Republic of Ireland confirms EU financial rescue deal

Author: bbc.co.uk

Job Indonesia - The Taoiseach said the amount and terms would be negotiated in the coming days with the EU and the IMF. - Job Vacancy

Indonesia Job - Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the amount would be less than 100bn euros (£85bn; $136bn). The UK and Sweden have also offered direct loans.
The crisis has been brought on by the recession and the almost total collapse of Ireland's banks, analysts say.

Markets appeared to react well to news of the bail-out, with the euro strenghening and most Asian stocks trading higher on Monday.

Once known as the Celtic Tiger for its strong economic growth - helped by low corporate tax rates - a property bubble burst, leaving the country's banks with huge liabilities and pushing up the cost of borrowing for them and the government.

Smaller banks
 
Mr Cowen said the government would be publishing a four-year budget plan that would restructure the banking industry.

EU Finance Commissioner Olli Rehn, speaking in Brussels, said the loans would be provided to Ireland over a three-year period and the assistance would help preserve the stability of the eurozone - the group of 16 nations using the euro as their common currency.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Gavin Hewitt BBC Europe editor

---

There was a real sense of urgency as eurozone finance ministers held a conference call trying to agree as much of this as they could before the markets open on Monday.
The European Central Bank said this was all about safeguarding the financial stability of the euro and the eurozone. The German finance minister said this was not about defending a country - namely Ireland - but about defending a common currency.
What was driving all of this was the fear of contagion - that Ireland's problem could spread to other eurozone countries such as Portugal, force up borrowing costs and perhaps force them to accept a bail-out as well.
The big question now is that there have been two eurozone bail-outs this year: Will this help draw a line under instability or are we going to see a succession of crises, raising long-term questions about the future of stability in the EU?

Reuters news agency quoted senior EU sources as saying the loans would total 80-90bn euros.

Mr Cowen said the Irish Republic's banks would be made smaller, as part of a restructuring of the banking industry.
The other part of the bail-out package would help to reduce the government's budget deficit to a target of 3% of GDP by 2014, Mr Lenihan said.
Under the bailout scheme, income tax will increase but the country's low 12.5% corporation tax - controversial for some other countries but "non-negotiable" for the Irish government - will not be touched.
It is a sign of the crisis facing the Irish Republic and some of the other highly-indebted European nations that the rescue plan had to be announced late on Sunday, before the financial markets opened on Monday, without many important details having been worked out, says BBC Europe correspondent Jonty Bloom.
The global financial crisis has dealt the Irish Republic a hard blow.
The government has responded with deep spending cuts and costly bail-outs of the banking sector.
Announcing the bail-out on Sunday, Mr Cowen appealed for public solidarity.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We should not underestimate the scale of our economic problems, but we must have faith in our ability as a people to recover and prosper once more”

"To the Irish people I say simply this: We should not underestimate the scale of our economic problems, but we must have faith in our ability as a people to recover and prosper once more," he said.

"The task of rebuilding our economy falls to our own efforts as a people," he told a news conference following a cabinet meeting on the rescue plan.

"That is where the focus of our efforts must turn over coming weeks, beginning with the four-year plan and then the budget. And now we need to show the solidarity in our own country that our neighbours have shown to us at this time."
Although the country's government claims to be fully funded until the middle of next year, it has provided a blanket guarantee to the Irish banks, some of whom are now finding it impossible to borrow money in the markets.

On Thursday, Mr Cowen's government admitted for the first time that it may need outside help.

Previously the government had said it did not need any financial support from the European Union and IMF.

EU officials fear Ireland's financial problems might spread to other eurozone countries with large budget deficits, such as Spain and Portugal.

The EU and the IMF launched a 110bn euro rescue programme for Greece in May after the government was faced with the prospect of bankruptcy.

Big government spending cuts sent large numbers of Greeks onto the streets in protest.

Kabul, 'Safer For Children Than Many Western Cities'.

Author: bbc.co.uk

Lowongan Kerja - Children may be safer growing up in Kabul than they are in London, Glasgow or New York, a Nato official has said. - Job Indonesia

Mark Sedwill said the Afghan capital, as a "city of villages", was better for youngsters than many Western cities, despite dangers posed by the conflict.
The senior civilian representative told CBBC's Newsround: "Most children can go about their lives in safety." -  Job Vacancy

But some Kabul youngsters spoke of their fears, and Save the Children said the claim was "wrong and misleading".

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council also said Mr Sedwill was "wrong" to include the city in his comments.

Kabul has borne the brunt of the war in Afghanistan and although the security situation there has improved of late, it is still deemed a dangerous place to live.

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“Start Quote

Afghanistan is the worst place on earth to be born a child - one in four children living there will die before they reach the age of five”

End Quote Justin Forsyth Save the Children

 

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office website advises against all but essential travel to parts of Afghanistan, and that nobody visits the areas worst-hit by fighting.

It says Kabul has witnessed a "significant escalation in the number of suicide and rocket attacks in the last year. Since late August 2009, there have been 14 'successful' suicide attacks in the city, with at least five further suicide attacks known to have been thwarted."
Several young people interviewed by Sonali Shah, a presenter for BBC children's channel CBBC, spoke of their fear of the violence.
Sohrad, a 16-year-old student, told Newsround: "Because of explosions happening in the city, it is frightening when we come to school. We are afraid of explosions in the school."
And Manija, 11, also from Kabul, described the reality of growing up in a country at war. She said: "When there are explosions I get sad because people are dying, but the next day when they are living a normal life and celebrating I get happy."
'Very few bombs' However Mr Sedwill told the programme: "In Kabul and the other big cities actually there are very few of these bombs. The children are probably safer here than they would be in London, New York or Glasgow or many other cities.
"It's a very family-orientated society. So it is a little bit like a city of villages."

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We are not going to leave Kabul until we are absolutely sure the Taliban can't return”

End Quote Mark Sedwill Nato

But chief executive of Save the Children, Justin Forsyth, said it was wrong to make the comparison with children living in Western cities.

"Afghanistan is the worst place on earth to be born a child - one in four children living there will die before they reach the age of five," he said.
"We should be listening to what children in Afghanistan are saying. Last year was the deadliest for children since late 2001, with more than a thousand killed because of the conflict.
"But it's not just about the bombs. A staggering 850 children die every day, many from easily preventable diseases such as diarrhoea or pneumonia, or because they are malnourished.
"The lives of children in Afghanistan are in extreme danger. The international community needs to put as much time, effort and money into stopping children dying unnecessarily as into security operations there."
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said it understood it was important to reassure children in Afghanistan about their safety, but added that Mr Sedwill "has got it wrong here".
"This comparison will simply lead people in Glasgow, London and New York to pull out the statistics showing how very wrong he is and his, very important, message to the people of Afghanistan will be lost," he said.
Hiding Taliban When asked why Nato troops had not won the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mr Sedwill said: "It's not like the Second World War, or other wars that people are familiar with, where you fight on the battlefield.
"Because the Taliban can't fight that way... [what] they do is, they hide among the people. We are not going to leave Afghanistan. We are not going to leave Kabul until we are absolutely sure the Taliban can't return."
Leaders of Nato's 28 states have backed a strategy to transfer leadership for the fight against the Taliban to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

UK offers loan to Irish Republic,Accepted or Not??

 Author: bbc.co.uk

Job Indonesia - The UK has offered to make a direct bilateral loan to the Irish Republic in addition to contributing to EU and IMF loans, the BBC has learned.

Sources in the UK government say it wants "to help a friend in need". - Lowongan Kerja

Although final figures will not be known for some days, BBC political editor Nick Robinson believes the UK will contribute around £7bn in total. - Job Vacancy

The Irish prime minister has confirmed that the Republic of Ireland and the EU have agreed a financial rescue package.

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to make a statement about the UK commitment in the Commons on Monday.

Our political editor said Mr Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron had taken a decision at last week's G20 summit in Seoul that the UK would be ready to promise £7bn in loans as part of any Irish rescue plan.
The cost of the direct UK loan to the Republic is expected to be "in the low billions" and will be in the form of contingency loans which the government expects to see paid back.
Sweden has also agreed to make a direct loan to the Irish.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said the Irish Republic's economy was important to the UK economy as it received a substantial amount of British exports and its banks played a big role in Northern Ireland.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Of course this will be money we have to borrow ourselves, because we don't have any money”

End Quote John Redwood Conservative MP

• Irish PM confirms EU rescue deal
• Nick Robinson: 'A friend in need'
• Is helping Ireland in UK interest?

Our editor said the Royal Bank of Scotland had loaned £53bn into Northern Ireland, which was insured by taxpayers as RBS is a semi-nationalised bank.

So if the Irish economy were to implode, that would generate big losses for RBS and the taxpayer, he said.
He added: "Ireland's banks are huge players in international markets, that is the weakness of Ireland. If they were to go down, the ripples through the financial system would be extremely serious for all of us."
But former Conservative minister and Eurosceptic MP John Redwood expressed his concern at the move.
"When we hear about it in the House, I'm sure many of us will want to know why, how much, how long are we out of the money, what are the prospects of being repaid, what is the interest rate," he said.
"Of course this will be money we have to borrow ourselves, because we don't have any money. All the money we're spending on top of traditional programmes is borrowed."
Celtic Tiger On Tuesday, Mr Osborne said the UK was "ready to support Ireland" in achieving economic stability, if it asked for help.
He said it was in the UK's national interest that its neighbour had a successful economy.
"Britain stands ready to support Ireland on the steps it needs to take to bring about that stability," he said following a meeting of European finance ministers
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said on Sunday that the amount and terms of the overall rescue deal would be negotiated in the coming days with the EU and the IMF.
Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the amount would be less than 100bn euros (£85bn).
EU Finance Commissioner Olli Rehn, speaking in Brussels, said the loans would be provided to the Irish Republic over a three-year period.
The global financial crisis has dealt the Irish Republic a hard blow.
Once known as the Celtic Tiger for its strong economic growth - helped by low corporate tax rates - a property bubble burst, leaving the country's banks with huge liabilities and pushing up the cost of borrowing for them and the government.

Top Judge Says Internet 'Could Kill Jury System', Really??

Author: bbc.co.uk

Lowongan Kerja - Detailed analysis of the code in the Stuxnet worm has narrowed the list of suspects who could have created it. - Job Vacancy

Job Indonesia - The sophisticated malware is among the first to target the industrial equipment used in power plants and other large scale installations.

New research suggests it was designed to disrupt centrifuges often used to enrich uranium.

Detailed analysis of the worm has revealed more about the team behind it and what it was supposed to do.

Code secrets
 
The close look at the code inside Stuxnet was carried out by Tom Parker from security firm Securicon who specialises in picking out the digital fingerprints hackers leave behind in malware.

His analysis of Stuxnet shows it is made of several distinct blocks. One part targets industrial control systems, another handles the worm's methods of spreading itself and another concerns the way its creators planned to communicate with and control it.

The most sophisticated part of Stuxnet targeted the Programmable Logic Controllers used in industrial plants to automate the operation of components such as motors or pumps.

Subverting PLCs required detailed knowledge of one manufacturer's product line, the programming language written for it and insight into how it could be subverted. That meant, said Mr Parker, the list of suspects was pretty short.

"I do believe the PLC components were written in the West," he said. "It's western companies that are investing most heavily in automation of industrial processes, whether it's putting coke in cans or nuclear enrichment."

"However, the bits that drop it into a system and the command and control parts are not that advanced at all," said Mr Parker.

Iran has the highest number of machines infected with Stuxnet

 

"I've compared this less advanced code to other malware and it does not score very highly," he said.

Dedicated hi-tech criminals would not have used such crude methods of distribution and control, he said, suggesting that it was put together by a nation rather than organised crime.

What this implies, he said, is that whichever country put Stuxnet together commissioned the creation of the PLC part from a Western nation, then added its own distribution and control code to it.

The analysis suggests that a team of 6-10 people were behind Stuxnet and were involved with it for some time. Whoever wrote it would also need information about and access to industrial plants in Iran if that was the actual target, said Mr Parker.

Motor control

 
More information has also emerged about how Stuxnet disrupts the industrial control systems it managed to compromise.

Research by security firm Symantec has shown that the likely target were frequency controllers that many PLCs are hooked up to in order to regulate a motor.

In particular, said Symantec, Stuxnet targeted those operating at frequencies between 807 and 1210Hz.

"There's a limited amount of equipment operating at that speed," said Orla Cox, security operations manager at Symantec. "It knew exactly what it was going after."

"Those operating at 600hz or above are regulated for export by the US because they can be used to control centrifuges for uranium enrichment," she said.
If Stuxnet did manage to infect a PLC connected to a centrifuge, it would seriously disrupt its working, said Ms Cox.

What is not clear, said Ms Cox, is whether Stuxnet hit its target. If it did not, she said, then the fact that the command and control system has been taken over by security firms has ended any chance of it being used again.

"Our expectation is that the attack is done at this point," she said. "We've not seen any more variants out there and I don't suspect we will."

Mr Parker said that whoever did write it failed in one respect because Stuxnet has not stayed live for as long as its creators hoped.

The control system set up needed to have been in place for years to have a seriously disruptive effect on its intended targets, he said.

"Someone has serious egg on their face because they are never going to be able to use this investment ever again," he said.

Google's wi-fi data to be deleted

Author: bbc.co.uk

Job Indonesia - The UK's information commissioner has said that wi-fi data accidentally collected by Google's Street View cars will be deleted "as soon as possible". - Job Vacancy

Lowongan Kerja - Deputy information commissioner David Smith told the BBC that there would be no further enquiries into the matter.

He said there was no indication that any information collected "had fallen into the wrong hands".

It will not appease critics who called for the search giant to be fined.
There were no grounds for fining Google, Mr Smith told the BBC.

"We'd have had to find that there was substantial damage or distress to individuals from the collection of snippets of e-mails, URLs and passwords. We'd have to meet that criteria for a penalty to be imposed," he said.

Google admitted earlier this year that it had accidentally collected information from unsecured wireless networks around the world.

The incident came to light during a routine audit by the Hamburg data authority.
It led to dozens of enquiries with some - notably the Canadian data commissioner - offering detailed findings about the nature of the breaches.

The Canadian investigation found that Google captured personal information, including a list of names of people suffering from certain medical conditions.
Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said thousands of Canadians had been affected.

The findings led her to conclude that the search giant "seriously violated" its privacy laws.

More training

Mr Smith admitted that the UK had conducted a much more basic investigation.
"We spent less time searching than others did. If we had searched for days and days we would have found more," Mr Smith said.

Following this audit, the ICO ruled that "no significant breach" had occurred.
But following publication of the Canadian data commissioner's findings, the ICO changed this to a "significant breach".

Mr Smith said that the ICO had intended all along to base its final judgement on the findings of its counterparts.

"It is not a good use of the data protection authority to duplicate more in-depth enquiries," he said.

"We have based our decision on the findings of other data authorities. It was exactly the same type of information found by them," he said.

Mr Smith revealed that the ICO is only able to audit companies that have given prior permission for such an investigation.

Jim Killock, executive director of digital advocacy The Open Rights Group, thinks this is a "shocking state of affairs".

"The ICO needs more powers and definitely needs more technical expertise," he said.

"To my mind people's privacy has been breached and they should be told about it. The ICO has a duty to let people know what has happened," he said.

Mr Killock believes that Google's data breach is more akin to unlawful interception, similar to opening someone's post without permission.

The UK currently has no public body to investigate interception breaches, a gap that that led the European Commission to launch legal action against it.

The Home Office is currently consulting on how to make sure it complies with European legislation on the interception of communications.

Following the ICO's ruling, Google has promised offering privacy training to its staff.

Other data bodies and groups around the world are still investigating its capture of wi-fi data.

Mr Killock is hopeful there will be harsher punishments for Google down the line.
"I should hope it would be fined," he said.

How to Earn Some Fast Bucks By Reviewing Blog Posts

Author:  A Karmakar

Job Vacancy, Indonesia Job, Job Indonesia

Blogging and business share a common concern; and that is the goal of earning through reviews or blog posts. In other words, writing blogs for paid up sites can definitely serve as a good business option to earn from the confines of home. Such activity proves mutually beneficial to both bloggers and advertisers. Attractive blogs have immense persuasive appeal upon audience. Knowing the correct tactics of money- making combined with a bit of intelligence and creativity proves good enough for making money through online work.
Review writing proves helpful during the initial stage. A comprehensive article regarding a company's products boosts sales while acting as an indirect advertisement. While conventional advertising concerns a single product or company by focusing only the positive sides; a review provides a genuine overview about the pros and cons of a product by subtly emphasizing on some points. Reviews thus establish a comparison between similar products of different brands.
Writing a favorable review
Writing a review to boost the sales of a company while maintaining originality could be quite a challenging task. However, following the tips mentioned below can be helpful:
- An honest but favoring review being the objective; provide actual details while highlighting certain factors as a personal preference.
- Write from the point of view of the reader to ascertain their demands and provide ready answers to the expected queries. Your writing should streamline the reader's option to the product aimed for sale without distorting facts.
- Ascertain the behavior and mentality of your prospective audience and write to their tastes. Summarizing gives a better viewpoint to the review.
Steps to write making money through review blog posts
The first step involves creating a blog with a free blogsite. As the site gets a bit older with regular inflow of visitors and blog posts you can avail a Google Page Rank and qualify for being a paid blogger through some sites that connects you with advertisers willing to pay for getting reviews written professionally in order to boost sales of their products. Depending on your experience and expertise you can negotiate bids on your reviews or establish direct contact with advertisers.
While payments may vary according to the length of assignments and quality of writing, it is possible to register with different sites at the same time to secure greater assignment and earn more.
Above all it's credibility that counts in the world of blogging and you as a blogger should abide by your responsibility to maintain a stable bridge between the customers and the company through credible writing.

 

Writing a Sales Letter - 8 Tips to Write Effectively

Author: Carolyn Anderson

Job Vacancy, Indonesia Job, Job Indonesia

Sending out some sales letter is one of the methods in marketing your business online and increase your sales. Of course, you are communicating directly to a potential customer, and this could be translated into a sale with the help of your sales letter.
Moreover, in the stiff competition online where businesses are exploring a lot of ways to reach out to their target market, it helps a lot to learn some tips and strategies in writing a sales letter that can give you results.
Here are 8 top tips to help you in writing a sales letter that can deliver sales, which of course, is its ultimate goal.
1. Have a clear-cut objective on why you are writing a letter. Like a business plan, you also have to know what you want to achieve in writing the letter. With this, you will be guided on what to aim for and you can also assess later on if you are indeed successful with your goals.
2. Write attention-grabbing leads. Like writing ad copies, writing the first few sentences in a manner that can catch the reader's attention is one of your first steps in making your letter effective. Of course, it is important that you get the attention of your reader and lead him to read what you want him to read.
3. Use a conversational tone in your sales letter. This will make your letter sound natural. Of course, you don't have to be too formal with your letter. It is of course a lot convincing and less boring if you talk the natural way and your get rid of the stiffness in formal writing.
4. Focus on the benefits and advantages that the letter recipient can get from your business or your product. Do not focus much on the features of your product. Of course, the people are much more interested in what they can benefit from the business and giving that information to them is one thing that can surely catch their attention.
5. Personalize your letter. Instead of sending it to a 'Dear Friend,' try putting your recipient's name. Personalizing your letter will help you get a good response from the recipients and will more likely give your sales a boost.
6. Use simple vocabulary and make your letter simple and concise. Avoid using jargons that only a few people understand. Do not also make a lengthy business letter that will only bore your reader.
7. Include testimonials if you can. Testimonials are also great tools to help you add more convincing power to your sales letter. Of course, this will also give the recipient an idea on what is your business like and will also give an idea on whether other people are satisfied with your business.
8. Pick powerful and convincing words and phrases that will give you higher chances in getting a response from your recipient. This can be your secrets in writing a sales letter that can really sell.
Of course, you also have to check that you have a call to action with your letter and you proofread your letter for spelling errors.

How Copywriting Helps You to Sell

Author: Lewis Ormond

Job Vacancy, Indonesia Job, Job Indonesia

Many businesses small and large use copywriters and many other don't, preferring to write their own copy. However, unless you are a 'natural' or have trained yourself how to write copy, the chances are that any of your competitors who use a professional copywriter will convert more of their site visitors to buyers than you will.
The why is simple, in today's fast paced world we are impatient consumers of information, we don't want to wade through pages of copy no matter how informative, we want to know what we're going to get out of it and we want to know that fast!
A professional copywriter knows how to present the benefits of your product or service instead of the features and although you may very well be proud of all the features that come with your product or service, what your prospect wants to know is 'what's in it for me?' that means 'what benefits are there for me?'
A professional copywriter will also know which are the best fonts to write in, these are the fonts that are the most easily read, rather than the most elegant or the latest fad.
These days people like information presented in easy to bullet points, if necessary with links to 'more info' so they have the choice of consuming the entire content or just the headlines. If they like the headlines or bullet points then they'll probably move on to the 'more info' in a frame of mind that is more open to buying.
Why? Because their interest has been captured, they have a good idea that you provide what they're looking for and so they are now prepared to spend the time to read more about what you offer.
· Benefits not features
· Short to the point copy
· Readable text
· Simple words
Now you may be wondering why I say 'simple words' well because whilst you may understand your industry jargon, many of your prospects may not. I'm talking about 'insider' words, those that are unique to your industry, if you are selling business to business they may be applicable and you may have many prospective clients who understand some terms. However for the most part your copy will read better and grab interest more quickly if you keep 'jargon' to a minimum.
The other way to keep words simple is to remember that if you're dealing with the public using long erudite words may complicate the cognitive processes of your intended demographic audience.
What that means is keep the words simple so everyone can understand and think about them clearly so they can come to a decision to use your services!