we still have a long way to go

The trust in the financial system is still far from being repaired.
Despite the measures made by the government, the stockmarket has
decreased again, after a short rise yesterday.
The trust is the highest in banks who have been promised money injections
from the government.
The question is now: should the government take more measurements, or
will time repair the damage?

Jolien Taecke

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Economie/article/detail/451770/2008/10/14/Wall-Street-levert-winst-in.dhtml

Here today,gone tomorrow?

After a suspension of over a week, Fortis' share opened at 11 AM. It didn't take long before its share dove with a stunning 64% to 1.93 euros a share. It sure didn't get better, because at the end of the day, Fortis had come up with a loss of 77% and you could buy a share for only 1.21euros. Fortis executives say that it will take time to restore the trust in Fortis knowing it just went through its most turbulent 2weeks in its existence.

Fortis... just 3weeks ago very succesful, today in its biggest crisis ever...Live is indeed a curve!

Tarek Srouji

Source: De Morgen

Wanted: €500,000,000

The financial crisis is having its influences on pretty much everything around us. Not only average Joe feels these changes in his bank account, the effects now appear to have reached the Belgian government as well.
While the Belgian politicians are trying to come up with a budget for 2009, it becomes clear that the state has to pay an extra half a billion euros interest, due to the financial crisis. The Belgian politicians are considering every possibility to retrieve the necessary money, including unique interventions

Lien Sarrazyn

source: De Standaard Online

Financial institutions receive help from the government

The American government will try to improve the confidence in the American bank system.

The government will report that it is interested in different banks, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of New York and State Street Corp.

The Ministry of Finance will buy stakes from Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan for 36 milliard euros and it will also invest 28 milliard euros in Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York and State Street Corp.

By investing in big banks at the same time the government hopes to prevent a stigmatization of a financial institution that needs help from the government and therefore the government will invest 183 milliard euros in thousands of banks.

Adia Nabirova

Source: www.hln.be

Entrepreneurial inspiration

To become a successful entrepreneur it takes passion, determination, creativity but most of all just good luck and a lot of money.

Passion is the key to entrepreneurship but often entrepreneurs start with an accidental vision, a dream or the wish to be able to rule everything yourself and be your own boss. It requires a lot of personal characteristics and money , but also physical, mental and emotional stamina. Even though you are your own boss , you will need emotional and professional support from your staff.

Tom Sercu

Source: http://newsok.com/entrepreneurial-inspiration/article/3301569

Fortis shares almost worthless.

The shares of Belgian banking group Fortis nearly crashed today; with a decrease of 77% in one day the future doesn’t look nice for it’s shareholders. The share of Fortis had been cancelled for more than a week due to the horrible results the bank had achieved during the last few weeks. The volatility of the bank’s opening share course Monday resulted in a complete panic selling, which made the company’s shares going down by 77% at the bell, giving one share the historical value of € 1,21 (£ 0,95). Despite the aid of the Belgian government the future of the largest Belgian banking group is still unsure and a lot of people fear that their savings aren’t safe within the bank.

Source: De Morgen

Brecht Taghon

Don’t put your money under your mattress!

Since the financial crisis people lost confidence in the stockmarket and start to believe their cash would be best stashed under their beds rather than invested in the stockmarket, while hiding money under the mattress would only worsen the crisis and freeze the economy up.
People need to regain confidence in the market again so they will spend and invest so the economy can recover from the crisis and stabilise, but if people start to panic it will only get worse.
Many analysts are urging investors to take a long-term view when considering whether to buy or sell and not to look at the short term and claim this to be the worst time to sell off.
A lot of people also start putting their money in gold as result of the crisis, because the precious metal is traditionally seen as a safe asset during times of economic uncertainty and this might be a better solution than stashing the money under the bed.

Enghien Ieben

source: guardian.co.uk

Microcredit, peaceful banking

In the hard world of business, not everyone is keen on making an effort for the less prosperous people, especially not in banking and finance, however…

A microcredit is a small loan that can help out poor people who are not able to obtain a normal loan from a bank because they are not creditworthy. This way, people in development countries can start up a small business, buy a sewing machine, buy a cow or do other things with the money in order to improve their life circumstances.

2005 was declared ‘the international year of microcredit’, while one year later Muhammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank, known for the microcredit projects, won the Nobel Peace Prize.


Bert Thieuw


source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/microkrediet

'Managing Money' for Children

Kidsbank.comTM is a website that educates children about the Fundamentals of money and banking. Sovereign Bank decided to build Kidsbank.comTM because of the lack of relevant and understandable information for children. Kids may find the answers on all their money-related questions on Kidsbank.comTM. Parents don’t have to worry about safety and are able to check the Children’s Privacy Policy.

National assurance for all Belgian banks

Due to the credit crunch, all Belgian banks can rely on national assurance for new loans. But they have to live up to a few conditions: the banks have to hand in the applications themselves and they have to pay a compensation. The national assurance can only be approved if it's in the best interest of Belgian economy and the protection of the depositor. Hopefully this will help stop the credit crunch.

Elien Meulewaeter

Source : Het nieuwsblad

Worried but no action

Flemish people are worried about their money on the bank nevertheles they keep it on the bank. A research, in which 1000 Flemish people participated, shows that 56,9 % of these people are worried about their money but just 4,6 % of them put it away from the bank. Women, older people and people with a low level of education are more pessimistic about the whole situation. The research also shows that the majority is satisfied about the measures the government took concerning the financial problems.

Meryem Özüak
Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=GRD21JIUR

NO FORTUNE FOR FORTIS

Fortis, the biggest bank in Belgium, had a financial meltdown during the past five months.

This was partially caused by the problemcredits and the takeover of ABN-Amro, a Dutch bank, which cost more than 24 billion Euros.
There were speculations that ING or BNP Paribas considered to take over Fortis,
but the state tried to interfere and invested 11.2 billion Euros in the bank.

Now, BNP Paribas owns 75 % of Fortis and tries to run the remains of the former bank.

Ellen Noé

An injection of 250 million dollars

On Tuesday the 14th of October, Bush announced that the government is going to inject 250 million dollars into the banks. This effort of the government is part of a 750 million rescue plan. The US government hopes that this will help the financial sector and get the economy back on the right track. In the American media are circulating names of banks as Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.

Carmen Neerinckx
Sources: www.detijd.be, www.hln.be, www.ft.com

US nationalise banks

After the example of the British government, the US government will part-nationalise its banks to combat the financial crisis. The US government will invest $250 billion buying stakes in leading banks. This money will help healthy banks to continue providing loans to businesses and consumers and struggling banks to limit their losses. The US government will participate in several banks: Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, State Street and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

Anneleen Naessens

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/14/us-banks-bailout-bush

Student finance: a balanced equation

To avoid students get into debt, a few simple budgeting tips and tricks can help.

The key is to make a budget right from the beginning, this way students can see for themselves their income and their expenses.
If they are not able to do it themselves they can go to a student-finance advisor or use an online budget planner which most universities provide.
Tips to balance your student budget are sharing costs on common items, generate an income by a student job, use the student discounts and most important plan ahead.

Branco Moens

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/finances/student-finance-a-balanced-equation-933823.html

Belgium lost Fortis

On the sixth of October the Belgian government sold 75% of Fortis Bank Belgium to the French bank BNP Paribas for 14.5 billion euros.

BNP Paribas could obtain this bargain because Fortis Belgium was headed to bankruptcy due to the financial crisis in the banking sector.

The Belgian government could have tried to nationalize Fortis but chose to sell it to a private bank without contacting the shareholders of Fortis.

Even today the storm isn't settling down: shareholders are still worried and Fortis shares are tumbling down.

Hanne Leus

"U.S. pulls the trigger"

The American government is taking interests in the banking institutions. The Government is prepared to pump 250 billion dollars in the banks in order to help the financial sector to recover and to get the economy back on the right tracks, as Bush said in his speech in Washington. The purchase of shares and stocks in nine major US banks are ment to be short-term measures to stabilize the markets. In the American media names of banks such as Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have been circulating.

Sources: http://money.cnn.com ; http://www.tijd.be

Paul Mertens

Leterme saves 'normal households' !?

Leterme saves 'normal households' !?

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme and Didier Reynders came up with a plan to give financial support to all ‘normal households’ who invested money in Fortis. Everybody who still has coupons of Fortis, will receive a part of the profit the government earned from BNP Paribas by 2014. However, a lot of organizations are still upset; Testaankoop for example says that the small profit of Paribas will not satisfy at all and many households can’t wait six years. They believe the government is able to do a lot more for them!

Herbert Spanhove

Sources: Het Niewsblad 12/10/08 - 13/10/08

Government in search of money

However there is a lot of uncertainty about the amount of moonlighting, Bouwunie performed a research which stated that approximately 40% of the Belgian people participate the black economy. This is a huge problem from government to customers; the government receives less National Insurance contributions and taxes, moonlighters aren’t insured in case of an accident, honest enterprises experience dishonest competition and clients haven’t got a leg to stand on if they want to press charges against that particular company. This high rate of black economy is due to the high taxes and National Insurance contributions. The government wants to take measures to decrease this activity; they plan a diminution of TVA and social expenditures.
Sybille Quequin

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/989/Binnenland/article/detail/450082/2008/10/13/Bouwunie-lanceert-actieplan-tegen-zwartwerk-in-bouw.dhtmlhttp://bouwenwonen.net/news/read.asp?id=20186
http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc3659l.jpg

A financial function is the future

Today is a time filled with economical insecurities, which however don’t seem to influence the labour market for financial profiles, says Robert Half, a recruiter of financial personnel.

Robert Half lets us know that not only young graduates, but also financial experts who want a career chance have the benefit of choosing out of a large offer of multiple employers. This not only translates to a high pay, more and more financial experts cash in their value in other ways, such as flexible work hours and more vacation days.

To conclude in the words of Robert Half: “If you’re looking for a job, finances is the way to go!”

Anaïs Tamboryn

Bron: De Standaard

Have a little faith in me!

Belgian people still trust their banks during this financial crisis!
An inquiry has shown that 75,64 per cent of the Belgian people still have faith in the financial sector. But if the problems are caused by mismanagement, the inhabitants of Belgium largely agree the directors should be punished and don’t deserve a golden handshake. They also think the government has made a sensible decision to support the banks that are in trouble.

Eline Moens

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/943/Ombudsman/article/detail/446387/2008/10/10/Belg-heeft-nog-vertrouwen-in-zijn-bank.dhtml

The central banks and their new dollars

Latest news is the unlimited placement at financial institutions’ disposal in which the Fed, ECB, BoE, The Bank of Japan and Switzerland play a huge roll.
As you could see in recent events in which banks are in

trouble to get liquidities and the tensions on the money

markets, there has taken a precaution to supply banks with dollars. These National Banks are going to give tenders for the finance of dollars where financial institutions can have unbounded loans.
According to their releases, they will work together in the future to sustain measures that are necessary for enough liquidity for the short term finance markets.

http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/economie-financien/Centrale_banken_geven_massaal_dollars_vrij.8089647-600.art

Cédric Degryse

Barclays-bank responds to the rescue plan of the British government

Barclays-bank has announced that she is considering a capital increase following the rescue plan by the British government for the banking sector. The government announced Wednesday a plan to support 50 billion pounds for the eight largest banks in Britain, including Barclays. However Barclays didn’t say if she will accept financial help from the national government for the capital increase. In exchange for the capital injection, the British government requires a partial nationalization.



Olivier Steenhaut

The decadence of the financial crisis

The Belgian banks Fortis & Dexia are celebrating on the back off their clients. Last weekend I saw an article in the newspaper about jetset parties in Monaco. While they were drinking champaigne and priceless wines, their clients were suffering big losses. No wonder that the consumers confidence in these banks decreaces.

Pieter Van Brussel.

The Belgians still believe

Despite the economic crisis, an inquiry of Fortis has shown that 75% of the Belgians still believe in the bank system. They aren’t rushing massively to their bank to take their money away from their account and instead keep it in a sock under their beds. The inquiry has also shown that the Belgians believe that when managers have committed fraud they should be punished for their actions and can’t get a dismissal premium. The Belgians not only believe in their banks, but they also think that the government made the right decision, to injected money in the banks who are in trouble.



Jolien Sabbe

Source: www.hln.be

The Belgian people are faithful to champagne

Despite the economic crisis and the decreasing purchasing power, the Belgians drink even more champagne. In America the economic crisis is worse than in Belgium, you can see that in the consume of champagne. The sale of champagne decreased in America and other countries but increased in Belgium. The causes of the high consume of champagne in Belgium are probably the strong euro, the good geographical location and their preference for champagne.

Elke Popelier

Source: 'De Standaard' 2008-10-10

A boost in online banking

Even though it seems that banks can do no good anymore these days, online banking nowadays satisfies customer wants completely. The quality of online banking sites has improved profoundly and is regarded as better than the quality of the services offered by local offices by some. Banks have invested a lot in the web sites over the years claiming that the benefits are very high. It is not merely a matter of improvement in safety measures, also the fact that more services are offered and the ease of navigating through the site boost online banking.   

Esther Melkebeke

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24127535/

 

Women in banking

Women aren’t easily associated with the job of banking, and statistics show that there are indeed few female bankers around: in 2007, only 16,1% of the executives at the 100 largest commercial banks were women, which is even less than in 2006. The percentage of female corporate officers in finance is 2.9% and only 2% of the directors are women. Needless to say, the balance between women and men in the world of banking is nonexistent.
A solution could be to appoint more women to be board directors, because they are more likely to promote or hire women, or at least to promote people regardless of their gender.

Elise Madoe

http://www.americanbanker.com/usb_article.html?id=20080915340V3ILQ

The psychology of gambling

At the one hand an investor can be seen as a player in a casino, but at the other hand is this comparison too general.

Gambling in casinos is save: calculating your chances in a closed circuit and dividing the money, without psychological aspects. Investors on the contrary aren’t playing in a closed circuit. They have a lot of extra aspects such as reputation, proud, too much self-confidence, growth…

Freya Van Bever

http://www.tijd.be/affiliaties/010/Nu_zaterdag_in_De_Tijd_Weekend__de_special_over_de_financiele_crisis.8085439-1598.art
(the article: Gedragseconoom Werner De Bondt: 'Casino's zijn zekerder dan beurzen')

Irish economy, no longer the best.

The Irish Central Bank says that the Irish economy will decline until 2009. The Irish economy was always known for its growth and financial health but now has to deal with a period of difficulties! The economic problems are due to a numerous of reasons: the worldwide financial crisis and the declination of the building sector! That is why the Irish banks will have to make sure that the Irish economy will have its old status back!
Brecht Petit

Banknotes in great demand

Banknotes in great demand
Last week, banks received many people asking to withdraw money from their account. The European Central Bank confirms that the circulation of banknotes has risen with 11.5 milliard euro recently. Many families worry about the financial crisis and the consequences for their own savings. The financial institutions will point out to the possessors that hoarding cash at home also means a big risk.
Source: newspaper ‘De Tijd’ 11 October 2008 - Mieke Sys-