Fee-Free Credit Card in Sweden

I'm currently looking into the banking system in Sweden and it is a nice surprise to find a fee-free credit card on the first go. Wikipedia has a list of banks in Sweden. The only bank with non-Swedish name is GE Money. This was particularly interesting since I am aware of their great credit card products in Australia. One of the best travellers' credit cards has recently been renamed to 28 Degrees. There are no membership fees or surcharges for money withdrawal overseas.

So, in good tradition, GE Money Sweden happens to have a great credit card on offer, as well. There is no membership fee nor currency fees for funds withdrawal abroad. Apparently, quite a few banks in Sweden do not charge for funds withdrawal in the EU, which is great. And, apart from that, there is 60 days interest-free period for the card.

Financial Crisis over in Sweden

According to the Nordic financial services group Nordea, the financial crisis is over in Sweden. Economic growth is forecasted for 2011 and 2012. Other metrics is to follow - unemployment is set to fall, inflation to rise, etc.

source: The Local

Quicken 2011 Manual Updates

Instructions on how to manually update the new Quicken 2011 are here. The page lists what the latest version of the Quicken patch is so you can check manually. The link to the latest patch is provided, as usual.

Quicken Inner Circle

Quicken Inner Circle (link) - is a site for feedback on Quicken product. The latest news can be found there and one can submit feedback and ideas regarding Quicken products.

Quicken 2010 Manual Updates - Quicken® Support

The link to update downloads for Quicken 2010:

Quicken 2010 Manual Updates - Quicken® Support

Alan Kohler: the market's four key threats - ASX - Australian Securities Exchange

Another important point from Kohler's analysis:

Housing bubble

But isn't Australia's housing market in a bubble that is destined to collapse, bringing the whole Oz of Cards down? In late June, US investment legend Jereny Grantham, co-founder of GMO, said: "You cannot possibly miss it. The price of housing typically trades about 3.5 times family income and in a bubble it goes to 6 or … 7.5 (times). Australia is having one now. You are at near 7.5 times family income … which suggests you are twice the size that you should be."

Alan Kohler: the market's four key threats - ASX - Australian Securities Exchange

Alan Kohler: the market's four key threats - ASX - Australian Securities Exchange

America is just one of us, now...

Alan Kohler: the market's four key threats - ASX - Australian Securities Exchange

"Over the final weekend in June, the G20 leaders, including President Obama, agreed to halve their budget deficits by 2013. That confirms the end of fiscal stimulus and the beginning of an era of fiscal tightening. That goes double for states such as California and Illinois, which are just about broke.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 46 states have budget deficits that add up to US$112 billion; basically they are in the same mess as Greece.

The Federal Reserve cannot cut interest rates any more, so if there is a problem, the US economy is on its own. And, Houston, there is a problem. Employment growth is weakening, durable goods orders fell more than expected in late June, the ISM manufacturing index is falling, and capital expenditure is down.

But most of all, housing is in trouble. New-home sales crashed 30 per cent in May to a record low and the median price fell 1 per cent that month to US$200,900 - and is now down 10 per cent on a year ago. The median price has not been this low since December 2003. It is taking builders a record 14.2 months to sell a house."

Gloomy Forecasts for Russia

From John Mauldin's newsletter:

"Russia is facing a very serious problem over the next 20 years that will require either a significant increase in productivity or large immigration to stave off a collapsing economy. Russia's population has declined by almost 7 million in the last 19 years to 142 million. UN estimates are that it may shrink by about a third in the next 40 years. "

Crisis in Serbia “Statistically and Formally” Over :: BalkanInsight.com

Crisis in Serbia “Statistically and Formally” Over :: BalkanInsight.com

Positive economic forecast from Serbia.

Croatia Unemployment Drops by 0.5% in April :: BalkanInsight.com

Croatia Unemployment Drops by 0.5% in April :: BalkanInsight.com

Some more good news from the Balkan states.