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Germany, UK Issue Travel Warnings For US Due To Government Shutdown http://www.economywatch.com/news/germany-uk-travel-warning-us-government-shutdown.03-10.html Germany and the United Kingdom have become the first countries to issue advisories for travellers to the United States, warning of possible delays at immigration and tourist sites as the U.S. government remains partially shut due to a budget impasse. In a notice posted on its website, the German Foreign Ministry warned that "travellers should expect longer wait times at immigration control," even though air traffic controllers and Customs and Security operations at U.S. airports should be operating normally; while the U.K. government also warned of delays in air travel and at immigration. According to a report by the Daily Mail, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the U.K.'s travel trade association for tour operators and travel agents, also warned British tourists that they were unlikely to receive a refund on their holidays unless a "significant part" of their trip has been affected by closures as a result of the U.S. shutdown. According to ABTA, around 30,000 Britons are currently holidaying in the U.S., with only a fraction booking trips to national parks, which have all been closed. Britons comprise the largest European tourism contingent to the U.S., according to U.S. Commerce Department statistics, followed by Germans. On Wednesday, European leaders expressed disappointment at the federal government shutdown, but were optimistic of minimal damage to the economy, as long as U.S. politicians can reach an agreement within two weeks. "The German government is following the developments and events in the United States very closely and we regret that there has not yet been a resolution of the conflict over the US budget," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert to reporters, as cited by AFP. "We hope that there will be progress soon that will allow the conflict to end."

Financial and Legal (financial planning for expats at Barcelona, life insurance, banking, etc) Best for Expatriates in Spain As an expat, your circumstances are likely to change more often than if you were in your home country. Clear financial advice and planning means that expatriate life is without worry and that your future is taken care of. Financial planning requirements vary from country to country and expatriates living in Spain may need to allocate their investments in a different way. These are the elements that make expatriate financial planning different. Currency One of the first financial steps when relocating abroad may involve exchanging currency to that of the new country. It is important to search around for the best deal at both banks and specialist currency dealers. If an income is received from another country in another currency, it will need to be exchanged into the currency of new country. The impact of a regular currency conversion can leave a person exposed. Currencies move quickly and often; it may be necessary to "forward book" some of the currency exchanging to fix the rate of exchange. When it comes to arranging savings and investments, different currencies also need to be taken into consideration. In principle, if the investments are generating income used to live on, they should be in the same currency as the expenditure. EMERGENCY CASH FUND Regardless of the country of residence, an amount of cash should be instantly available for emergencies. In the case of expatriates, this fund needs to be higher because inevitably additional trips back home are required (for example, trips to see ailing and infirm relatives). The amount required depends on individual circumstances and a financial adviser takes this into account when financial planning. BANK ACCOUNTS Expatriates need a bank account in more than one country; a local bank account is required in the local currency. It is also often necessary to retain a bank account fo

(Reuters) - European shares saw their strongest gains in a week on Tuesday after a pick-up in German economic sentiment data bolstered hopes the region's biggest economy would rebound quickly from its recent weakness. Wall Street was expected to return from a three-day weekend with further gains, as it looks to build on the seven straight weeks of rises that have pushed the S&P 500 to a five-year high. Following last week's GDP figures showing that the euro zone saw a weaker end to 2012 than expected, Germany's ZEW survey of investors and analysts brightened the mood as it comfortably beat expectations to hit its highest level since April 2010. "Financial market experts have made their peace with the weak fourth quarter of 2012," said ZEW president Wolfgang Franz after its headline figure jumped to 48.2 points from 31.5 in January. "In their opinion the German economy faces less of a headwind from the euro crisis than throughout the last months." European stock markets, which had lost around 1.5 percent since the end of January, extended early gains after the data to put them on track for their biggest advance in a week. The FTSEurofirst 300 had added 0.9 percent by 1330 GMT, led by a 1.5 gain on Paris's CAC-40 and 1.2 percent rises on Frankfurt's DAX, in Milan and in Madrid. "Even if the real economy only lives up to half the expectations, ... any fears of a technical recession should turn out to have been unjustified," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said of the German outlook following the ZEW survey. The euro also rose and German government bonds turned negative after the figures, though both moves proved to be brief. The euro was little changed at $1.3350 as afternoon trading gathered pace and benchmark Bunds were back in positive territory at 142.82. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's reiteration on Monday that the bank would continue to monitor the euro's recent strength kept downward pressure on the currency, as some took the comments as a hint tha

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