Debt Management Report by Business, Innovation and Skills ...

by Marketing on March 7th, 2012

A report into payday loans and debt management companies has been published today by the House of Commons?Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. (BIS)

The report details areas of concern with regards to payday loan and debt management companies and contains recommendations for Government action.

Citing a November 2011?Personal Debt Snapshot?report by R3, the insolvency trade body, that details the extent of consumer worries over debt, the BIS report raises the following concerns about debt management companies:

  • The Government must work to phase out up-front fees ? the provision of guidance on this point by the OFT is inadequate.
  • The Government introduce the necessary regulations to ensure companies publish the cost of their debt advice and their outcomes, if an agreement cannot be reached during discussions with the industry.
  • The Government should establish effective auditing of Debt Management Companies? client accounts.

Committee chair, Adrian Bailey MP states:

Greater transparency in the commercial debt advice market will benefit consumers hugely.

The Committee feels that voluntary codes of practice are highly unlikely to achieve this aim.

The Government must be prepared to regulate if consumers are to receive the protection and the level of information they require.

The BIS report also covers the regulation of debt advice, the Money Advice Service, and payday loan companies and includes statements from a panel of industry representatives including Andrew Smith, Director of Marketing & External Affairs at ClearDebt and spokesperson for the Debt Resolution Forum.

By Marketing and is filed under Government policy on debt.
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Source: http://www.cleardebt.co.uk/blog/debt-management-report-business-innovation-skills-committee_45352

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Social Collaboration Platform For Classrooms Edmodo Opens To Third-Party Developers With New API

ed-1Edmodo, an online social learning and communications network for teachers and students in K through 12 schools, is opening up its API to third?party web developers to enable the creation of educational applications built on top of the platform. Edmodo, which just raised $15 million from Greylock Partners and Benchmark Capital, is a free service that allows teachers to create and maintain their own safe and secure, collaborative classroom communities across mobile and web platforms. It's sort of similar to a Facebook for the classroom. But Edmodo is completely private and secure, and allows teachers to also manage class content, collaborate and more within the platform.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/8ft-ZRZUvZc/

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Sacha Baron Cohen banned? No, but 'General Aladeen' is. Woe be unto Dictators.

Sacha Baron Cohen has been asked by The Academy not to dress as 'General Aladeen' at the Oscars. The world is becoming a very unfriendly place for dictators, even fictional ones.?

It?s hard to imagine how 2012 could be any worse for the world?s hapless and beleaguered dictators and warlords after that (ahem) horrible Arab Spring craze last year ? with people-power movements toppling despots in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.

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Consider the arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, issued by the International Criminal Court at the Hague, the anticipated human rights investigation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the looming trials of former Chadian dictator Hiss?ne Habr? and former?Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, the pending verdict on former Liberian President Charles Taylor, and the ongoing manhunt for Joseph Kony, warlord and founder of the genocidal Lord?s Resistance Army in the dense borderlands of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As if that list of indignities wasn?t long enough, we can add another dictator to the list of the banned: General Aladeen.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has banned a certain General Aladeen from attending the 84th?annual Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 26.

Technically, General Aladeen isn?t a real person ? he?s a character portrayed by the satirist Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of ?Borat? and ?The Ali G Show,? as well as the voice of King Julian in ?Madagascar.? A movie portraying the general, entitled "Dictator," is due to open later this year.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/vBGt-GXkkc0/Sacha-Baron-Cohen-banned-No-but-General-Aladeen-is.-Woe-be-unto-Dictators

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Making Your Next Journey Easier With These Easy to use Travel Tips

If you?re traveling to another country, take some local currency. It can be a hassle getting your money exchanged in some countries, especially after hours. Almost all large banks sell foreign currency, so before going to the airport, make a quick run to the bank.

Grooming your pet before placing them in your car is always recommended. An animal shedding in your car will cover your seats with hair and can also impact your car?s heating and cooling system. Remember to pack the items that you will need for your dogs, such as water bowl, food bowl, and bags for cleanup.

Rather than folding your clothes when you pack them in your suitcase, try rolling them up neatly. They will take up less space in your bag this way. When you get to where you are going, unroll and fold them if you like. Doing so means you will have less baggage to lug around on your trip.

Try to explain airport security to children. Before you set foot in the airport, your children should know what is going to happen when they go through security. When you have to go through airport security, go through yourself first so your child is prepared for what will happen. Stay close to your child throughout the security procedure.

Get adequate exercise before a long trip. This will help you avoid the tediousness of long flights. Remaining in a stationary position can cause stiff muscles and cramps. Stretching or working out before taking a flight can help reduce soreness.

Make sure your passport isn?t expired. There are rules about your passport in many countries. Some countries won?t allow you to come to their country if your passport is about to expire. As long as the passport is not set to expire within the next six months, you should be fine for most countries; however, certain countries require eight months, or even up to one year.

If you want to have a personal touch in your room when traveling, pack scented candles. Candles can make a room smell better. In addition to promoting romantic relaxation, you might even sleep easier. There are several companies that manufacture miniature scented candles that are easy to pack.

Make sure you are knowledgeable about the current events for any destination that you have in mind. Check online for information and updates about anything happening overseas that could affect your travel plans. This can be a significant aid in preventing complications on your trip that could put you in harm?s way.

If you apply the tips introduced in this article, you?ll become a smarter and happier traveler. It doesn?t matter where you are traveling, you can relax and enjoy the journey more if you know that you are paying the least amount of money for the trip.

Learn more on lake district cottages or northumbrian cottages.

Source: http://authorarticle.com/travel-and-leisure/making-your-next-journey-easier-with-these-easy-to-use-travel-tips.html

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Israeli minister says world cannot protect Israel (AP)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]AP - Israel's foreign minister says the international community's failure to stop the violence in Syria shows it cannot keep Israel safe.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120304/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_iran

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Meditation techniques for a healthier body and mind

In this busy life of ours we do not get time to think about our self and what we are heading to. The whole day we deal with complex situations both in the office and in the roads. Thus when we reach home we become irritated at a single negative word which we should not. The person who is waiting for you at home also expects that you would behave properly and listen to her problems and queries. So it is better to calm down yourself. To do this, the best thing you can do is to go for meditation. There are hundreds of meditation techniques which are available in this world.

Meditation techniques are usually followed for main two purposes. One is the calmness of the mind and the other improving upon the diet habit. Following proper meditation techniques, leads to a better health both in terms of physical and mental condition.

After a month of meditation, you would find a change in you making you feel free and better. There are audio sessions in which you would get to hear soothing music as well as the voice of the person which will take you to a state of meditation. This is called as the guided meditation techniques. In this technique you just need to have a silent room in which you can follow these guided meditation techniques.

Another way is to have a video as well as an audio session in which you get to know the exact postures and the procedures to meditate. These meditation techniques are better and advanced. You just have to go to an empty room, put your headphones onto your ear and look at the screen of your monitor. In this way you would learn all the meditation techniques and ways to perform them for best outcome.

After some days you would notice that you are being bale to do every step without the guidance of the video as well as the audio session. Then you remove them from the room and try to do it alone helping you.

There are hundreds of postures in meditation techniques. Depending on the problem you have the most you should choose one of them and do it regularly. Meditation techniques make you away from the regular cough and cold and other serious diseases too. It makes you look better and feel lighter. Your behavior will change towards betterment and you will be able to perform your duties well.
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Source: http://health.ezinemark.com/meditation-techniques-for-a-healthier-body-and-mind-7d33f2c0df1d.html

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Be A Pro Online Trade With Internet Marketing Australia

on March 1, 2012 by Frank in News, Comments Off

Like all over else we see web shopping a not unusual follow even in Australia. The response of other people from Australia on-line may be very spectacular and it is only in the back of countries like the US or UK. SEO Software is growing non-prevent and it is a trend on the way to change entire marketplace scenario. People who do on-line shopping are growing day by means of day. The rule is unassuming right here; the extra any business concentrates on SEO Software the extra exposure and shoppers they collect for themselves.

Businesses embracing SEO Software can change how they markets plus sell their products and services. Google is the only provider that users use for shopping anything else that they fancy. You could make your online business be on one of the crucial most sensible ratings using SEO Software on Google and no longer fear about getting sales. It is a positive option to benefit from the most sensible rank spot when using SEO Software. SEO Software is well known for getting businesses one of the crucial most worthy seek terms for businesses.

A lot of small businesses are under the influence that SEO Software is supposed only for bigger businesses. Targeted shoppers are ended in any business by means of SEO Software with the ratings they be able to get for the business. The maximum collection of gross sales for any a success business is on-line and without nice web strategies it do not need been possible.

Adopting Internet Marketing Australia is an automated process for upper gross sales with nice advertising strategy . Adopting SEO Software is an automated process for upper gross sales with nice advertising strategy. Without it no business will be capable to preserve their current shoppers allow by myself get new ones. Big businesses are spending heaps of bucks on advertising via Google.

Internet advertising is a formidable device that should no longer be disregarded at any cost. Any business owner excited by excellent returns in long run will realize what possible SEO Software has. SEO Australia is known for strong advertisements. The advertising can be highly effective plus successful in each and every conceivable way. SEO Software has the capability to assemble a large shopper base in essentially the most minimum time.

Tags: Internet marketing Australia, Internet marketing Melbourne, seo australia

Source: http://www.linguagloba.com/be-a-pro-online-trade-with-internet-marketing-australia

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PUBLIC SPEAKING ? HOW TO GIVE A GOOD SPEECH

HOW TO GIVE A GOOD SPEECH

Do?s and Don?t's

By

VIKRAM KARVE

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There may be occasions on which you will be asked to give a speech. You may be invited to deliver a formal address (for which you can prepare and rehearse well) or you may be unexpectedly asked to give an impromptu speech on the spur-of-the-moment.

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Here are some Do?s and Don?t's for speechmaking:

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The Do?s

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1. When asked to make a speech, Do it?! Whenever you are invited to deliver a speech, say YES?!

2. Do it yourself?! You must prepare the speech yourself and also deliver the speech yourself. Do not ?outsource? speech writing or ?delegate? speech giving.

3. Do keep it simple?! Say what you have to say in simple words and your informal natural style and sit down.

4.

Do keep it short?! It is far better to finish your speech before the scheduled time than to go on and on till the cows come home? Your speech should be brief; your conclusion even briefer ? sum up the points you have made, close on a high note and end your speech ? do not let your speech drag on to an anticlimax ending.

5. Do what you would do in conversation ? look at the person you are talking to?! Talk to one person in the audience at a time ? select a person in the audience who seems interested and look at that person straight in the eye. Talk to that person. Then pick out another person, look him in the eye and talk to him.

Then move your eyes on to another. Take one person at a time and talk to that person for a moment. Soon you would have talked to almost the entire audience.

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The Don?t's

1. Don?t apologize?! Avoid clich?s, like the conventional apology for lack of experience etc. Be confident and do your best.

2. Don?t put too much reliance on humour, stories and jokes?! A good speech is more than a collection of jokes? humour can be effective if used sparingly and the stories must be ?sure-fire? , relevant and in good taste.

3. Don?t make the beginning of your speech dull by waffling?! Launch into your planned and rehearsed introduction straightaway. Begin your speech with something thought-provoking.

4. Don?t read your speech from a manuscript?! Prepare well and talk to your audience.

5. Don?t forget the audience in the last row?! They came to hear you too? make it easy for them?speak up loud and clear?!

6. Don?t end your speech with in an ambiguous open-ended manner?! End your speech succinctly and coherently on a high note and sit down. Your last words must echo in the minds of the audience.

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Practice these simple Do?s and Don?t's of speechmaking and soon you will love giving speeches, and deliver effective speeches too.

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VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright ? Vikram Karve 2010

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Academic Journal Vikram Karve : http://karvediat.blogspot.com

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book ?Appetite for a Stroll?. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog ? http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

Professional Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Source: http://www.a1article.net/writing-speaking/public-speaking-how-to-give-a-good-speech-6293.html

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The dumbest iPhone accessories you should avoid buying (Appolicious)

While the iPhone is arguably the smartest cell phone you can buy, it has inspired some of the dumbest accessories imaginable. From cases made out of pretend pastries (and real diamonds!), to camera lenses that make your iPhone considerably less mobile, to devices that try to convert wind into added battery power, there is no shortage of accessories that are long on price and short on function.

Here we present the five lamest iPhone accessories that you can certainly live without. Buyer beware!

Just because iPhones and cupcakes (and other handheld pastries) are among the trendiest things to purchase over the last few years doesn?t mean that the two should be combined in any way, shape or form. This isn?t chocolate and peanut butter we?re talking about here, but rather a handheld personal computer and a pseudo-confection. From the pastel design to the questionable ability to remain intact in a purse (much less a pocket), there are so many sour things we can say about the Green Sweet Pastry Case Decoden Case. The seller?s name, So Totally Lame, says it all. However, if the pastry case suits your taste, you can check additional products from the seller including the Pink Sweet Cake Case, the Deluxe ?Whipped Cream Case, and of course the Floral Pink Rhinestones edition. If you own an iPhone and can?t get enough of cupcakes, we recommend you download the 99-cent Cupcakes! recipe app. Hold the sprinkles, please.

While you might be stuck with buyer?s remorse after ordering the pastry case, at least you didn?t shell out twenty grand for it! New York-based jeweler James Allen is the latest company to market a diamond-encrusted iPhone case. The case, which was part of a Valentine?s Day promotional giveaway, includes 808 diamonds totaling 5 carats. The hand-crafted titanium case also includes 43 rubies that weigh about 0.37 carats. Appropriately, James Allen gave away this case with an iPhone 4S. Why protect an Apple product that isn?t top of the line, right? Further, as the iPhone 4S has the Siri Voice Assistant inside it, whoever won it can ask Siri how to disassemble a diamond case and sell the diamonds for cash. The diamond case is not the only iDevice accessory that will run you $20,000. For that amount, you can also pick up the i-Con bed frame and headboard that includes two iPad docking stations and a 250 watt amplifier. Bam!

The eighties are a full generation behind us, and we now know that greed is not always good. Neither is paying $30 for a retro style Brick Shell Cover phone made famous by Michael Douglas? Gordon Gekko character in the film Wall Street. Now, my family was fortunate enough to have one of the original Brick Shell phones around the time they came out in 1987. It was not only a technological marvel, but a source of immense pride and attention from our neighbors. Scroll forward to today, however. Once you get beyond the initial chuckle and nostalgic acknowledgements from friends and lookers-on, you are left with a seven ounce case that can?t fit in your pocket. If you are a slave to the eighties but looking for a slightly more practical iPhone accessory option, there is an iPhone 4 and 4S case that resembles the old school Nintendo video game controller. Sold!

iSteady Shot Camera Stabilizer - $129.99With 8 megapixels and a dual-core A5 chip, the iPhone 4S can go lens to lens with most of the finest consumer-oriented cameras available. And while we see iPhones working their way into professional photography use, if you are going to make a living capturing still and moving images, we do recommend you invest in an actual camera. So, rather than spending $130 on the iSteady Shot Camera Stabilizer, save up for a dedicated camera that won?t be taking inbound calls while you?re in the studio or on location. The whimsy of iPhones and top-tier smartphone cameras is that you can take professional-like pictures of everyday settings and then share with others through apps like Instagram. The stabilizer is an unnecessary intrusion, and not something you can easily carry around with you. Hold steady, but also hold out for something else.

While we will give this one an ?A? for ambition, the thought of using the wind-powered iFan to charge our batteries gives us the chills. Dutch designer Tjeerd Veenhoven (cue the windmill jokes) came up with the iFan concept a few years back. To our knowledge, the device ? which takes about six hours to charge an iPhone ? has yet to become commercially available. Veehnoven now is apparently tinkering with ways to harness the iFan onto bicycles, giving campers and cyclists another source of juice. Alternative energy holds great promise in the years and decades to come to fuel vehicles, heat our homes and power electric grids. But for the time being and foreseeable future, we recommend using Apple?s perfectly effective power charger to do the trick (if not blow you away).

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles11183_the_dumbest_iphone_accessories_you_should_avoid_buying/44671769/SIG=138lbe8tr/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/games/articles/11183-the-dumbest-iphone-accessories-you-should-avoid-buying

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