Get Ready for SEPA Direct Debits - Top 5 SEPA Migration Tips

Time is running out for businesses to be SEPA ready in good time for the February 2014 SEPA Migration deadline.

A lack of awareness certainly shouldn't be an excuse. Although the deadline was set in 2012, the SEPA initiative itself was launched more than a decade ago in 2002, with the aim of creating harmonized standards for domestic and cross-border payments in Europe.

Despite the fact that plans were put in place so long ago, there are real concerns that firms are taking too long to prepare for the looming SEPA Migration deadline. And the bad news is that at this late stage, there is virtually no chance of any change to the deadline date. Any EU request to extend the deadline would take at least one year - too late for an extension of the February 2014 date to be considered!

This means that businesses have no alternative - they need to get SEPA ready. Anyone who has not converted their systems by the deadline date will run into significant-cant problems.

To help you avoid this situation and get ready for SEPA Direct Debits, here are 'Top 5 SEPA Migration Tips' to consider:

Tips for Investment Services and Financial Services

Before you make a decision to engage in investment services and financial services, you need sound advice to ensure that you reap from your efforts. You could be planning to invest in bonds, stocks or mutual funds. You may also be thinking of partaking in the many financial services that are available such as opening an IRA or buying an annuity. As well, you may be weighing the option of obtaining credit from your bank and repaying it using monthly instalments from your salary. The list of options is endless, but in all these investment options, there is some form of risk involved. Before you settle on any of the different forms of investment services that are available, there are a number of tips that you need to follow:

• Defining your goals: You should ask yourself why you want to invest your money. The point could be that you want to save money to buy a house or to secure your retirement. As well, you could be aiming to save for your child's education, or just to protect yourself in case the unexpected happens - such as losing your job.

• Evaluate how quickly you can recoup your investment: Investment services such as bonds, stocks and shares can be sold any time. However, there is no guarantee that you will get back all the resources you invested in them. On the other hand, investments such as limited partnerships in most cases limit your ability to benefit from your holding. Therefore, you should contact your financial services advice provider for the best investment you can make.

• Calculate what you expect to earn from your investment: Investments such as bonds are generally guarantee a fixed return, but earnings on many other securities fluctuate with market changes. Along the same line, it is important to make a critical assessment because one good performance of an investment does not guarantee that the same investment will perform well in future.

Overview of UAE Banking Sector

The UAE banking sector is still in recovery stage, post the 2008-09 real estate crisis in Dubai. However, the financial performance of the banks has stabilised especially over the past couple of years. The UAE banks, particularly Dubai based banks, are facing asset quality challenges, as reflected in their high proportion of non-performing loans and low level of provisions. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi based banks appear relatively less challenged from these issues due to their relatively lower exposure to real estate and higher exposure to oil based industries, which did well amid favourable oil price environment.

The key concerns related to the UAE banks include i) concentration in loans and deposits, ii) high proportion of related party exposures, iii) limited data transparency/availability, and iv) stiff industry competition. Moreover, the performance of the UAE banks has been constrained by the still recovering real estate and construction sectors. Although the banks maintain a strong presence in their local markets, the banking sector has limited diversification and displays concentration in terms of geographies, products, and customers.

That said, most of the UAE based banks benefit from strong ownership structure backed by local governments. In addition, most of these banks are in the process of restructuring their problem loans. The economy of Dubai has shown encouraging growth in the past two years. All key sectors of the economy including real estate, trade, tourism, and services have shown a considerable improvement. The improved performance of the core sectors would result in re-classification of some of non-performing loans as performing loans, which would reduce stress on the banking sector in the medium term.

Sell Your House Fast Via Advertising Tactics

Good Marketing

When you need something sold fast, how do you manage to get a potential buyer? Do you rely on traditional advertising methods such as phone advertising and door-to-door selling? Are you an advocate of flashy posters and radio ads? Or are you tech savvy enough to post your advertisements on social media over the Internet? Well which ever way you are looking to 'sell my home quickly'your advertising skills will ultimately determine how many people will be interested in your upcoming sale. Nowadays, the easiest and most cost-effective way to spread the word about your sale is via the Internet. 

Posting text or pictures on social networking media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr won't cost you a thing. Plus, your advertisements can be viewed by just about anyone who has Internet access. Compare these benefits to posting a poster on your local bulletin board. Even though people may take notice of your poster, most of them would be too busy going about their daily tasks to read the details posted there. People hooked to the Internet, however, are more keen on remembering details. Perhaps it's because the words are easier to read on a computer monitor than on a bulletin board, and easier to understand than word of mouth as well.

P Chidambaram slams "unregulated" players in the financial market

CHENNAI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today slammed "unregulated" players in the financial marketsaying their activities have adversely impacted large number of consumers.

The financial sector operates in a speed and dynamism, and generates new space, sometimes "undefined" areas, which provide opportunities for "unregulated" players in the market, he said at a seminar here.

"The existence of such (unregulated) players who operate in the twilight zone endanger the discipline of the markets leading to systemic instability. Invariably, such activities adversely impact a large number of consumers. This reduces their confidence in the system.", Chidambaram said.

Wall Street shrugs off government shutdown, for now

NEW YORK: Wall Street took the partial shutdown of the U.S. government in stride on Tuesday, but market analysts expected investor patience to run out if it lasts more than about a week as a more worrisome battle looms in Congress over the federal debt ceiling.

After more than a week of declining stock prices over worries that political gridlock would result in a shutdown, investors bid up stock prices on Tuesday at the reality and took in stride closures that threw hundreds of thousands of federal employees out of work.

Opinions over when the political standoff over the budget might end and the extent of potential damage to the economy varied, but most commentators agreed around the idea that the impasse would keep the government closed for about a week.

ADB cuts Asia growth forecasts to 6% as Indian, Chinese economy weaken

HONG KONG: The Asian Development Bank cut its economic growth forecast for developing Asia on Wednesday, citing weakness in region's two largest economies China and India and jitters over plans to scale back US stimulus that destabilized financial markets.

The Manila-based lender said it expects the region's emerging economies to grow by 6 per cent this year, down from 6.6 per cent predicted in April.

The ADB also cut its 2014 growth forecast, to 6.2 per cent from 6.7 per cent.

``Developing Asia is challenged to sustain its growth momentum,'' the bank said in an update to its Asian Development Outlook report, which covers 45 developing or newly industrialized countries in Asia and the Pacific but excludes Japan.