Author Archives: Darren Marchal

Who says video games are bad for you?

Researchers at the University of Rome in Italy have concluded that playing an hour of Nintendo Wii a day for a month actually improves hand eye coordination and can make surgeons more adept at performing important surgeries. The reason for this phenomenon has a lot to do with how the surgeries themselves are performed. Instead…

Obama reluctantly signs sequester

After last minute discussions failed to reach a consensus, the American Congress was unable to prevent a wave of unpalatable cuts coming into effect. President Obama has since signed off on the sequester, which will see over $85bn wiped from the federal budget over the year. When the cuts were conceived in 2011, they were…

Selling your house? Touch up the Easy Way

So you’ve decided you’re going to put your house up for sale.  Before you take the next big step of listing your house on the market, you may want to consider the possibility of improving the current condition of your house.  Here are some simple, inexpensive ways you can polish up your house before prospective buyers come…

US home sales hit 5 year high

New figures from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development reveal that sales of new single-family houses in January rose 15.6 percent above the December 2012 rate, and 28.9 percent from the same time last year. Over 437,000 single family homes were purchased in January, exceeding the forecast of 381,000. Sales have been boosted…

Novartis scraps payout

Departing chairman of Novartis, Daniel Vasella was set to receive a payout of $78m over six years, supposedly for consulting services and a very strict non-compete agreement. But the generous ‘golden gag’ package- as the payout has been dubbed by the media- caused waves of protests in Switzerland, a country on the verge of a…

Is U.S. Hiring on the Rise?

With the number Americans applying for unemployment benefits at an all time low, things are looking up for those looking for a job. Just last week, the number of applicants fell by 27,000 indicating that hiring is steadily improving. These trends are not volatile, evidenced by Jim O’Sullivan, an economist at High Frequency Economics. In…

‘Made in’ labels raise controversy in Europe

The European Commission has announced plans to demand global manufacturers importing goods into the EU to apply a ‘made in’ label to all their products or risk sanctions. The World Trade Organisation is a staunch critic of such labels which it describes as making little sense in a world of globalised supply chains. Similar regulations…

How To Plan For Small Business Succession

More than 90% of business in the United States are family owned, but less than a third will survive in to the following generation. With the prevalence of small and medium sized business, the intricacies of business succession planning must be considered as a part of your retirement plan. Preoccupied with 401Ks and SEP-IRAs the…

Britain’s electrified ring fence

The British chancellor has proposed a ring fence separating high-street retails banking from investment banking branches within institutions will need to be ‘electrified’ with severe sanctions. Osborne will publish the Banking Reform Bill giving regulators the power to split banks up if they do not comply fully with new rules designed to protect British taxpayers….