Earn points with purchase in Ebay.co.uk

Ebay has announced a new concept, +Plus; you gain point for each purchase. If you purchase an iPhone for £300, you get 300 points which convert to £3 at the end of September. I like the idea.

Michael Jackson has died

I'd booked MJ O2 concert yesterday and planning to see it on 26th July, but was shocked to learn MJ has pronounced dead after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest. A sad sad day for every pop music fan out there.

Edited: O2 will sort out the ticket cancellation, announcement will come later.

Swindon is covered with snow

UK is experiencing the greatest snow fall for past 16 years. It is nice to see snow out of the window, but if snow continue to fall for the next few days as per forecast, Swindon motorists will be in trouble since the salt used to grit the road in Swindon is low, and is using the reserve at the moment.

£ depreciating since September 08

British Pound £ set a new low against Euro today at 1:1.12, while depreciate in value against major foreign currencies since September.

Bank of England drop interest rate to 2%

Today Bank of England has announced a drop in its interest rate from 3% to 2%, lowest since 1951. Continue read here.

Obama wins historic US election

Democratic Senator Barack Obama says "change has come to America", after being elected the first black president of the United States.

How troubled Iceland banks affected UK

I'm surprised to learn a lot of county desided to bank in with Iceland bank instead of UK, I can understand partially due to the fact that interest is higher. But it is troubling UK government as Iceland banks have now been nationalize, hence what will happen to the large amount of UK deposit? Individual saver is guarantee to a certain limit, but council deposit is not. In months to come, I'm sure the government will feel the burden, and we might hear another rescue plan...

On 8/10/08 publication report, Bank of England has a ready reserve of £50billion, and I suppose it has deducted the £50b bailout amount on UK Banks. How much more bailout can the government afford in future?

Icesave halt deposit and withdrawal

Icesave, was once the recommended top ISA bank by Moneysavingexpert.com is now facing financial problem. I was considering to open an account with Icesave half year ago. Lucky me.

It has been another tough day for banks elsewhere in Europe, with the government of Iceland taking control of the country's second-biggest bank, Landsbanki. Landsbanki owns the internet bank Icesave, which has stopped allowing customers to withdraw money. Icesave is thought to have 350,000 customers in the UK and Netherlands. If Landsbanki were to fail, savers would be entitled to their first £16,000 from Icelandic authorities and then up to another £34,000 from the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme. - BBC

Share market lowest in decades

Yet again today mark another downfall of the share market, especially Russia lost 17% or more in a single day.

Huge Market Rally of the year 2008

Today marked the best market rally ever for FTSE, a massive 8.84%. This comes after investor confidence on Gov't rescue plan and ban on short selling.

UK Lloyds TSB takeover HBOS

The UK's biggest mortgage lender Halifax has taken over by Lloyds TSB, and it means upto 40k job losses are expected. However this prevent Halifax from collapse. It is quite obvious why Halifax is not doing well and as the UK biggest mortgage lender, we know Halifax doesn't tighten on lender criteria and required a low deposit of 5%. Also, Halifax has a strong portfolio in buy-to-let market, which is quite volatile.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, G10 and SX 10 IS

This morning I got shocked by Canon new announcement, the 5D Mark II apparently beat my expectation. It comes with 21MP CMOS sensor, an expanded ISO range of 50-25,600 and a wealth of improvements and new features including full 1080p HD movie recording, live view, 3.0" 920k dot LCD, DIGIC IV processor, increased battery capacity and sensor dust reduction, for US: $ 2,699.

While the consumer range share the joy with G10's spec and design. It comes with wide angle (28mm) and a comfortable grip. SX10 IS offers 20x zoom lenses, DIGIC IV processors, improved image stabilization system and wealth of new features. The SX1 IS is particularly interesting as it is the first PowerShot to feature a Canon CMOS sensor, which allows the camera to offer 4.0 fps (full resolution) continuous shooting and true 1080p HDTV movie capture at 30fps.

I like G10 in particular as it comes with dedicated control for ISO and exposure.

Share Market Meltdown

With Lehman Brothers leading today news of bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch sold to Bank of American and AIG in possible restructuring, the market has react with 1 of the biggest drop of the year.

Photo Contest 2008

There are plenty of photo contest that either accept submission from September like Nikon or ending by end of September, DCMag. So submit yours before the contest close.

National Geographic International Photo Contest 2008

Nikon Photo Contest International 2008

Smithsonian magazine 6th Annual Photo Contest

Digital Camera Photographer of the Year 2008

The Pilsner Urquell International Photography Awards Competition (more for commercial photographers)

UK news of the day 8/9/08

House prices 'to reduce by 25% - BBC

The chief executive of the Nationwide Building Society has told BBC News that he thinks house prices could fall as much as 25% from their peak. This prediction implies that 2.5 million homeowners could be pushed into negative equity. Read more here.

All-party call for 20,000-a-year cap on migrants arriving in UK - DailyMail

An unprecedented coalition of public figures will today call for a limit on migrant numbers settling in the UK. The group of MPs and peers, including a former Archbishop of Canterbury, want a policy of 'balanced migration'. Read more here.

Ex-collegues involved in plane crashed in Java

News from CNA confirmed no survivors in the recent plane crashed in Java. News can also found in BBC, and detiknews. I got confirmation from my friend that 5 of my ex -colleagues had passed away. :( May all of them RIP.

Manchester United Champion League 07/08 Winner

It was an exciting match that both teams are equal in level and opportunity. In the end, lady luck was at MU side. Well deserved win!

Dr. M's Blog

Malaysia former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir has his own blog, posting his first post today.

UK Housing Market Confidence dropped to 30 years low

Today, the following BBC News attracted my attention the most as it is related to housing market.

Confidence in the UK housing market fell in March to its lowest point in 30 years, according to a closely watched survey of property surveyors. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) said that 78.5% more surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices in March. This was the gloomiest reading since Rics began the survey in 1978. The results come after leading mortgage lenders offered similarly downbeat views on property prices. Rics said the next six months would be crucial for homeowners and would-be buyers in the UK.

The falls in prices are particularly marked for flats and maisonettes and in certain parts of the country. The sharpest falls were in the East Midlands and East Anglia, while slower falls were recorded in north-west England, Wales and London.

Bank of England dropped interest rate to 5%

Just announced during lunch time today, Bank of England will drop a quarter percent of its interest to 5%. A welcome news to the mortgage rate but not so good to saving rate.