Houses prices dropping

Australia has been experiencing a continuous drop on house prices in the past years following a property price bubble in 2010. The condition is starting to make more and more people worried since it may soon become uncontrollable.

Then there is the homeowners’ concern that their loan would have ended up doing nothing. More specifically making them work harder for the loan money. Banks have warned that as the price of houses fall, more and more people may become at risk in getting house loans for their mortgages.

An idea behind this is that the price drop usually leads to devaluated prices and as well as in equity value. A 400,000 dollar worth of property coming in at a 5% interest will have its equity value decline to zero once the house price devaluates by 10%. Instead of saving the house and some money, homeowners may be forced to go into a losing fight over the falling house prices and unpaid mortgages.

Another scenario is that people may end up paying more than what the property is recently valued at. This leads to the worries of most people and in the business sector. Falling house prices may lead to more mortgage payments and if not paid on time, may lead to more serious financial problems like bad credit scores and even bankruptcy.

That’s the worst case scenario but at times like these, people have to be prepared for the worse, but hopefully, not the inevitable. People who are more at risk in these kinds of situations are those with cheap home loans.

Home loans can be great for starting off in new families in new environments but investing in a home may not be advisable during these recent times.

But it seems, home loans and borrowers are not the only ones to take a hit. Big companies are now facing the same bad situations since many companies are relying on refinanced properties for their income. Lower house prices translate to lesser refinanced loans, thus, smaller income and possible negative numbers as this trend continues.

Companies rely on refinancing to create bigger income as people tend to fuse different loans for a single payment loan. This means that for example, previous home loans can be merged into a more convenient loan. But this also means longer payments for the borrower and an increased length of debt payment.

Learning the different technicalities and workings of the lending companies may help borrowers assess their needs for refinancing and other possible mortgage payments. People may probably wiser to expect their properties’ prices to be lower than what they usually expect to be.

Cheap home loans may soon be less popular among would- be borrowers. Australia has seen a wide spread house price drop that may discourage many people to reconsider refinancing their properties and appraisal. Check out Australian companies such as Homeloans Ltd for several options for cheap home loans and use their home loan calculator to calculate your repayments

Solar Panels

This situation has affected all employees in the engineering, administrative, production, and technical departments. Also, the Homebush facility has been placed in care and maintenance mode. However, the company still has 20 employees, who are mostly in the sales and marketing department. According to Silex System Chief Executive Michael Goldsworthy, they are taking every step in analysing the issue. Results are expected in the following months. It is believed that SilexSolar still has more than enough products in their inventory for sales to be made in the next few months. Michael Goldsworthy also adds that it is ironic SilexSolar has suspended manufacturing of solar panels just when carbon price issues are going to be passed in law.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for the New South Wales Energy Minister mentioned, “It’s unusual Silex didn’t wait until IPART handed down its draft determination into a fair price for solar before announcing a suspension of activity – given the draft report is due to be released by the end of November”.

Meanwhile, a new solar panel company is expected to be fully operational this month. Tindo Solar will be producing solar panels in their Mawson Lakes facility. It is believed that they expect to manufacture about 250,000 solar panels each year.

Solar power in Australia is rapid growing business and its is predicted that most of the world’s power will be solar within 50 years. Leading retailers A1 Batterypro have had large increase in Solar Panels sales in the business year of 2011. Electricity prices are only going one way and with the growing fear of the world’s economy ,  expect another successful year for solar panel energy.

Due to the overnight 2-cent decline in stock exchanges, the European Central Bank (ECB) has offered their assistance in handling the debt crisis that has been plaguing the region. It has also been noted that other countries like Italy could be affected by this debt crisis.

According to Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, regaining market confidence cannot be accomplished just by having a weekend meeting with the heads of states in EU. However, a strategist reminds that it is against the EU rules to use European Financial Stability Funds just to provide guarantees for the bonds.

Fears arising from the decline of stock values are not uncommon. Mr. Ronald Randall, the aforementioned strategist, notes that, “Any escalation of fear is going to encourage those long risks to take it off the table and I expect that to continue and the Aussie to trade a little softer.”

Due to the decline in the Australian dollar, people have been waiting for news regarding the EU heads’ decision about the situation, as stated by Will Richardson, the Macquarie Bank director of FX. In relation, Martin Parkinson, Australian Treasury secretary, states that Australia must keep a close watch over any decision from the EU.

Australia has been able to bounce back from the credit crisis experienced 2-3 years ago. However, Mr. Parkinson, who also happens to be a board member of the central bank, says that “The bigger risk to the Australian economy would be if Europe failed to deliver a comprehensive response to the sovereign debt crisis and found itself in a situation where it was dragging the rest of the world into a second global recession.”

Debt crisis or not, it is always a good idea to save for the future. On the off chance that you’re already on a debt crisis of your own, you can consider debt consolidation specialists such as Debt Assist and Debt Relief  as a possible solution to your debt problems.

LED Work Lights

Flood lights and LED work lights are important. They can either be used at home, in the office, and in your vehicles. These types of lights can be used for both aesthetic and security purposes. For example, the flood lights can be placed in dark places surrounding the home or office. This way, any intruder can be easily seen and may be discouraged from entering a well-lit area. As for  aesthetic purposes, it is also possible to change the colors of the lamps. One moment you can have a romantic atmosphere; the next, you can just have a homey feel to the area.

In relation, J.W. Speaker will be releasing an oval LED work lights. This specific model will be called the  Model 7150. It boasts of a 14-diode lights pattern and promises to give off bright white lights. This LED work lights from J.W. Speakers features 3,000 lumens. Not only that, it comes in aluminum housing. It also has state of the art electronics, making it perfect for use in any situation. You can even use it if you need something resistant to vibrations and shocks. What makes it even better is that users can use this LED work lights for configurations like flood lights, trap lens, or spot. The  Model 7150 has a four year limited warranty and comes in 24V/12V.

In Australia , S3 Performance have announced that they will release the oval model of LED Work lights before the Christmas season.

This colour laser printer claims to have a print speed of 21 ppm. However, tests show that print speed of the Lexmark x543dn colour multifunction printer comes to a 19.4 ppm rate. Not such a bad result, but it could do better given that this unit is a laser printer. On another note, the c543dn has a single-sheet manual feeding slot at the bottom of the paper tray. This main paper tray can hold 250 sheets easily. No need to worry about the paper tray giving up on you. Incidentally, there is an input tray holding 550 sheets and is sold together with an all purpose feeder (100 sheets) from Lexmark. This can be bought for about $200.

Don’t be deceived by how small this printer might look compared to other printers of the same category. The  Lexmark x543dn colour multifunction printer weights about 35kg and has flatbed scanner as one of its features. Speaking of flatbed scanner, the scanning could be a bit better. It could do with better depth and color.

As far as cartridges for the x543, most Lexmark printer cartridges are available to buy online from various retailers, including cartridgesdirect.com.au.

One unusual feature of the Lexmark x543dn colour multifunction printer is that printed documents are fed to the vertical tray. That’s something you don’t always see from other printers. However, this innovative feature isn’t an inconvenience. On the contrary, having a vertical paper feed is a refreshing change.

Lastly,  Lexmark x543dn colour multifunction printer is compatible with several operating systems. You won’t have difficulties syncing this printer to your computer, no matter what system you are using. The x543dn is compatible with Microsoft Windows, Apple, Linux, Novell, and Unix operating systems.

Pike River Mine Explosion

The Pike River Mine has a consenting (a requirement under the New Zealand Resource Management Act which authorises activities to be held at physical and natural resources in the country) history dating back to the 70s. In 2001, Pike River Coal Ltd had to apply for Minister’s Conservation Agreement for them to have access arrangement for their mining. It was in 2004 when Chris Carter, Minister of Conservation, approved Pike River Coal Ltd’s access arrangement with certain conditions. The conditions included that mining company should have a budget of NZ$70,000 to be spent on conservation projects each year. Another condition provides that there should be four 4.9ft-wide escape shafts to be situated inside the Paparoa National Park boundaries. However, the approval of the Pike River Mine access agreement was not met without objections. Those not in favour of the agreement says that the mining activities in Pike River mine will damage the environment.

Regardless of the objections, mining activities were placed in order. Operations were done last quarter of 2008, but coal productions were not as high as expected. It was only in 2009 and 2010 when coal mining picked up.

Unfortunately, a massive explosion occurred on 19 November 2010 in Pike River Mine. The explosion claimed the lives of 29 men. Coal Services PTY Ltd (CSPL) immediately offered support to Pike River Coal (PRC). However, it was deemed best not to start with the rescue mission immediately as the atmosphere in the mine could prove hazardous to the rescuers. The decision to put the rescue mission on hold was a smart decision. There were three additional explosions after the initial explosion occurred. In relation to the Pike River Mine explosion, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was established and was to be led by Justice Graham Panckhurst. He was to be joined by Queensland State Government Commissioner for Mine Safety and Health Stewart Bell and former Inland Revenue Commissioner David Henry. Findings from the Royal Commission were to be reported early in 2012.

Findings from the Royal Commission has four phases: Context, Search & Rescue, What Happened in Pike River, and Policy Aspects. Phase One. This phase comprised of mining and other laws in New Zealand; regulatory environment; resourcing/authorising and implementing New Zealand mining laws. Phase Two. This phase discusses the cause of death and the operations enacted in terms of rescuing the mine explosion victims. Phase Three. This phase will determine the practices of PRC in terms of management and operations. This will also determine the cause of the Pike River Mine Explosions. Phase Four. This phase will compare findings in phase one with that of selected countries.

The search and rescue findings from the Royal Commission are ongoing. Several parties are expected to give evidence. Some of them include: NSW Mines Rescue, Coal Services PTY Ltd, New Zealand Fire Services, Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station, Solid Energy New Zealand.

According to inquiries done for the Royal Commission, discussions about sealing the mine were done on 25^th November 2010. It was mentioned that sealing off the mine would have resulted to the additional explosions to occur even before the 5^th day set in. Darren Brady, an Australian mining expert who flew to New Zealand and who was tasked to analyse gas samples, agrees to this statement. He says that there is no given time when you can safely enter a mine that has just suffered from an explosion. Also, he adds that sealing off the mine will compromise the lives of any survivor as they may rely on the air coming into the mine.

NSW Mines Rescue, Australia State Manager Seamus Devlin is also invited to take part in the Royal Commission Inquiry on Pike River Explosion. Devlin narrates that CSPL heard of the explosion after an hour from the explosion. CSPL contacted Trevor Watts, New Zealand Mine Rescue Manager, to offer them assistance. He also adds that they were advised that rescue operations would not be taken immediately. Devlin continues to say that meetings were done for the mine rescue operations. Evidently, it was concluded that sealing the mines would only be undertaken once they were assured that there was zero survivability. After the fourth explosion, it became apparent that the mine had to be sealed off immediately. Paul Healy of CSPL was in a meeting with Steve Ellis of PRC. It was discussed that recovery, given the incurred damages, was already unlikely.

The Royal Commission Inquiry went on to ask Devlin about the cause of death. Devlin answers that causes would be asphyxiation, burn and impact injuries from the explosions. He adds that had the miners been alive after the first explosion, it would have been possible for the survivors to have escaped the mine using their self-rescuers.

For further studies, Devlin was also asked about mining practices in NSW. Devlin shares that training exercises are done in each mine every year, even though it is not statutory in NSW. He also says that a risk-assessed plan is made by the IMT. The plan would then be reviewed and returned to IMT for the decision

Voice Thread

Voicethread.com is a website that enables people to do a “collaborative, multimedia slide show” that can be consisted of images, documents and videos. It can be shared to anyone from anywhere in the world. It is very convenient because there is no need to install a software to use it.

The site also allows people to navigate the slide show easily and post comments using voice, video, audio or text. It also has a doodling feature for more engaging and collaborating experience. This is ideal for students or workmates and can be used for easy group discussion and collection of feedback.

VoiceThread supports various file formats of photos, documents and videos. It makes it easier to import to various sites as well. Embedding is also easy, and this allows the user to add interactive group discussions to any website they want by copying and pasting the code on the website. You can set the interaction to public or private, depending on your security preferences.

VoiceThread is continuing to improve their site, especially on the accessibility part of it. They are looking forward to serve the needs with ADHD, dyslexia, elderly person, or even kids. They are encouraging people to take part to this mission by asking everyone to leave suggestions to how to improve the site.

Visit VoiceThread at www.voicethread.com

Triangle Wars - The Movie

Triangle Wars is included in the films screened for this year’s MIFF. More thanbeing showcased in this prestigious film festival, Triangle Wars documents the plight of an Australian community against a developers plans of turning St. Kilda Triangle into a shopping complex and nightclub venue. Apparently, there has been several St. Kilda Triangle issues. One of such issues is that the previous council signed a Development Agreement with the state government and the developer regarding certain plans for St. Kilda Triangle. Apparently, these plans were not made known to the public. Over some period of time, community consultations with the council have been undertaken, in the hopes that the community’s pleas will be heard. On the 7^th of February 2008, Councilors Bolitho, Logan, and Gross, together with Mayor Gibbes attended a Strategic Planning Committee. In relation, thousands of St. Kilda residents also attended the meeting, despite the knowledge that their appeals might be ignored.

All through out the process, unChain St. Kilda, the community action group lobbying for the rejection of the developer’s plans, works together with Aitken Partners, Melbourne-based lawyer firm that caters to both private and business clients. Aitken Partners, like what they have done for unChain St. Kilda, also works with various community groups and helps these organisations fight for their respective causes.

In the course of three years, Triangle Wars has followed every issue that was being discussed in the planning committees. The documentary clearly shows just how outraged the residents are about the developer plans to turn St. Kilda Triangle into a mega mall with night clubs at the sides. The film goes on to unfold scenes of deceit, corruption, and betrayal. But most importantly, this film shows what it takes to be part of the community. Strangers or long-time friends, every one worked hand in hand to stop the developer proposal from being approved and executed. St. Kilda residents, the community group called unChain St. Kilda, and Aitken Partners have worked long and hard to fight for their cause. Eventually, their cries were heard. Plans to make alterations on St. Kilda Triangle were canceled. It was a long battle, but everything paid off in the end.

Triangle Wars, a film directed by Rosie Jones and produced by Peter George & Lizette Atkins, is scheduled for release on 6 October 2011. It a 1 ½ hour film and will be shown at Theatre Royal, The Cameo, The Classic, Cinema Nova, and Peninsula Cinema. Triangle Wars will also premiere  in Sydney on 9 October 2011 at Cinema 2, Chauvel Cinema.

Incredibox.fr.

Incredibox.fr is a brainchild of Allan Durand, music by Paul Malburet and designed by Romain Delambily. It is a website that enables people to use simple sounds that can be combined to form a composition. It is also described as an “online beatboxing application” that makes you discover “the musical universe of The Incredible Polo” while handling a huge range of “human beat-box” that are created by the artists themselves.

The application works in four simple steps. First, drag and drop the sound icon you want on the character in your screen. Next, click on the character to stop the current loop. Third, unlock the bonus icons below and watch them by clicking the different colored icons. You can also enjoy this through a shuffle mode and the application will randomly select for you.

Incredibox.fr is indeed a simple, easy-to-use and fun website that anyone who likes music can enjoy

Babies are expensive

Being pregnant is an exciting time that couples often anticipate. Having another member in your family is amazing and a blessing. However, in the tough economic times, having a baby will cost a lot.

According to Dr. Ginni’s Baby Brain video by Dr. Ginni Mansberg, one of Australia’s experienced GP and a mum herself, the cost of pregnancy will depend on which way you want to go. If you plan to give birth in a private hospital, he cost will be higher compared to a non-private one. GP’s and specialists’ fee also depends on your location—those in the metro charge higher fees for their services.

One thing that should also be kept in mind is that obstetrics is not included on health covers and there is a 12-month waiting period for costumers who just have moved to a health insurance plan that cover obstetrics. However, there are private health insurance companies such as nib that covers a benefit limitation period, which can be enjoyed by new costumers as well. The customer will receive the restricted benefits after the 12-month waiting period and up to a period of 24 months. Therefore, if you want to use your health insurance to cover your pregnancy fees, you should be in a health cover that includes obstetrics three months before you try to have the baby. This will help you to lessen out of pocket costs.

Another thing that also should not be forgotten is the fact that health insurance in Australia can only cover for in-hospital services. Blood tests, scans, GP and obstetrician visits are not covered by health insurance. The newborn baby is also considered as an outpatient, so any consultations and tests done relating to him are also not covered.

In this day and age, pregnancy can be really costly, but with the right planning and budgeting, pregnancy costs can be lessened.

Visit www.nib.com or watch Dr. Ginni’s Video’s here

For more pregnancy information, visit The Raising Children Network.