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 : 5 Places Where It Pays To Be A Guy

Ah, the weekend is here again. The only time of the week to relax, chill or go out, visit friends, visit places and in general do things leisurely. In most places of the world the working week is from Monday To Friday with Saturday and Sunday being holidays. However there is some variance with regards to this in the middle-east. For instance, most middle east-countries including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Kuwait have a working week from Saturday to Wednesday with Thursday and Friday being off-days. However in Egypt, Syria and the UAE the working week is from Sunday to Thursday. So if you’re in one of these places you’re really gonna miss “Saturday Nights“.

Well, this weekend we’ve got something really suited for the young,single and eligible bachelor, a species that is most certainly the most widespread. So what are the factors that would influence the decision of young bachelor to move to another city. Well let’s see, level of development, public transport, cost of living, leisure and entertainment, drinking age, etc, etc and at some level the kind of women. After all who wouldn’t like to move to a city that is not only well-developed but also has an excellent male-female ratio with some really good looking and easy to talk to girls.

Recently a survey was done to find out the top cities of the world having the most beautiful women where the results were determined by: Quality of women, Male to Female ratio and Ease of talking to women. Let’s have a look at what the top 5 cities are:

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Take a trip across the streets of Amsterdam (check the exclusive DP Travel Coverage here) and you’ll find so many beautiful women cycling across the streets. The women of Amsterdam and dutch women in general are naturally beautiful and very Independent. They usually make nice home-makers and are known be better in relationships as compared to their other european counterparts.

Caracas, Venezuela

There’s something about this developing latin american country that just amazes you. It’s a well known fact that Venezuela has won the maximum number of Miss World and Miss Universe pageants and has a thriving beauty industry. The women here take great pride in their appearance. Regardless of their socio-economic status, it is estimated that Venezuelans spend one fifth of their disposable income on beauty products, a startling statistic for a country in which 80 percent of its population lives below the poverty line. A study conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide revealed that 65 percent of Venezuelan women think about their looks “all the time,” in contrast to the 27 percent of American women in the same category.

In Caracas’s shanty towns, jumping over puddles in sloping alleys of clapboard houses, high-heeled women in tight low-waist jeans work their way to the bus stop. A mixture of Amazonian Indian, African, and European blood has created a race that, although subtle to the foreign eye, is quite exotic. As women pass by, men will compliment them and unlike most countries of the world these compliments are well received and are followed by a hug or a thank you. Someone we met also told us that turning 18 years old is something that all girls look forward to in this country, because at this age the girls father usually gives a major beauty enhancing gift to the daughter.

Now this is surely a place worth visiting for the young and eligible bachelor.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Venezuela, Brazil along with Argentina form the trio of Latin American countries which boast of an extremely attractive female species. The women of Buenos Aires are naturally beautiful and every women in Buenos Aires is a model waiting to be found. The parties are legendary and the clubs and events are overloaded with beautiful, approachable, and fun women.

No wonder that Argentinian men are masters at flirting and consider it to be a part of their culture.

Copenhagen, Denmark & Stockholm, Sweden

Finally the Scandinavians have the kind of looks that most people can just dream of, Tall people with blonde hair and blue eyes. Scandinavian women are one of the most approachable, educated and friendly women in the world and the sex ratio is also extremely good in these countries. Definitely a must visit place for the eligible bachelor.

While the countries listed above definitely score on the ratio and ease of talking factors which is the criteria on which the survey is based on, it must be said that all countries of the world have good-looking women and in general women are always beautiful in one way or the other.

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.

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

A New Month, A New Day and yes, yet another new start for DelhiPlanet. Welcome to the first post of DP Travel, the one stop shop for all your travel information needs. Beginning today DelhiPlanet is going to bring to you experiences from across the world. The party spots, the exotic locations, the beaches, how to get there, how to plan your trip and much more.

Life is a Journey, Go out and Explore.

On that note let’s start with the inaugral post, where we are gonna tell you everything you need to know about planning A Backpacking Trip Across Europe. Just like Scotty,Cooper, Jenny and Jamie in the movie Eurotrip(shown above, ofcourse you need to much more careful than they were.)

1. Discuss the Idea: Europe may be the second smallest continent on the planet but it is one of the most fascinating lands in the world. Add to that, it’s remarkable infrastructure and unity and you have a perfect place to vacation and enjoy yourself. After all, which other continent do you know of that allows you to travel to more than 10 countries on a single visa and a single currency. A Euro Trip thus becomes a must have experience. So the first step in planning a euro trip, is to discuss this idea with your closest friends. Form a group of 2-4 adventurous,outdoor, travel loving people and start saving up for this once in a lifetime experience.
2. Decide when to visit: The next step is talk about the period of the year when you along with all the people of your group, would be able to spare time for this adventure cum vacation. The best time of the year to visit europe is between May-September. At this time the weather in most places of europe is pleasant and there are a lot of events that one can attend. The events range from pulsating sporting action(Wimbledon, F1 racing) to beer fests(Oktoberfest) and concerts to wild parties (in places like Ibiza). If you’re a delhiite then june is the best time, as it’s hot to be in delhi around that period.
3. Finalize the Countries and Cities: Now comes the most important part of the planning process, deciding on the list of places and cities that you would like to visit. The whole of Europe is quite huge with more than 40 countries and most likely you won’t be able to cover all of them if you’re on leave from work or a short term break. Don’t try to do too many places as then you would only be travelling most of the time. If you are a first time visitor to europe then you might just want to see the schengen states and a few eastern european countries.
4. Work out the Visas that you need to Get: If you’ve reached till here then the chances are that you are quite keen and serious on this trip. So now get ready to apply for the all important visas that could make or break your plan. For Travelling purposes you can think of europe as being divided into 2 parts, Schengen and Non Schengen. The Schengen countries are those which are a part of the Schengen Agreement, for these countries you get a Special Visa using which you can goto any of the schengen states. Currently there are 15 west european countries under schengen with more to be added soon. For the non-schengen states on the other hand, you need to have a separate visa for each place. For Ex: If you wish to travel to germany,netherlands,spain and france just one visa of any of these places is sufficient as they are all schengen states. However if you wish to travel to turkey,bulgaria and poland, then you need to get 3 visas, one for each place. Checkout the schengen office for more information on this.
5. Decide the exact dates and the Travel Itinerary: Next you need to decide on the exact dates of your travel and a detailed travel itinerary. Not only would you need to book your air tickets based on this info, you’ll also need it to get your visa. If you’re taking a break from work, then leave around a weekend so that you can get those 2 days for your journey. Your Travel Itinerary should contain information regarding the country and city that you would be visiting and the number of days at each place.
6. Work out your Budget: A Backpacking trip is actually a budget trip, and since europe is a popular backpacking destination so there aren’t too many problems that you would face with regards to accomodation and transport. So it’s important to work out a suitable budget for the trip and the fun starts when you really have to stay within that budget. A budget trip would involve you staying in a hostel, using public transport at all times and a lot of walking. Although planning and going on a Euro Trip is slightly expensive but it’s the best way to learn the value of money.
7. Start Collecting the Documents required to get your Visa: Now starts the hectic process of applying and getting your visa. This is supposed to be the scrariest and most confusing part, but it’s quite easy if you follow a methodological approach. Start collecting information on the documents needed for a visa of the country you wish to go to. Once all of them are in place, submit your application at the visa application center. If you are in Delhi and need to apply for the visa of a schengen state then goto the VFS site of that country. For Ex: VFS Netherlands if you’re going to Amsterdam,Utrecht or Rotterdam. Similarly there is VFS Belgium if you’re going to brussels, VFS Germany for Munich,Berlin,Frankfurt and so on. Your visa application form needs to be submitted at the appropriate center along with all the required documents. If there exists no VFS branch for the country of your interest then look up the information on that country’s consulate in India.

Well that’s all for Part 1, stay tuned for Part 2. That’s where your plan would become a reality and no one would dare say Scotty Doesn’t Know.

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