The Great American Recession – Good For Some, Bad For Others

The past week was perhaps the one of the worst weeks ever for financial markets all over the world as news about the bad financial condition of major firms like Lehman Brothers, Merill Lynch and AIG crept in. As the week progressed it saw the demise of the 158 year old investment banking behemoth, Lehman Brothers which filed for the largest bankruptcy ever in U.S history on September 15^th. Pictures of employees leaving it’s Manhattan office represented a harsh reality of the current American Economy which goes for it’s Presidential Elections in just a few months. News of a Merill Lynch ( headquartered in NYC and it occupies all 34 stories of the in Manhattan) buyout by Bank Of America for USD $50 billion all stock deal was also confirmed ending the history of the 94 year old company as well. To add to the woes and distress of investors from all around the world the American International Group (AIG), one of the world’s biggest players in insurance and financial services, sought a $ 40 billion bridge loan from the US Federal Reserve as it faces a sharp downgrade from rating agencies. The Federal Reserve did come to the rescue of AIG late on 16th with a $ 85 Billion bailout.

The recession in the United States is proving to be far wider and deeper than was anticipated a year ago in August 2007 and while this is mostly bad news for a lot of people it also good news for others. The bankruptcy of Lehman has lead to layovers of it’s employees across the world and the acquisition of Merill Lynch by BOA is also likely going to result in a lot of pink slips. This in turn will have a deep impact on B-School graduates passing out in 2008 and 2009 as there would be a severe dearth of jobs in the investment banking and financial sectors for some time to come. As per IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn the global financial crisis is not over and more banks could close, possibly leading to the disappearance of independent investment houses. “The fact that a certain number of banks in the United States are restructuring shouldn’t lead to panic, But these events add to the uncertainty, and financial tensions cannot be excluded in the short term” he said in an interview in the wake of Monday’s collapse of major US investment bank Lehman Brothers (Source).

The Recession has also lead to the dollar becoming very weak. Comparing it to the rupee it currently trades around the Rs 46 mark which is at least Rs 3-4 more than what it was a couple of months back. This is probably good news for Indian Software companies and exporters as they would be earning more rupees for each dollar quite in contrast to the scenario about an year back when the rupee had become quite strong trading at around Rs 40 to the dollar.

The weakening of the dollar is also great news for a lot of Europeans and the American tourism industry as people from Europe are flocking to US to take advantage of the strong euro and weak dollar scenario. With a weak dollar, foreign tourists are flocking to the United States — particularly New York City. Compared with last year, the number of international visitors increased by as much as 12 percent during the first four months of 2008. It’s hard to imagine a city like New York seeming cheap to anyone, but for many foreign travelers, that’s exactly what it is. With every one euro equal to $1.43 and every one British pound equal to $1.82, if there was ever a time for Europeans to travel in the U.S., it’s now. During the first four months of 2008, more than 15 million foreign travelers visited the United States and spent $11.6 billion in the month of April alone — a 21 percent increase from April 2007 — according to the U.S. Department of Commerce which tracks travel and tourism statistics. After Canada and Mexico, the largest group of foreign tourists is from Western Europe, and their visits through April of this year have increased by double-digit percentages, the agency reports (Source).

Experts suggest that the current recession will take a while to get over and things are expected to become much worse before they start getting better.

DelhiPlanet Weekends : The Beauty Of Money – 2

We’re back with Part -2 of our special feature on the Beauty and Artwork involved in the design and creation of different currencies. If you missed part 1, then you can catch it here.

The Sao Tame And Principe Dobras

Sao Tome and Principe, officially the Democratic Republic of Sao Toma and Principe, is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. It consists of two islands: Sao Tome and Principe. It is the second-smallest African country in terms of population. It is also the smallest country in the world that is not a former British overseas territory, a former United States trusteeship, or one of the European microstates and is also the smallest Portuguese-speaking country.

Well, there’s nothing great about the currency note of this place except that it’s one of the least valued currencies in the world with $1 = 14,395 STD (the abbreviation used for this currency). The only two other countries with lower valued currencies are the Vietnam Dong and the Zimbabwean Dollar which has an eye-popping conversion rate, $1 = 236,706,849.48 Zimbabwean Dollars.

The French Pacific Territories Franc

The French Pacific Territories better known as French Polynesia consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of Europe. Known mostly for their paradise like islands such as Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora etc, these territories probably have the most beautiful currency( known as the CFP Franc) in the world.

Try to think about any one world currency that has beautiful females adorning the back and front. Well, if you are still thinking chances are that you have never seen one. There are infact very few world currencies that have faces of women on them. The Comorian Franc is one of them and the CFP Franc is another.

The introduction of the Euro has surely taken away the fun of collecting currencies and although it would be a great idea to have a single currency for the whole world or single currencies for each continent, it would rob the pleasure of “showing off” your currency collection and ofcourse you would have no instant proof that you ever visited a particular place.

DelhiPlanet Weekends : The Beauty Of Money – 1

Imagine what the currency of Italy(Lira) would have looked like, had the great Leonardo Da Vinci made the design. What if the Indian Government hired the country’s best painter to re-design the Indian Currency notes, how do you imagine they would turn out to be(Seems like a great idea for an Independence Day contest, is someone from the Times Group reading this).

Well, it is a well known fact that money talks and rules this planet and there are very few experiences and desires that cannot be fulfilled by the power of money. However that is the only aspect of money or currency that is appreciated, it’s ability to purchase. It is only the coin and currency collectors who appreciate the beauty and history associated in the design of money/currency.

But whether you like to spend, save or just collect the fact is that everyone is always eager to see what the currency of another nation looks like, even if the value in terms of your currency is very low. Money sometimes can also be very beautiful and creating it is an art, whether it’s the engraving that makes up the bills or the bas-relief sculpture on the coins. There are long histories in both as art mediums.

This week we’ve decided to give you a glimpse of 4 of the most beautiful and intriguing currencies of the world, starting with 2 in the first part of this article. So sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of money.

The Hong Kong Dollar

This particular $10 note is quite different from other currencies of the world. Issued in 2007 to mark the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to it’s motherland, these notes are plastic notes which have been printed on polymer material instead of paper, have better security features and are more durable lasting about four times as long as paper notes.

Such unique plastic banknotes are issued only by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government. So the beauty of this note lies in it’s futuristic design and well, the artwork isn’t that bad either.

The Cook Islands Dollar

The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres. The Cook Island Dollar is pegged at par with the New Zealand Dollar (which is about Rs. 33.6).

So although India is a country with a population of more than 1 billion people, a unit of it’s currency is just 0.03 times the Cook Island Dollar. That’s some fact isn’t it, although these days you’ll rarely find these notes in circulation as the islands mostly use the New Zealand dollar now. The Cook Island currency notes are quite beautiful with each note depicting different aspects of their community. For example this note illustrates the rich and varied sea life of the islands.

(Note: Catch the next part of this series next week. )

DP Travel: The Entrance To The Land Of Freedom, Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam

Amsterdam XXX, one of the very few cities in the world where one can experience true freedom. Nothing here is banned or illegal be it drugs, prostitution, abortion, euthanasia or gay-marriage. Everything is legal and very well monitored and controlled. Amsterdam certainly has one of the most liberal societies in the world and is paradise for a libertarian and anyone who believes in the concept of free will.

Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam is the main airport of Amsterdam and the Netherlands and is thus the entrance to this amazing land. Located 17.5 km south-west of amsterdam, it is one of the best airports in Europe and also one of the busiest. Just like the city that it represents, schiphol too is an airport with a difference. As a male one of the first things that you would notice at schiphol, is the urinal at any of the restrooms at the airport(restrooms,toilets,washrooms,loos are all referred to as WC around Europe. WC stands for Water Closet). Every urinal at the schiphol airport has an image of a fly imbossed on it, yes that’s right, a fly also known as mosquito.(Picture Below)

No, the Dutch are not crazy(if that’s what you are thinking). The fly is supposed to have a psychological impact on men who would unconsciously aim for it, thereby keeping the surroundings clean(the dutch are not crazy, just very cleanliness friendly). Schiphol Airport has big shops and supermarkets that are open even to non travelling visitors, it also has a museum inside the airport and also has it’s own mortuary. The Rijksmuseum at the airport, offers a small overview of both classical and contemporary art while the mortuary is used to handle deceased people before departure or after arrival. Since October 2006 people can also get married at Schiphol and go on their honeymoon directly.

Schiphol is one of the few airports in the world that boasts of an iris-scanning biometric system. Frequent fliers who visit the country often and are members of a frequent flier club can quickly go through immgration clearance using only their membership cards and their eyes.(Picture Below)

Schiphol deploys a one terminal concept, where all facilities are located under one single roof. The areas though, are divided into three sections or halls: 1, 2 and 3. To all of these halls, piers or concourses are connected. The airport is also connected to the city metro, that lies below the airport. Passengers can directly board the metro and reach the Central Station from where they can take a bus or tram to their destination.

Catch Schiphol and all it’s action in the pictures below(From Left:A Police Outlet at Schiphol, A Backpacker arriving at Schiphol, The Underground Metro).

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DP Travel: How To Plan a Backpacking Trip Across Europe, Part II

In continuation to the first part of our series(check here), DP Travel tells you, how you can easily plan an amazing adventure and vacation across the beautiful lands of Europe.

1. Submit Your Visa Application: Once you have collected all the required documents and filled up the visa application form, submit it at the embassy or the appropriate VFS center. Do Remember to carry 2-3 photocopies of the first page of your passport in addition to all the other required documents. There would be a visa fee that you would have to pay to get every visa, and this fee would not be refunded even if you are denied a visa. If you are not a frequent traveller then you would most likely be called for a visa interview at the embassy.
2. The Visa Interview: As you would most probably apply for a visit/tourist visa, most questions in the interview would revolve around your reason for the visit. Commonly asked questions are, “What is the purpose of your visit“, “For how long are you going“, “How many people are going along with you and how do you know them“, “What is your current profession” and a few more. Do remember to take along bookings of places where you plan to stay, your travel itinerary, a letter from your company/college and proof that you have enough money to fund your trip.
3. Start the Bookings: Congratulations, by now you would have most probably got all the visas that you were seeking. Half your job is done, now comes the part of making all the bookings and planning how you would be commuting from one place to another during the trip. Once you get the visa try to book your return ticket as soon as possible cause the sooner you book it, the cheaper it is. As far as commuting on the trip is concerned it all depends on your plan. If you plan to visit a lot of countries especially the west european one’s then you could buy the eurorail pass. This pass would allow you to board any euro rail train, and the whole of europe is quite well connected by these trains. If you plan to visit only a few countries that are quite far apart from one another, then you can think about taking internal flights as europe has quite a few low cost carriers that offer cheap tickets, like ryanair and vueling.
4. Decide What You Want To Carry Along: Well the date is now coming closer and the excitement is increasing, but try to keep yourself in control and start thinking about the things that you’ll need on the trip. Make a list and start working on it. Your list should include stuff like clothes, medicines, toiletries, prinouts of important papers and any other stuff you think you might need. Travel light and if possible, try to make sure that your backpack should not weigh more than 15 kilograms. Do remember to check the baggage limit of the airline that you would be travelling on. As far as possible try to get a direct flight to your destination even if you have to pay a little more. The golden rule while going on a euro trip or any other adventure is Stay Alert and Protect your belongings . You would always be carrying your passport while on the trip, so try to carry some clothes which have hidden pockets.
5. Improve your knowledge about the places of visit: It’s always advisible to read a bit about the places that you would be travelling to, the proverb “Ignorance is Bliss” is a strict no-no on this trip. The best place to learn something about the place that you are going to travel to is Wikitravel. Wikitravel contains information regarding the hot-spots of the city, how to get there, places to stay, places to eat and general guidelines. If you are a frequent flier and think that you know it all, then think again, you might be in for a rude shock. For Ex: Don’t even dream of carrying a camera to the red-light district in amsterdam, you’ll never get to see it again if you do.
6. Get Your Forex: Euro is the most commonly accepted currency in most european countries except for a few eastern european countries and a few others. So either you can carry euros from your place of departure or carry dollars and get them converted at the airport. It’s always better to carry some euros with you and split your forex into Cash, Traveller’s Cheques and Travel Cards, the last 2 being more safer. Forex is easily available with the banks and the travel agents.
7. General Guidelines: We don’t wanna sound like a nagging mother but these general tips if followed would go long way in making your Euro Trip enjoyable and memorable. So Be Alert, Take care of your belongings, Always carry your passport and some money, Never Leave your bag unattended anywhere, Always carry the important documents with you and never buy anything from unauthorised dealers, Play Safe and Be Safe.

Well that’s all about planning a Euro Trip. Very soon we’ll be back with some exciting travelogues that would transport you to the amazing lands of Europe.