Fairmount CA

Sooner or later most kids will get tired of driving the family car (you hope). For my family, it was within a week of my eldest getting his license.

No matter when your teen driver (or you as a parent) decides the time has come to have his/her own wheels, you are going want to do all you can to protect him/her both physically and financially.

The last thing that I am going to claim to be is an expert in auto mechanics. But as a consumer, a financial professional and a parent, I have learned a few lessons about auto economics – and how to avoid the potholes of car costs.

There are five ways that cars cost you money: purchasing, financing, registering, insuring and maintaining the car. Chances are youre going to be paying for the privilege of motoring in a number of different ways, but a little research and common sense can keep the brakes on the expense.

Buying with the head not the heart. When planning what to buy, research and patience will pay big dividends for the young auto buyer. The choices are plentiful and confusing: new vs. used, SUV vs. sedan, sporty vs. economical, cool vs. practical.

The good news is there are thousands of places to get information about different vehicles, be it via consumer services, automotive publications, enthusiast websites or government safety reports. While it seems overwhelming at first, the weight of the information will ultimately reveal if a car has a solid or shabby reputation.

Equally important is the decision of whom to buy from. Research is a little more difficult to come by regarding people and companies that sell cars. It will be somewhat easier to get opinions on large high volume dealers than smaller used car dealers. Private party sellers are almost completely unknown commodities.

Young auto buyers should arm themselves with as much information as they can gather regarding the going rate for the car, and then they should be sure to comparison shop. (In the situation with my own son, we were lucky: a friend spotted a terrific deal at a small independent shop an hour from our home).

If the dream car is used, aka pre-owned in the parlance of the business, then a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) by a trusted mechanic who is not involved in the sale should be the next step. A good PPI could cost up to a couple of hundred dollars, but will save you thousands in the long run.

This step is especially important if the car is sold by a private party, being sold without a warranty by a dealer or if the seller is not located nearby. While not foolproof, it will give you some idea on whether to negotiate the price to accommodate repairs you feel are necessary.

Borrow with care. Taking a small auto loan and making timely payments is one of the best ways a young person can establish credit. Hopefully your teen has saved a bit to contribute to a substantial down payment. With that, and a willing co-signer, a young borrower should have no problem getting an auto loan at a fair interest rate. Financial institutions like credit unions make these sorts of loans every day.

However, the cost of getting the wrong loan is expensive – both in money, and aggravation. First-time car buyers should be especially careful of sub-prime sign and drive financing deals. High interest rates are often hidden in deals that tout a low monthly or even weekly payment. Often, these loans are at a high rate of interest for an extended period. Too often with these deals the car is junk before the loan is paid off.

The paying isnt just the initial purchase. Sales tax and insurance are two big bills that kids tend to overlook, but have to be dealt with before a car gets on the road in Massachusetts. Be sure to do the math and calculate the expense before that dream ride is purchased.

In Massachusetts, sales tax on a vehicle is paid at the rate of 6.25 percent on the average trade-in value. Therefore, while you might have gotten a deal on the car, you wont be getting one from the state. That is unless a member of your immediate family is providing the car, for a price or for free. These transfers are exempt from the motor vehicle sales tax.

Insurance is especially expensive for younger drivers, or what Massachusetts refers to as an inexperienced driver (anyone who has had a license for less than six years). In addition, any tickets or at-fault accidents are going to up that bill.

While there are ways to economize on insurance, its a good idea to make sure that the vehicle has the right coverage with the right company. The best approach is to consult with a local independent agent who can help you analyze your insurance needs.

Here are some questions you should be asking: should the young driver have an independent policy, which tends to be expensive, or should the car be listed on your policy as a parent as an additional vehicle? What level of coverage is appropriate? Does full coverage make sense for a $2,500 car?

Keep on rolling. We tend to forget that cars and trucks are big complicated machines; that point becomes painfully clear when they break down. Modern cars hold up for quite a while without maintenance – but boy, will you pay the price if you neglect the upkeep. Skip oil changes for too long, and youll be looking at thousands of dollars worth of engine work. Ignore the brake light, and that little squeal can convert a simple brake job into a new set of rotors, in addition to the pads, and so on.

While do-it-yourself (DIY) auto maintenance is not as easy as it used to be, there are some simple tasks like checking the oil, tire pressure and washing and waxing that anyone one can do. Taking it to the next level with tasks like changing oil, filters and rotating tires are not technically difficult, but if done improperly can be both expensive and dangerous. Often these skills are learned from a family member or neighbor who is an experienced do-it-yourselfer or automotive professional. If not, finding classes that teach the basics could be a family affair.

We have been fortunate to have a great rapport with our mechanic. He has watched our kids grow up and keeps us on the road without a worry. For all of us, the key has been to stay on top of the regular maintenance, which my kids tell me comes up surprisingly regularly.

Our children were lucky enough to get vehicles within days of getting their licenses. It was a liberating experience for them and for us, and a reinforcement of their growing into adulthood.

As parents, our role is to help them avoid missteps so that the newfound freedom they experience does not quickly turn into buyers remorse. If your young driver takes the time to be patient with each of the steps above, the reward will be many happy hours on the open road – and far fewer hours paying the bills.

Bonnie Doolin of Marlborough is the chief of consumer affairs for the Massachusetts Credit Union League, a Marlborough-based organization which represents 180 state and federally chartered credit unions in the commonwealth.

Many individuals set personal goals for their love lives: going on more dates, planning to get married or simply saying I love you more often. In a new study, Assistant Professor of Sexuality Studies David Frost compared the relationship goals of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals and heterosexuals and published the results in the Journal of Social Issues.

The findings challenge stereotypes about the role of intimacy in LGB relationships, Frost said.

Frost surveyed more than 400 people and asked participants about what their relationship goals meant to them. Results showed that regardless of sexual orientation, participants rated their relationship goals as highly meaningful and valuable. This goes against the commonly held myth that intimacy and romantic relationships arent as important for LGB people as they are for heterosexuals, Frost said.

What did differ between the LGB individuals and heterosexuals was the support they felt from those around them. LGB individuals perceived significantly more barriers to achieving their intimacy goals than heterosexuals and felt that their goals were less valued by family, friends, religious groups and the government.

The biggest disparity was the presence of barriers that LGB individuals perceived in terms of government laws and policies, something that Frost partially attributes to anti-gay ballot initiatives. Ballot initiatives like Prop 8 are a source of stress for LGB couples, putting them in a psycho-social limbo as they wait for their peers to vote on their rights and relationships.

The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of Social Issues, a special edition focused on the psychological effects of anti-gay ballot initiatives. The paper is available online at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2011.01698.x/abstract

Provided by San Francisco State University (news : web)

Something that seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life lately is communication.

This is a very important aspect in all relationships-whether it be friendships, familial relationships, or romantic relationships, communication allows peoples relationships to flourish.

I know someone who recently had a fight with a friend because she thought she said something about her behind her back. Instead of going to her friend right away, she wallowed in her anger (which, be honest, we have all done that).

Needless to say, wallowing in her anger didnt do her any good. The friend asked why she was acting weird, choice words were exchanged, and a fight inevitably ensued. As it turns out, the friend wasnt even saying anything behind her back.

Friendships can be tricky. Especially when a group of people is always hanging out. There is the chance of someone is feeling left out, people getting annoyed with one another and talking about certain members of the group. However, it is always important to talk to friends about emotions and thoughts. If not, these relationships could take an ugly turn (and, as is the case in many girl-friendships, a dramatic turn).

I have also experienced fights with my best friend in the past that, if we would have communicated better, could have been avoided altogether.

Romantic relationships are also things to be cared for. Lets face it: boys and girls are extremely different on many levels most times. So, letting the other person know what is going on is going to be extremely important.

My boyfriend and I have been trying a new, novel idea: Not waiting for the anger to go away. Often times, in the past, he and I have gotten mad about something, and in order to avoid a fight, we have let the subject go. However, this has seemed to backfire because when another subject came up, often times the thing that we had let go was brought up and made the argument worse.

So, now he and I are letting each other know how we feel right away, and it has seemed to be working quite well for quite some time now.

Communication is a universal concept that should be placed in every aspect of a persons life. Whether with family, friends, boy/girlfriends, in the workplace, it is important to allow feelings to be heard.

Now, this doesnt mean that people have to go around telling everyone everything they have been doing to irk that person. Rather, it means that people should try to be open and honest with each other in the right manner, at the right time in order to try to avoid a future more explosive argument.

I know from experience, communication is key.

Melissa Sturtevant is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com

THE TAKEAWAY: Exports fall gt; Less demand for NZ goods gt; NZD falls

The New Zealand dollar continued its selloff from early morning after May trade data showed a significant dropoff from Aprils record highs. The Kiwi dollar fell almost 1% since early trading as investors continue to wait for the outcome of the Greek rescue package.

While the trade market is not in full swing just yet, that has not stopped fans from speculating on the list of players they would like to see the Cubs trade this season. It is no secretunless you are anyone in the Cubs front officethat the Cubs will be sellers at this seasons deadline. Ideally, the Cubs would want to trade Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Kosuke Fukudome in an effort to create more flexibility this off-season. However, we would all be fooling ourselves if we were to actually think that there is a realistic chance of the Cubs trading Zambrano, Ramirez, or Soriano. That is unfortunate as those players would likely net the Cubs the most value of all their realistic trade candidates.

If the Cubs are going to have a successful trade deadline by being sellers, general manager Jim Hendry will have to use some outside-the-box thinking to make this trading season worth while. This outside-the-box thinking would be Hendry being willing to trade a player that may be part of the teams long-term future. Catcher Geovany Soto would qualify as a such a player that Hendry should look into trading.

Soto has struggled this season as he entered play today hitting .212/.305/.380/.685 with 6 home runs and 16 RBIs. Soto has shown signs of improvement as he is coming off a series against the Royals that saw him hit a home run in back-to-back games. Despite the recent surge in offensive production, Sotos numbers are still no where near where they should be. The biggest issue that some Cubs officials have had with Soto is that he is not the run producer that he was during his rookie season. Even last season when Soto had a nice bounce back season that saw him hit .280 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs, Cubs officials were still concerned with his run production. The lack of a long-term deal this past winter may have been proof that the Cubs are not sold that Soto is their catcher for the foreseeable future. Up to this point, Soto has done nothing this season that would sway the Cubs front office into thinking that he is the long-term solution as the teams starting catcher.

With the lack of a long-term commitment, the Cubs are in a position where they could trade Soto if they wanted to. If the Cubs are willing to trade Soto, one team that would have immediate interest in the catcher would be the San Francisco Giants. The Giants are still in search of replacement to Buster Posey, who is sidelined for the rest of the season. The rumored players that the Giants have been looking at are George Kottaras of the Brewers, and Yorvit Torrealba of the Rangers. Granted Soto is having a down season in comparison to those two, the Cubs catcher may give the Giants the most potential of any other catcher they are interested in.

The Cubs would not necessarily be putting themselves in a bad position if they traded Soto. Remember Wellington Castillo; the catcher that was brought up to major league level earlier in the season while Soto was on the disabled list and became a permanent fixture on the bench during his stay with the team. Well, Castillo has been tearing the cover off the ball with the Iowa Cubs. Castillo is currently hitting .318 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs for the Cubs Triple A affiliate this season. There is no question that Castillo would be able to hold his own offensively at the major league level. Castillo may also provide the Cubs with the run production that was desired from Soto. But there have been some questions as to whether Castillo is ready on the defensive level to be an everyday player for the Cubs. The Cubs are already 15 games below .500, even if Castillos defense is not ready, there would be no harm in Castillo playing on a regular basis at the major league level.

The Cubs should trade Soto if they can find a considerable deal for him, and if they do, Castillo should be given the opportunity to showcase his skills at the major league level.

Martin Henry, Contributor

G2K President Delano Seiveright has been generally roundly chastised for his view expressed in social media and Wikileaked from a 2009 exchange with US Embassy personnel that known Peoples National Party (PNP) supporters in the public service should be removed and the jobs given to Labourites. His own party has distanced itself from the comments made on social media, and Seiveright was reprimanded.

The October 2009 cable says, Delano Seiveright, a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) party insider who works in the PMs office, told [embassy official, name deleted by The Gleaner] that the general feeling within the JLP was that Golding had wasted valuable time pursuing elusive political consensus with an opposition party unwilling to accept its fate [and] as a result … after years of toiling for the party, (JLP supporters) had expected to assume some of the posts held by known PNP operatives.

That cable was delivered soon after Prime Minister Golding announced the plan for the rationalisation of the public sector. Later on, using social media, the G2K president reiterated that if we continue to keep these people in sensitive positions, then all this does is to maintain the status quo of Jamaica being a PNP country and the JLP running the risk of being a one-term government … . We won the election, which gives us the opportunity to implement policies that we sold to the electorate. These policies cannot be led by PNP functionaries and their affiliates dressed in civil servant suits and perceived as being impartial.

Political tribalism

What nasty political tribalism by a young activist who is positioned to one day lead the country! … Until some probing questions are asked which take us beneath the surface! Suppose, just suppose, that the public service has been, in fact, strategically stuffed by the other side with their own loyalists and activists while in power. And it doesnt matter what the names of the sides are? When there is a change of government, how should the other side proceed?

When Delano was still in short pants, Gladstone Mills, University of the West Indies professor of public administration and one-time chairman of both the Public Services Commission and the Electoral Commission, who had started his professional life in the public service, delivered the 1997 GraceKennedy Foundation Lecture on Westminster Style Democracy: The Jamaican Experience. Professor Mills devoted a major section of the printed lecture to Politicisation of the Civil Service. In that section, Mills quoted from a minister of government who in the 1970s had been faced with a certain dilemma of employment and deployment in the civil service to satisfy the needs of the new direction the Government was then embarking upon. The minister of national mobilisation, DK Duncan, declared in Parliament in 1976, several years before Delano was born, in a Ministry of National Mobilisation in a socialist government, it is very difficult to employ somebody who is not a socialist. I make no apology. Every single employee in the Ministry of National Mobilisation, his (sic) credentials as a democratic socialist are clear and pure.

Mills was writing about the The (Robert) Pickersgill Committee of Political Purity. This is what Mills had to say about that committee: … Concern about the controversial issue of commitment versus competence as one of the selection criteria in appointments to statutory boards and committees was intensified during the latter part of the seventies. Following the 1976 election victory, the PNP created a party Accreditation Committee. The Pickersgill Committee of Political Purity (as it was dubbed) evidently had the task of screening candidates to ensure that appointees were of impeccable political purity.

Mills was not just criticising Jamaica; he was careful to point out that even at the home of the Westminster-Whitehall model, the critical triad of principles on which a depoliticised public service was based – neutrality, anonymity, and impartiality – was under pressure. A significant element of the pressure was the multiplication of special or political advisers, an arrangement with which Delano Seiveright is experientially very familiar.

But going back to the mainstream civil service: Once the service begins to be stuffed with loyalists/activists, it is extraordinarily difficult not to expect any change of government not to want to have their own sympathisers in place, especially in a politically tribal environment like Jamaica where sabotage from the inner sanctum itself is a clear and present danger. Or, at the very least, to attempt to return to the ideal neutrality of the Westminster-Whitehall civil service model.

That model was crafted in a political environment populated by closely similar political parties and having minimal tribalism. Our dilemma is how to safely dismount this tiger of the politicised civil service. It certainly is not reasonable to simply blindly demand that known activists planted in the service by the other side to advance their interests should never be replaced as obstacles to the advancement of the interests of a new side in Government, and if any such move is made, it is just wicked victimisation. But how are known loyalists/activists known? And how are they to be handled when known?

Filling key posts

But quite apart from the sticky issue of a government having to rely upon the services of disloyalists who may be scattered about the general public service, it seems to me that there are some ultrasensitive posts which any government hoping to succeed in delivering on its own promises and goals would need to have the assurance of being filled by at least neutralists. We never discuss these things.

And we have never developed the tradition of people holding such politically sensitive posts resigning them as a matter of course with a change of administration. Just to take a couple of pretty obvious examples: How can any new government rely upon a manager of communication who may be a loyalist/activist for the other side? Or a budget leadership team ideologically committed to the fiscal policies of the other side? Or a Cabinet secretary with demonstrable affinities elsewhere? Should the question be extended to all permanent secretaries?

Seiveright picked two poor examples in his complaint: the office of BOJ governor and the office of police commissioner. Both should be completely independent of the control of the executive of Government in a way that no budget office, or office of communication, or Cabinet Office can ever be.

Lets talk through these things and not just shout down young Seiveright, political loyalist/activist in the bosom of public administration though he is. At least he is publicly known as special (political) adviser and will leave with his political masters when we tell them ta-ta.

FINANCING TERTIARY EDUCATION

UWI senior lecturer in international business and head of the Department of Management Studies, and a friend, Dr Densil Williams, wants us to Rethink funding of university education (Sunday Gleaner, In Focus, June 19). Having accurately described Education Minister Andrew Holness proposition to allocate students tertiary education dollars through the Students Loan Bureau to spend with institutions of their choice rather than giving subventions directly to institutions (a revolutionary proposition which I have already praised in this space), Dr Williams, normally a solid market man, goes on to complain that if universities are at different levels of quality, and if we assume that students are not bothered about quality but are more interested in getting a degree, this proposed policy will spell disaster for institutions that are viewed as more rigorous in their educational offerings. Like the UWI?

Quite apart from the disrespect to the judgement of students/education customers, just how do you compare the quality of a graduate in pharmacy with one in history? The market is snapping up the pharmacists for sure and thats a massive vote of confidence.

Accreditation, demanded by Dr Williams as a condition for equalisation, is the least of our problems. It is now deeply entrenched in the system and, even if it werent, the market would still be delivering its quality judgement. Accreditation is highly sought after by both institutions and shopping students. A far bigger problem than accreditation is financing capital development in higher education. The Holness proposal for funding students, not institutions, can address operational costs, not likely capital expansion of university capacity.

Citical problem

Another critical problem is the supply of university-ready students for a growing university sector. Of the 50,000 or so high-school graduates each year, fewer than 10 per cent (5,000) have gained minimum CSEC qualifications for university matriculation. The Holness model for financing education is seeking to fix that problem by shifting state resources to strengthen the base.

Also, financing research and innovation, a Williams concern, does not have to be tied to subventions. Levelling the playing field must include reducing the preferential treatment in per capita subvention traditionally accorded to one institution. Research can be successfully financed through competitive bidding for project support from a pool of dedicated public funds, from the income of universities from the sale of their services, and from grants, a position which the University of Technology is now vigorously advocating with the bubbling confidence that it can offer critical technical solutions to many of the development issues which are bothering Dr Williams, and in many cases uniquely so.

There is nothing to stop the Government from offering scholarships, in whole or in part, to bright needy students or to preferentially channel students into undersubscribed areas of national priority like, for instance, agriculture professions, with appropriate payback through service.

Lets iron out the kinks and gaps in the winning Holness model for financing higher education in Jamaica and bring it on!

Martin Henry is a communications consultant. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and medhen@gmail.com.

NYACK Families and friends of graduates cheered as Nyack High School seniors marched into the gymnasium for their graduation ceremony Friday evening.

Graduates boys wearing black caps and gowns and girls in burgundy smiled as their proud parents yelled their names from far away. Some were already tearful as they walked toward their seats.

The graduation ceremony was originally planned for Thursday at the MacCalman field. But Thursdays heavy rain, which saturated the ground, forced the school to change the plan.

Joseph Spero, principal of the high school, said because the gymnasium had limited seats, only three tickets per student were available.

The nearby auditorium accommodated additional family and friends with a live videocast. Spero, in his welcoming speech, thanked the audience for being flexible enough to attend the event.

Charlene Rodriguez, whose daughter Adrienne was graduating, said she had mixed emotions as she witnessed her daughter finishing the four-year journey.

You watch them grow, and then get older, said Rodriguez, holding a bouquet of pink roses for her daughter. Its kind of hard to let go. But we cant be anything but proud for them.

Rodriguez said her daughter will be attending East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg, Pa., this fall.

Cheryl Tokke, whose son Graydon was graduating, echoed Rodriguezs remark, identifying herself as a proud mom.

He was in a football team. It was a big part of his life, Tokke said of her son, adding that he would be attending Pace University on a full-scholarship to become a kicker for the college team.

A total of 211 seniors were listed as the class of 2011 graduates.

With some funny details, Geneva Toland talked about what it was like to be a Nyack High School student in her salutatorian address.

Jason Friedman, interim superintendent of schools for the Nyack school district, congratulated graduates hard work and job well done.

I hope that here at Nyack High School, we helped you aquire strong wings and deep roots, Friedman said.

Graduate Brendan Fitzpatrick said his four-year journey was glorious.

Teachers are very nice here. They really care about the kids, Fitzpatrick said, adding that he liked about art programs the school offers. Its a great school.

By Christopher J. Girard, Globe Correspondent

The New England Aquarium is holding a contest to name one of two abandoned female sea lion pups.

Naming a sea lion is important because, like dogs, the animals rely on name recognition to learn new behaviors, according to an aquarium spokesman.

“They had really been sort of hand-fed and cared for, but they had not been broadly socialized with other animals,” said spokesman Tony LaCasse. “The trainers said, ‘we need to give these guys names, and it will make things easier for us.’ “

The submission period began Thursday and ends Monday, according to the aquarium’s website. The winning name for will be announced Tuesday, according to the aquarium’s website.

The pups are a year old and weigh 50-60 pounds each, LaCasse said.

“They’re in really good health,” LaCasse said. “The human equivalent is a 2- or 3-year old child. They’re adorable and can drive you crazy.”

The contest winner will be invited to visit the pups behind the scenes at the aquarium in Boston. The pups are scheduled to go on display next month after being trained to learn about 50 behaviors, LaCasse said. They will share an exhibit with northern fur seals.

Last year in California, the pups were rejected by their mothers, who had contracted a type of red tide infection, LaCasse said.

“This is pretty common behavior in most animals, if they don’t feel like they’re capable of healthily raising the offspring,” LaCasse said.

The New Balance Foundation, a major aquarium benefactor, will hold a naming contest for the other California sea lion, LaCasse said.

California sea lions live for 18 to 25 years and subsist on various fish, according to the aquarium’s website. Males commonly weigh 850 pounds or more and grow up to 8 feet long, while females weigh about 250 pounds and grow up to 6 and 1/2 feet long.

Submissions are accepted at http://www.neaq.org/animals_and_exhibits/animals/california_sea_lion/sealion_naming_contest.php.

Christopher J. Girard can be reached at chrisjgirard@gmail.com

June 27 (Bloomberg) — Australias dollar dropped to its lowest level in 11 weeks as traders increased wagers on a cut in the benchmark interest rate amid concerns about Europes debt crisis. New Zealands currency slid for a third day.

Both South Pacific nations currencies weakened as a slump in equities and commodity prices damped demand for higher- yielding assets. New Zealands dollar declined against all 16 of its most-traded peers after a government report showed the nations trade surplus in May was lower than economists forecast.

That increasing yield argument that had been supporting the Aussie dollar has dissipated, said Thomas Averill, a director in Sydney at Rochford Capital, a currency and interest- rate risk management company. Theres generally a bit of risk aversion out there.

Australias dollar fell to $1.0430 as of 11:01 am in Sydney from $1.0491 in New York on June 24 after earlier dropping as low as $1.0420, the lowest since April 12. The Aussie traded at 84.24 yen from 84.37 yen.

New Zealands dollar declined 1.2 percent to 80.17 US cents and touched 80.09 cents, the weakest since June 16. It slid 0.9 percent to 64.74 yen.

Cash-rate futures contracts on the Sydney Futures Exchange show a 56 percent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will lower its key rate by October, based on Bloomberg News calculations. As recently as June 15, they signaled a 28 percent chance of an increase.

Benchmark rates are 4.75 percent in Australia and 2.5 percent in New Zealand, compared with as low as zero in the US and Japan, attracting investors to the South Pacific nations higher-yielding assets. The risk in such trades is that currency market moves will erase profits.

Europe, NZ Trade

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.1 percent and crude oil fell 0.6 percent. Raw materials are important for Australia and New Zealand because commodities are a majority of the two nations exports.

Greek lawmakers vote this week on an austerity plan that must pass for the cash-strapped nation to secure more international aid. Failure to pass Prime Minister George Papandreous plan may lead to the euro areas first sovereign default as Greece needs to cover 6.6 billion euros ($9.3 billion) of maturing bonds in August.

The so-called kiwi dollar fell after a government report showed that New Zealands trade surplus was NZ$605 million ($486 million) in May, compared with the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey for a NZ$1 billion surplus.

Christchurch Rebuilding

The kiwi has come off on the back of the lower-than- expected trade data, said Khoon Goh, head of market economics and strategy at ANZ National Bank Ltd. in Wellington. This whole sovereign-debt crisis will continue to linger for a while and in the commodity currency space, commodity prices are soft.

New Zealands currency also weakened as interest.co.nz reported that Fletcher Building Ltd., the nations largest supplier of building materials, doesnt expect rebuilding of damaged homes in Christchurch to start until aftershocks cease, citing Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ling.

Any economic boom and higher rates depended on the rebuild, and it just appears to be more and more delayed, said Tim Kelleher, vice-president of institutional banking and markets at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Auckland. The risk is probably for a weaker kiwi overall.

–Editors: Nate Hosoda, Rocky Swift

BAHAWALPUR – Islamia University Bahawalpur Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Mukhtar has said that the micro-finance banking can revolutionaries our rural economy as Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Younis of brother Islamic country Bangladesh brought a vital change in villages through Gramin Bank.
It is imperative that the banks must play their vital role in helping the local artisans and handicraft makers to advance their business through the facility of micro- finance loans. He was addressing the bankers, industrialists, professionals and students on the occasion of the inaugural ceremony of one day micro-finance festival organized by the State Bank of Pakistan Bahawalpur in collaboration with micro-finance banks and Bankers Club Bahawalpur here.
He said that the artisans must be imparted special training for the marketing of their business products and handicrafts. The businesses of small and medium enterprises are very crucial in any economy which provide opportunities of employment and generate foreign exchange for the country.
He also described the medicinal and biological significance of the Cholistani flora, medicines manufactured by these plants can be exported all over the world. He said that the University College of Art and Design has been playing its due role in the preservation and promotion of the local cottage industry and handicrafts. He urged the banks and the financial institutions to come forward and patronize the local art and craft. Chief Manager, State Bank of Pakistan Bahawalpur, Chaudhry Khadim Hussain said that the main objective of organizing this festival is to create awareness about the microfinance among the small and medium entrepreneurs. The State Bank of Pakistan is playing its role in the improvement of national economy along with other financial institutions amicably and performing as a link between financial and non-financial institutions and for this purpose Development Finance Support Department has been activated which is paving the road for economic development and prosperity through liaison between business and farming communities, NGOs, Chamber of Commerce and Industries, educational institutions and public sector.The President Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chaudhry Muhammad Ali said that the banks must facilitate the stakeholders to the maximum to bring a positive change in the rural economy.