic circumstances and the financial crisis, people will probably act more price-conscious and luxury products (champagne, among others) may be replaced by cheaper equivalents.

www.deredactie.be

Laure Konings

Banks destroys each other!

The biggest problem of the Financial crises of today, is that banks are afraid of lending to each other.

The interbank market does not function well anymore! Banks have a lack of confidence, there thrust is really gone. That is why central banks have the important task to provide liquidity if not the banking system will fail.

source:

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleid=DMF02102008_085

Elke Louwye

Why eBay is more expensive than we think

People who already bought on eBay, or a similar bidding webshop, will know the rush of the last minutes going by while overbidding and being overbid. But in this rush we most of the time forget that we haven't got any money at the moment or the item is cheaper in your neighbourhood shop. For some shop-a-holics the thrill of being 'the best' is an unbeatable feeling. This thrill makes you react instinctively and not thinking rationally and thus paying €40 for a €25 sculpture...

Source: http://netto.tijd.be/geld_en_gezin/budget/Waarom_je_veel_te_veel_betaalt_op_eBay.8084814-1767.art

Frederik Dhont

Plastic surgery to earn more money

Many employees consider plastic surgery to become a pay rise. Beautiful employees earn more money according to research and they are also more quickly helped by colleagues when they are attractive. So a lot of them choose for plastic surgery when they want a promotion or earn more money. It costs a lot, but it’s an investment and will repay itself.

http://www.express.be/business/nl/hr/een-nieuw-uiterlijk-voor-een-nieuwe-job/94812.htm

Willem Kröhle

Citizens Bank robbed by a tree.

A 49-year-old man of New Hampshire, accused of robbing a Citizens Bank on Elm Street, took the idea of branch banking a bit too far.
His plan consisted of attaching leaves to his arms and face to disguise himself as a tree. The creative bank robber demanded cash and walked out.
An anonymous tip, from someone who saw the story on television, led them to their suspect.


http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleID=dmf10072007_017

Evy D'Hondt

Example blog: Pay your dues

British students starting their university training now expect to end up with a degree… and around £30,000 in debt! Students are facing ever higher tuition fees and rising prices for food and lodging. It takes over 10 years to repay these debts. Luckily for British students, most parents help out even after their kids leave university. (The Guardian)

The English teachers