Raise_vs_Rise
martes, 29 de mayo de 2012
jueves, 24 de mayo de 2012
Report- Writing
We didn't have time to see this in class, but it'd be advisable that you knew the format.
Quick guide to report
- It uses titles and subtitles like an article.
- The structure is the same as any text, namely introduction, body and conclusion.
- Content should include factual information, so objective point of view (use of third person).
- Language is neutral since it's going to be addressed to a superior.
- The fuction is to recommend or make a suggestion, just like in a review (but a bit less enthusiastic a more formal-nuetral).
Quick guide to report
jueves, 17 de mayo de 2012
domingo, 13 de mayo de 2012
How to use Although, in spite of, despite
This connectors are very widely used, and it's important to know how to use them well. You'll find an explanation if you follow the link. Even though it's in Spanish, I reckon it's well explain. Besides, have a look at the blog itself since it's quite good. I hope you find it useful.
although / in spite of / despite
bbc
in spite of / despite - cómo se usan
although / in spite of / despite
bbc
in spite of / despite - cómo se usan
sábado, 12 de mayo de 2012
Bail out
What The Experts Say
John Stepek - Moneyweek. I like to keep an eye on Spain at the moment. It's a bit of a morbid fascination. The economy is in the same or worse trouble than the US and the UK, but it has no central bank to fall back on to bail it out, and it can't devalue its way out of trouble as the US is trying to do.
So what will it do? And what will happen to the eurozone when Spain does finally crack under the pressure? Who will bail it out?
Well, interestingly enough, it seems that Spain's banking system is already being propped up by the European taxpayer, in much the same way as Northern Rock is being propped up by us British taxpayers. The Europeans just don't know about it yet.
Spain might be unable to set its own interest rates, but it does appear that its banking system is being propped up very generously by the European Central Bank, as Ambrose Evans-Pritchard points out in today's Telegraph.
The secret bail-out of Spain's banks
Spanish banks issued a record £39bn of mortgage bonds and other asset-backed securities in the fourth quarter, according to ratings agency Moody's. Now, as you'll no doubt recall, the market for these securities seized up back in July and hasn't really opened up since.
(Incidentally, that's one of the reasons why mortgage rates in the UK aren't really coming down, despite the fall in the interbank lending rate and the base rate. The banks and building societies still can't sell on the loans they make.)
So who is buying all these Spanish mortgages? Well, it seems they are being used as collateral for loans from the European Central Bank. The ECB accepts AAA-rated securities as collateral, apparently unaware that the label AAA carries a lot less weight than it used to.
This has helped Spanish banks avoid the fate of Northern Rock. The Rock, you'll no doubt remember, was brought down when it was unable to sell on its mortgages, which meant it was unable to pay back the money it had borrowed to write them in the first place. It seems that Spain's banks, rather than get a very public loan from the ECB, have instead been quietly dumping their mortgage books onto it.
Of course, no one's overtly admitting to this. And at the moment, the consequences of all this aren't entirely clear. But if the ECB is holding a lot of mortgages as collateral against loans to Spanish banks, and the Spanish property market crashes as badly as say, the US, you do have to wonder just how much of that money the ECB is going to get back. How will German taxpayers feel about bailing out the Spanish? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.
How the Fed will keep propping up the gold price
Gold hit another fresh record yesterday, while platinum and silver hit new highs too, a 27-year one in silver's case. Power shortages in South Africa have shut down mines in what until recently was the biggest gold producer in the world (last month we learned the biggest is now China).
I'm sure our commodities writer Dominic Frisby will have more to say on gold in Money Morning later this week, but suffice to say, that while South Africa seems to have provided a nice little catalyst to propel gold even higher, it's not the core reason that the yellow metal is climbing.
The Federal Reserve meets tonight to discuss interest rates again and it looks like anything less than a half-point cut will disappoint the thin skins on Wall Street. And we all know there's nothing the Fed cares about more than making sure the boys on the Street are kept happy.
A drastic cut looks even more likely after yesterday's dreadful housing data. New home sales fell to a 12-year low in December again showing that there will be no bottoming out in this market for a long time to come.
So the Fed has all the excuses it needs to happily keep undermining the dollar and destroying the savings of those few US citizens who actually have any. A half-point cut tonight would take the key Federal funds rate down to 3.0%. Headline inflation grew at an annual rate of more than 4% in December. The message is pretty plain - saving must be punished. Get out there and spend.
John Stepek - Moneyweek
The secret bail-out of Spain's banks
John Stepek - Moneyweek. I like to keep an eye on Spain at the moment. It's a bit of a morbid fascination. The economy is in the same or worse trouble than the US and the UK, but it has no central bank to fall back on to bail it out, and it can't devalue its way out of trouble as the US is trying to do.
So what will it do? And what will happen to the eurozone when Spain does finally crack under the pressure? Who will bail it out?
Well, interestingly enough, it seems that Spain's banking system is already being propped up by the European taxpayer, in much the same way as Northern Rock is being propped up by us British taxpayers. The Europeans just don't know about it yet.
Spain might be unable to set its own interest rates, but it does appear that its banking system is being propped up very generously by the European Central Bank, as Ambrose Evans-Pritchard points out in today's Telegraph.
The secret bail-out of Spain's banks
Spanish banks issued a record £39bn of mortgage bonds and other asset-backed securities in the fourth quarter, according to ratings agency Moody's. Now, as you'll no doubt recall, the market for these securities seized up back in July and hasn't really opened up since.
(Incidentally, that's one of the reasons why mortgage rates in the UK aren't really coming down, despite the fall in the interbank lending rate and the base rate. The banks and building societies still can't sell on the loans they make.)
So who is buying all these Spanish mortgages? Well, it seems they are being used as collateral for loans from the European Central Bank. The ECB accepts AAA-rated securities as collateral, apparently unaware that the label AAA carries a lot less weight than it used to.
This has helped Spanish banks avoid the fate of Northern Rock. The Rock, you'll no doubt remember, was brought down when it was unable to sell on its mortgages, which meant it was unable to pay back the money it had borrowed to write them in the first place. It seems that Spain's banks, rather than get a very public loan from the ECB, have instead been quietly dumping their mortgage books onto it.
Of course, no one's overtly admitting to this. And at the moment, the consequences of all this aren't entirely clear. But if the ECB is holding a lot of mortgages as collateral against loans to Spanish banks, and the Spanish property market crashes as badly as say, the US, you do have to wonder just how much of that money the ECB is going to get back. How will German taxpayers feel about bailing out the Spanish? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.
How the Fed will keep propping up the gold price
Gold hit another fresh record yesterday, while platinum and silver hit new highs too, a 27-year one in silver's case. Power shortages in South Africa have shut down mines in what until recently was the biggest gold producer in the world (last month we learned the biggest is now China).
I'm sure our commodities writer Dominic Frisby will have more to say on gold in Money Morning later this week, but suffice to say, that while South Africa seems to have provided a nice little catalyst to propel gold even higher, it's not the core reason that the yellow metal is climbing.
The Federal Reserve meets tonight to discuss interest rates again and it looks like anything less than a half-point cut will disappoint the thin skins on Wall Street. And we all know there's nothing the Fed cares about more than making sure the boys on the Street are kept happy.
A drastic cut looks even more likely after yesterday's dreadful housing data. New home sales fell to a 12-year low in December again showing that there will be no bottoming out in this market for a long time to come.
So the Fed has all the excuses it needs to happily keep undermining the dollar and destroying the savings of those few US citizens who actually have any. A half-point cut tonight would take the key Federal funds rate down to 3.0%. Headline inflation grew at an annual rate of more than 4% in December. The message is pretty plain - saving must be punished. Get out there and spend.
John Stepek - Moneyweek
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