According to the recent news, Emirates NBD, UAE’s biggest lender is set to take over Dubai Bank. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has given orders that Emirates NBD takes over Dubai Bank. This comes in line with Dubai Government efforts to enhance the banking sector in the emirate. Dubai Government is keen to take the necessary steps to empower financial institutions to fully operate in a way that serves the national economy and consolidate the country’s position as a first class international financial hub, according to a press statement distributed today by the Dubai Government Media Office.

“The acquisition signals a new phase rich of opportunities for Emirates NBD and Dubai Bank. This step reflects the government’s flexibility in dealing with the economic variables and crystallizes the future vision designed at empowering local banking entities so they can fully play their roles with the local economy and reflects the will of granting a strong impetus for national financial institutions to compete regionally and globally. Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates NBD, stressed that this step is a practical translation of Dubai Government’s commitment to implement comprehensive and integrated financial and economic approach that contributes to strengthening the domestic banking sector and enhancing the UAE’s leading financial position in the Gulf and Middle East”.

Shaikh Ahmad expressed confidence that the takeover would achieve its fruitful objectives shortly and would reflect positively on the performance of UAE banking in general in the coming period. He indicated that adopting a flexible approach and taking initiative are the core of the Dubai Government’s perspective that enables it to deal successfully with global economic changes, especially during the past few years by applying a series of strategic and decisive steps as per the directives of Shaikh Mohammad in keeping up with market demands and providing supportive environment to business sectors. Such approach will consolidate the UAE’s position as a regional and international hub for trade and economy.

In this time of age, people usually prefer to do business in a quick pace. Time is most valued; the less time spent the better. That is how people think and do business these days. But, technology has made all these possible. In fact, technology has inarguably made our lives easier; there’s the internet for connectivity and the web for information.

In the area of banking, one of the biggest technological innovations is the electronic payments or e-payments. It enables people to perform financial transactions electronically. However, the business and organizations are the ones that greatly benefit from this by extending their customer base; boosting cash flow; reducing costs; enhancing customer service and improving competitive advantage.

Individuals can conveniently pay their bills and make purchases at unconventional locations whatever time and day they wish without having to wait for the merchant or business office hours. By that individuals will be able to save valuable time because E-payments have reduced the amount of time spent on bill management or payment by about 60%. In addition, individuals paying their bills online can save hundreds of dollars per year for not having postage fees, check writing fees and transportation expense. Thus, e-payments offer the benefits of convenience and speed at a much lower cost, which is what modern people need.

I’m feeling a little bored today. Well, it’s not surprising because we are stuck in the four corners of our room for three days already. We can’t just go out to look around the city because we are in a tight budget. At least, we have access to the internet connection. We can go on search for anything interesting including job vacancies where I found a number of availabilities in the beauty industry. If I only know someone who is a graduate of a beauty course from a reputable cosmetology school, I will definitely suggest it. Sadly, I don’t know any so I won’t need the information.

Anyway, speaking of cosmetology school I’m constantly reminded of the Houston beauty school of Regency Beauty Institute. Regency is the fastest growing beauty school in the country with 80 (and counting) campuses across 19 US states. Their approach is to emulate upscale salons and provide an exceptional education that benefits our students, the salon community, and the public. As part of their training, students provide high-quality, discounted salon services to the public under expert faculty supervision. Currently, Regency graduates are recognized and sought after throughout the United States.

For more information, visit www.regencybeauty.com. This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com or contact Regency Beauty Institute – 8201 South Gessner Drive, Houston, TX 77036

According to the recent news, Eastman Kodak has said it has “no intention of filing for bankruptcy”. The struggling US camera and printing group’s comments came after it confirmed it had hired a law firm well-known for handling bankruptcy protection cases. Kodak said it was “not unusual for a company in transformation to explore all options”.

Shares in the firm fell 54% on Friday as fears persist about its future. It has not made a profit since 2007. Kodak, synonymous with film photography for more than 100 years, has struggled to adapt to the digital age. Last week it announced plans to borrow $160m for “general corporate purposes”.

Kodak is now continuing to explore a sale of its digital imaging patents, worth an estimated $2bn. Mark Kaufman, an analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets, said: “I don’t believe bankruptcy is inevitable. This is a pretty valuable portfolio, they should get a good price. They need to get this [sale] out of the way. They need to sell this portfolio, raise some type of cash.”

The company currently has a market value of $210m. This compares with $31bn at its height in February 1997.

For sure, all my roommates are interested in securing their future that’s why they choose to work in a foreign country even though it’s away from their family. It’s the best way they could think to ensure good future for their loved ones. But, I noticed they disregard the thought of purchasing insurance. I haven’t heard them say they are investing in a good insurance. Instead, I keep on hearing the intentions of buying a laptop, cellphone and other gadgets even though their devices are still working in good conditions.

Of course, I don’t want to look nosy for them. So, I just showed the term life insurance information. It is up to them if they are going to read it or not. At least I tried to give them a hint so they won’t be saying they didn’t know about it. I opt for term insurance because it is much cheaper as compared to the whole. It would be a burden on their budget if they spend a lot on insurance. Oh well, I hope they find the information useful.

It’s quite late to give my brother a birthday present. I know, September 20 is way too over. But, I still intend to give him something just as I promised. I just can’t do it now because I’m really on a tight budget. Visa renewal is taking a lot of my money as well as wifey’s so we have to focus on that matter.

Like I said I still want to give him something. I’m already feeling guilty because I haven’t given him anything years before. I don’t want that to happen this year. It’s better late than never. For now, I’m looking at the funny t shirts I found in the web. It’s really cool and funny just as my brother likes. He loves shirts, no doubt about it, but he really likes those with funny remarks on it. I’m pretty sure he will love it. But, I still have to wait until I receive my first salary before I could make a purchase.