The American Dream Moves to Asia??
With the U.S, job rate at 9.5 percent, Britain at almost 8 percent and Spain at a discouraging 19.9 percent, a growing number of people from Europe and the U.S. are moving to Asia in pursuit of a job and a more prosperous life.
Asian unemployment rates are not only at remarkable lows, Hong Kong is at 4.6 percent and Singapore is at 2.2 percent, there seems to be a continuous stream of jobs for Westerners.
The array of white collar positions range from areas in architecture and engineering to marketing and sales. In addition, there seems to be an always expanding market for hospitality and luxury goods.
Though there is an absence of previously offered perks, such as housing allowances and financial assistance to pay for child care, that doesn’t look like it is stopping applicants. According to a recruiting firm in Hong Kong named Ambition, resumes from the U.S. and Europe have jumped 20-30 percent, making up 2/3 of every 600 resumes they receive!
Making a new life halfway around the world may not be easy, but it’s certainly not impossible. One woman, Shahrzad Moaven, lived in London and had a public relations job, but jumped at the opportunity to move to Hong Kong. She now has a job as the communications director at the jeweler Carnet.
Moaven said of the experience, “Back in London, there were fewer resources for P.R. events or advertising. Here, everyone is expanding and spending on marketing activities. That makes my job here a lot more interesting.”
Getting a job in an area where the population and competition is growing can be difficult, however. Business owners are looking for employees that stand out from their fellow applicants. In addition, supervisors want an employee that is already familiar with the culture and language, and most importantly want to hire someone with contacts to bring to their business.
Overall, moving to Asia may be a risk but it could pay off big. Keep in mind however that many caution against using this move as a quick get rich plan. A change this drastic requires sufficient consideration and needs to be viewed as a long term commitment.
Source:
NY Times
The New Financial Reform Bill: What Does it Mean for You?
You may have seen stories in the news lately about the Financial Reform Bill, but still might be confused about what it all means, especially when it comes to your financial situation.
Though the bill would cause some changes it might not affect your financial situation or any loans you may have taken out immediately. In fact, it is more of a precautionary program that would be set in place so future financial meltdowns could be prevented.
Though there are other parts of this bill, it can mainly be outlined in three basic sections.
The first part of the bill states that regulators would have more authority. It is not a big secret that in the past regulators have had a dangerously friendly relationship with financial firms and lenders, or more bluntly, just haven’t been as strict as was necessary. If the new bill were to pass, regulators would be overlooking items such as mortgages and complex securities. This measure might prevent past mistakes such as undocumented loans.
The next part of the bill would require financial firms to retain less debt and store more capital in reserve. By having more capital in reserve, firms would be able to use it as a cushion if investments go bad.
The last major part of the bill comes in if, even after the first two precautions, a firm is still unable to manage themselves. In this case, the government would be allowed to seize the firm long enough to sell off its parts.
Though the new bill seems like it might make a positive change in the way that finances are handled by firms, due to a lack of bipartisanship support the bill may have lost the strength it was expected to have.
In the end, the bill, if passed, may not immediately affect any loan you may have, but it could affect future loans and other ways of borrowing, along with the way firms use your money.
To read more about the bill go to: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/credit_crisis/financial_regulatory_reform/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/business/14regulate.html?_r=1&ref=business
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