Complex Financing

The Christmas shopping period is due to officially start this weekend, with research revealing Brits’ shopping habits over the festive season.

Almost a third of Brits will start their Christmas shopping this Saturday, as a survey by M&S Money shows that 29% of people like to do their festive shop a month in advance of the big day.

The survey also showed who our favourite shopping partners are. Women fared better than men – 40% of men said their wife is their preferred shopping partner, while just 23% of women said the same of their husband.

Male family members were also unpopular shopping partners, with just 1% of people choosing their dad or brother.

While 29% of people like to get their Christmas shopping done with a month to spare, the survey also found that 11% wait until two weeks before and 5% leave just a week to spare.

“Christmas shopping is a real event in many people’s festive calendar. They

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Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary says Greek tourism revenues will soar if Greece withdraws from the eurozone and goes back to a devalued version of its pre-euro drachma.

According to the Associated Press, O’Leary said Thursday that “inbound tourism would explode down there” because the country would become much cheaper and more attractive to tourists from other parts of Europe.

AP reports that he also said he was looking at launching a low-cost trans-Atlantic airline in which economy class tickets would cost the equivalent of 10 euros, though baggage and other services would be extra. But he said this wouldn’t be possible for at least 3-4 years because both Airbus and Boeing Co.

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Thomas Cook, the beleaguered travel company, has secured a new credit facility worth £200 million from its bank lending group that will be available until April 30, 2013.

It replaces a £100-million short-term credit facility it took in October. The decision by lender groups, including Barclays, HSBC, RBS, and UniCredit, has given a new lease on life to the struggling company.

“I am absolutely delighted that we have reached agreement, and I would like to thank the banks for acting so swiftly,” the BBC  quoted group CEO Sam Weihagen as saying.

“This provides the group with much increased headroom to deal with unexpected events and the effects of an uncertain economic environment,” he added.

The 170-year-old company has lost about 94 percent of its value over the past year, and its shares fell 75 percent on Tuesday. Th

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We have not yet seen any campers outside Walmart or Best Buy stores in the Cincinnati area….yet.

But already some southern shoppers are lining up for Black Friday deals, almost a week in advance.

Several people have already set up a tent outside a Best Buy store in Denton, Texas, near Dallas. Those waiting say they are not part of any Occupy Wall Street movement,  they just want to grab a great deal first, such as an $800 HDTV for $200 at midnight on Thanksgiving.

Our sister station, WFTS-TV in Tampa, found Hernandez and Christine Orta camping in front of at St. Pete Best Buy store.    ”We got here on Monday, Monday night and we set up tent and our game plan is to stay here til about Thursday, Thursday afternoon,” said Hernandez.   Smart….or crazy?   Jade Esparza, the General Manager of Best Buy at Tyrone is happy to see the tent.   Not everyone agrees. “I think it’s crazy,” remarked one shopper as she walked past.   Dri Read more…

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I am ashamed to say that my wife told me the other day that she doesnt know what a mutual fund is. This stemmed from a brief discussion about where to invest $1,000 that we had collected from our 8-year-old sons birthday and Christmas money. My wife is a big fan of certificates of deposit. They are her safety blanket, and all she knows about investing.

Of course, I was appalled. I was not only mortified at her investment choices but also at my own inability to educate her over the past ten years of marriage in the topics of my chosen profession.

I realized that part of my problem has been my poor communication skills. Like many couples in America, my wife and I are very different in the way that we think about, handle, and approach our personal finances. It starts to get even murkier when we discuss our combined efforts.

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