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Advice for those looking to work in or visit the UK

Oxford Culture Mania

Bail out

What The Experts Say

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

Fractured Fairy Tales

Do you feel creative? This is an unteractive web in which you can re-write fairy tales. Give it a go!

Fractured Fairy Tales

Discovering Britain

History, landscape and more. For those who like travelling, here you can also travel with your imagination.

http://www.discoveringbritain.org/walks/landscapes/view-all/

Listen and Read Along

On this site, you can read and at the same time you can read what is being said.

http://www.manythings.org/listen/

Newspapers, magazines, comics in all languages

Now you have no excuse to avoid reading.

http://www.youkioske.com/

Irish Legends

Since St Paddy's Day is coming, we can read and listen to different Irish legends in these two links below.

http://www.carlingfordandmourne.com/myths-and-legends/the-tain-b%C3%B3-cualigne-the-brown-bull-of-cooley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvvkCM7mcY&feature=related

FCE Flo-Joe

This web gives tips to prepare for Fisrt Certificate. You can even subscribe and you'll receive emails with their updates. (NI2)
Flo-joe

Short stories

http://www.short-stories.co.uk/

More Reading practice

This is good stuff, scroll down and you'll find more difficult texts two.

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/intermediate.html

Extra practice - Fill in the gaps of these texts

http://www.world-english.org/gapfill-exercises.htm

The Tell-Tale Heart - Script

Here you have the script of the video and a link to the original short story. Don't miss this master piece!

THE TELL-TALE HEART

by Edgar Allan Poe
1843

I can’t recall how the idea entered my mind; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. I loved the old man. He never wronged me, never insulted me and desired nothing of him. It was his eye! Yes, his eye! He had the eye of a vulture. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees, I decided to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of him forever.

Oh, you should have seen me! How wisely, with such force and careful calculation I planned it! Every night, at midnight, I turned the knob of his door and opened it, so gently! Oh, you would have admired my cunning. I moved slowly, so slowly. When I was well inside the room, I let the light fall on the vulture eye, but it was closed. I was never kinder to the old man in that way before I killed him. Every morning, I boldly went into his room and inquired after him:

-'Good morning, did you sleep well?'

- 'I’m not bad, my friend, not bad.'

' He suspected nothing.'

On the eighth night I was more than usually cautious. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than I did. Upon never before life I had the triumph of my powers.

It’s open.    -'Who's there?'     Wide open.        -'Who's there?'

I kept quite still in the darkness. For an hour I didn’t move a muscle. He’s trying to comfort himself. The strait swells in his chest, and then I heard it, a dull quick sound like a watch enveloping gun.  It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum draws the soldier into courage.

His eye would trouble me no more.

If took wise precautions for the disposal of the body.

What have I to fear?

-'Sorry to disturb you Sir, but a neighbor’s reported a shriek.'

- 'Shriek?'      
-' A shriek.'

-'Oh, that was my own nightmare, you see?'

- 'I see.'            
-'Come in.'

I bade them search --search well. There was nothing to fear, no clues anywhere. I led them into his chamber. I bade them some tea.

-'Tea?'

-'It’d be very nice Sir, thank you.'

- 'Two sugars, thank you.'

-'Oh, butterflies. I’ll write that down.'

-'The Virgin Mary.'

-'Here are the posters, another pomping folk.'

- 'This candelabra is covered in dust but it’s been moved.'

-'Covered in dust.'     
- 'But moved.' 
- 'But moved.' 
–'Put that down.'
- 'Please sit.'    
- 'Thank you.'

In the enthusiasm of confidence, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, I placed the chair above the spot beneath which the corpse laid.

-'How long have you lived here?'   
- 'Ten years, least.'   
-'And the gentleman?'

-'Oh yeah! He’s a widower, you see? He prefers lodgers rather than keep the house.'

-'Mister Hodge prefers to lodge?'  
- 'Very nice place it is.'   
-'Aye, very nice.'

Suddenly a deep fatigue sweat over me.  My head began to ache, there was a ringing in my ears: it became more distinct. That tapping sound.

-'When did you say the gentleman left?'  
-'I didn’t say.'  
-'When did he leave then?'

-'Not sure.'   
-'You’re not sure?'   
-'I didn’t say.'

No doubt I grew pale; the sound increased -- what could I do? Was it possible they didn’t hear it?  'Sir?'. They mocked me. 'Nice tea'. Anything was more tolerable than this derision! It grew louder! And louder! And louder!

I admit it! I can’t stand this mock any moment longer. You are the villains for your deceit. I can’t stand it! It’s the beating of his hideous heart.

Thereby hangs my turn

Clik here to go to the text.

Steve Jobs Died

http://www.independent.co.uk/