Posts about "money"

Links for 13 August 2010

Published on 13 August 2010 in , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hmm. Methinks this is less Daily Links and more monthly links! Giant Chinese ‘straddle bus’ drives over traffic Bonkers idea or genius new way at tackling congestion? You decide. Call to improve password security – BBC News Apparently we need to make passwords longer because shorter ones will be easily cracked. But frankly sod the cracking – people already struggle with passwords and if we make them longer, then people are going to struggle to remember them. Case in point – me. Halifax recently changed their online login requiring brand new "memorable data". They then pick three letters. The data they had me use is so long that to get the three letters I have to write down the password on a Post It note… It really is time the password died and something easier to use took its place. Why the US keeps minting coins people hate and won’t use – BBC News Apparently in the USA they're making dollar coins people won't use because they prefer notes. Personally I can't imagine still having a pound note in the UK – my wallet would just be full of paper… What makes a place worthy of World Heritage status? –... View Article

Links for 17 March 2010

Published on 17 March 2010 in , , , , , , , ,

GMG to drop original programming and cut staff at Channel M – guardian.co.uk Says something about local TV in the UK if Guardian Media Group can't even make it work in a city the size of Manchester. Sam Smiths Pubs Locations Sam Smiths are a strange company. They don't do music. They don't advertise. Food is usually very basic. It's hard to buy their beers anywhere other than their pubs. They only sell their own products, with the odd exception of McCoy's crisps. They don't even have a website. Their pubs don't even have their logo on it. They don't particularly innovate. At all. And they haven't put their prices up (bar duty) for about 18 years, so you can get a pint for less than £2. Oh and they have some of the finest, best looking and well looked after pubs you'll find in the UK. But you'd never know where they are. Unless someone created a website to tell you… Top marks to James Gretton then! A brief view of the power of Samuel Smiths Old Brewey – Tadcaster From BBC's Inside Out Yorks and Lincs, a different insight into the strange world of Sam Smiths, and their... View Article

Train travel too expensive? Perhaps not compared to the car…

Published on 20 January 2009 in , , , , , , ,

Whilst I was up north over Christmas, I had one of those inevitable "cost of transport" discussions. This conversation was on the depreciation in value of cars. The result was that the annual depreciation value of their car was roughly £1,000. So if they bought their car - not a new car incidentally - left it on the drive for twelve months, and then sold it, they'd be around £1,000 out of pocket. If they left it on for two years, they'd be £2,000 out of pocket. And so on.

Icesave Cash Back

Published on 29 November 2008 in , , , , ,

So about two months ago, a substantial amount of my money ended up stuck in the British operation of a failed Icelandic bank, known in the UK as Icesave. Well after a bit of a wait - and nowhere near as long as most people originally expected - my cash has now been returned.

You never opened an account, you know

Published on 12 November 2008 in , , , , , ,

Seems the whole Kaupthing Edge clean up continues. It’s taken them some time, but it finally came – the email that says “Yes, it may look like you opened a fixed term savings account, but you didn’t. Sorry.” It appears that whilst the Kaupthing Edge accounts were transferred to ING Direct, the actual physical infrastructure of the online banking system didn’t – it was kept by Kaupthing Edge’s parent, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. Technically opening a new account via the online banking system was therefore opening a new account with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, who are in administration and therefore can’t accept new deposits. Apparently the money, when they get round to closing the account, will be deemed “never to have moved in the first place”. Presumably I’m not the only person to have tried this little game but it provides a lesson for failed banks (or at least the people trying to run failed banks) – lock off what you can, as soon as you can, even if it’s a crowbar approach. Cos if you don’t, someone may expect something to be possible that’s not, and you’ll waste more time sorting out the mess. One failed bank did do... View Article