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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

How the UAE can improve its financial literacy Financial literacy is the awareness of how money functions and the capacity to handle one's finances successfully. While it is not a new idea, it is a completely recent phrase frequently used in the UAE. Why is this so? The reason, it appears, is that we are a not a financially knowledgeable nation. This can be clearly gleaned from our amount of debt, which constantly increases. In spite of the fact that the Central Bank introduces more rigorous qualifications for individual lending in 2011, banks are still allowed to grant loans of up to 20 times a person's monthly wage, with installments not to go above 50 per cent of monthly wage. The worth of personal debts in the country rose by 3.8 per cent to Dh270.7 billion between January and May this year alone, according to the Central Bank. That sum is over and above the Dh8.8 billion increase in individual loans reported during 2012. In addition, a survey by The National Family Status Observatory in 2012 revealed that about 60 per cent of Emirati families disbursed about one fourth of their monthly earnings repaying loans from credit cards and individual loans. Those figures are excessively high, says Keren Bobker, the financial counselor who writes The National's "On Your Side" column. "A major fraction of the population has total monthly loan obligations that surpass their income," she says. "Inescapably, this will end up in defaulting on payments and other dire consequences." So why is the UAE exceedingly financially uninformed? "Many factors can explain this predicament," Ms Bobker says. "These comprise having to handle financial products in a second language; absence of transparency in terms of many financial products and services; lack of help from banks, and excessive hard selling which are improper." Having debts has been embedded into the culture, she says. "So many citizens here simply believe that having large uncollateralized