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Trevor Davis

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After My best mate is adamant he has found the love of his life. He beamed this ridiculous claim when he entered the chip shop before a recent football game. We all meet in the same chip shop before a game to have a quick bit of food and generally mock whoever has done something stupid in the days prior. This time it was clearly going to be my best mate who exclaimed he was in love with a woman he’d met while shopping in the supermarket this week. Cue mad laughter from everyone and the odd jovial punch on his arm accompanied by more mocking laughter.

The story of how these two love birds met was even more amusing, but it was so stupid that I actually started to think this love at first sight nonsense might actually be true. He was wandering down the cereal aisle, which he usually bypasses with little attention, and decided he might pick up a box of some form of chocolate cereal. He picked up the pack and inspected it carefully, only for the pack to be slightly broken at the top – therefore emptying its contents entirely over the aisle floor. My mate tried to scoop up the little snack bits with his hands, but as he moved he crunched mountains of the stuff beneath his feet before finally succumbing to the newly slick surface and falling flat on his face.

At this point the lady, who he is now in love with, walked around the corner perfectly composed in her black raincoat and neatly organised basket. She stared at my mate for a while and put the basket down before rushing over to help. The cereal had been reduced to a powdery matter, which had now engulfed my mate’s eyes and he was having difficulty seeing. Then the chocolaty sneeze arrived and a powder splatter shot out into the poor woman’s face.

After all of this my mate persuaded this woman to give him her address so he could send some flowers to thank her for helping. He ended up wandering round to her work a few days later with flowers in hand and spotted her at a window of her office. He was looking better than before and this was apparently when the lightening bolt struck the two of them. He’s meeting her parents next week and he won’t be coming to football much now either, they’re off on holiday!

This bizarre set of events has led me to think this theory of love at first sight really is possible. They’re both very happy and things look promising. All after an embarrassing encounter with a box of cereal.

Women need to start putting more into private pension schemes or risk relying on the state in retirement, according to the minister for pension reform.

The latest government figures reveal that just 38 per cent of women contribute to a private pension compared with 46 per cent of men.

Furthermore, men are saving on average 200 or more each month whereas women are more likely to contribute less than 100 per month.

Minister for pension reform James Purnell said that the government is trying to help the situation by offering a new contributory principle which recognises how women stop saving for retirement when they have children, but women need to change their habits as well.

“We will make it easier for people to save by introducing a new system of personal accounts,” said Mr Purnell.

“The worrying reality is that if women don’t make their own saving a priority, they could find themselves worse off in retirement than they expect.”

Women need to start saving more to enter retirement with the level of financial independence they currently enjoy, according to minister for women, Meg Munn.

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Are looking for a new job? UK Net Guide’s Job Search, can help you search hundreds of jobs online. There are many varied ways in which you can turn a potential job-winning opportunity into a complete disaster of a job interview. Here are some of my favourites. If you want to fail a job interview in the near future, take these suggestions as failsafe tactics. If you want to actually get the job, take these as potential pitfalls to avoid. Either way, I hope you enjoy them.

Dress like a tramp – They say that you can secure or lose a job within the first eight seconds of entering the interview room – first impressions are crucial. With this in mind, ensuring that you fail the interview will involve some imaginative dressing-up. The image you’re trying to project is that of someone entirely incapable of doing the job, regardless of how good their educational record or work experience is. Go for scruffy, but not in a bohemian arty way. Instead, you should look like you are trying to make the effort, but are completely incapable of doing so. Wear a dinner jacket with the shoulder padding hanging out, and suspicious burn marks along one sleeve. Your trousers should not be matching (a deep maroon colour to go with a dark jacket), and should be tied with a dog’s lead. Do not wear a shirt, or shoes – go in either bare feet or flip flops. When you meet your interviewers, say “nice to meet you” and hold out a bloodstained palm for them to shake.

Don’t answer the questions – This is a crucial part of failing any interview. Remember that the whole purpose of the meeting is for your prospective employers to get a chance to get to know you, why you’re interested in the job, and what you have to offer them in terms of skills, experience and enthusiasm. It is vital to ensure that this doesn’t happen, otherwise you could find yourself on a one-way trip to employment land. You may feel uncomfortable about staying completely silent during their interrogation. If this is the case, consider some stock answers, such as “I don’t know” and “why?”.

Don’t prepare – You will inevitably be expected to know something about the company you want to work for, or the role you are planning to fill. Ensure that you avoid absorbing any information about the company before the interview. If possible, close your eyes before entering the building in order to avoid reading the name of the company, and put your fingers in your ears and sing loudly if you interviewers attempt to “outline the role” for your benefit.

The weakness question – This is a classic tactic from the unimaginative interviewer. They will ask you to identify your biggest weakness. This is the cue for you to put on a wry smile and admit that some times you might just work too hard for your own good. As everyone knows, though, honesty is the best policy, so be honest. “No matter how hard I think, I really can’t put my finger on one” might be a good start, or “small boys” is another. Job done.

Graduates of Scottish universities are particularly likely to find employment once they enter the world of work, new figures suggest.

According to official statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the number of Scottish graduates left unemployed a year after leaving university fell in 2005 compared with the previous year, down to only 4.9 per cent compared with 5.7 per cent in 2004.

An increase in the number of positions specifically designed for graduates is seen as one reason for the favourable graduate jobs market, as is the improving quality of graduates.

“A degree from a Scottish university is as close to a guarantee of a better career than you can get. The unemployment rate for graduates in Scotland overall is three per cent which is a better measure than in the first year after graduation.

“Four years after graduation 85 per cent of Scots university students are not only in jobs but in graduate level jobs.”

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Inflation is a measure of rising prices. It’s useful to know how much the cost of goods is rising for many reasons. Some pay deals and pensions are linked to inflation so salaries might increase at the same time that food and other goods in the shops rise in price, easing the damage on your pocket.

It’s also good to have an idea about whether prices will be going up in the coming months.

In the UK there are two main measures of inflation from the Office of National Statistics: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Retail Price Index (RPI). Both are calculated by statisticians heading to shops and going online to check the price of everything from air tickets to knickers, sofas, eggs and much more around the country.

Consumer Price Index

When the papers talk about inflation going up, it is usually CPI they are referring to. CPI is primarily an economic measure and it is the Bank of England’s job to keep it at two per cent. If it rises, then the bank could be forced to increase interest rates to bring it down. This is where inflation becomes important to the man on the street. If the headlines say inflation is up, then it’s likely that the cost of a loan or a mortgage is going to go up.

The idea is that when interest rates go up, it is more expensive to borrow and saving becomes more attractive. Therefore, there will be fewer shoppers on the high street, less demand for goods and the prices will not be pushed up so dramatically.

Investments

High inflation also affects investments. For example, if you put 100 in the bank at an interest rate of five per cent, after a year you’ll have 105. However, if inflation is at five per cent then the purchasing power of that 105 would be the same as 100 a year a go. The reason is that in that year the cost of goods has risen by as much as the investment.

If inflation is high and investments are not making big enough returns, the pressure would be on the Bank of England and the government to try to bring it down and keep big investors from leaving the UK in search of higher returns abroad.

Retail Price Index

Knowing the difference between CPI and RPI is also important. Often pay deals or pension may come with promises to match inflation. Generally RPI is higher than CPI so a pay deal for one per cent over RPI would be substantially better than one linked to CPI.

Also, with pensions the promise to match rising prices may not be so great. Although a weekly pension tied to CPI would mean a pensioner could buy the same number of goods over the years, as wages generally rise faster than prices the rest of society would be much better off.

By Patrick Hind

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It’s a universal truth that, no matter how perfect and wonderful you might regard your job to be, it’s often a hell of a drag to go to work day after day. I bet even the Beatles, when they woke up to another day of making millions, being mobbed by girls, and taking lots of drugs wished that they could just turn over and go back to sleep once in a while. For the rest of us, with our slightly more mundane nine-to-fives, the situation can only be worse, as we struggle from our sleep on a grey and rainy Monday morning, and try to justify this day-to-day existence.

I take quiet pride in a friend of mine who decided that he’d had enough of this kind of routine. Perhaps the mornings simply got progressively more difficult to face, but one day he just decided to quit. Standing on his desk he stuck both index fingers in the air and shouted his resignation to anyone who would listen. After that he just walked out, never to return, for a liquid lunch at the local pub.

As it happens, though, the euphoria of that single moment didn’t last long, and that first liquid lunch turned into a month-long binge with plenty of depression and self-loathing thrown in. The problem seemed to be that being unemployed really isn’t that fun after all. Ok, so you can get up whenever you want, but after a few days that novelty tends to wear off, like the summer holidays when you were a child. The second major problem is that without a job you don’t have any money. It’s easy to forget, during your daily routine, that actually getting out of bed is actually earning you money, paying for the roof over your head and all of your meals. As a result of this, there is a huge amount of stress that comes with being out of work. And you can’t really afford to go out anywhere or do anything to take your mind off it either.

And then there’s the social stigma. Telling people that you’re unemployed might be a bit of a badge of honour at first, but eventually it’s tiring having to explain why you, out of all the people in the western world, should not have a job. Then there is the ritual humiliation of the dole office – only free money is enough to get you out of bed for that fortnightly visit.

It started getting scary when my friend started leaving the house early in the morning, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase. He was still on the dole as far as I was aware, but here he was, like a drunk tramp getting dressed to go to the pub. As his official landlord, I was glad when he finally found another job after a couple of months of benefits and eating into his savings. He went back to those early Monday morning starts, but they didn’t seem nearly as gloomy from then on.

Around 200 new jobs are set to be created in the Aberdeen and Perth regions of Scotland thanks to the creation of two major technology centres.

The centres, to be opened by Chevron Energy Technology Company (ETC), are expected to create technology research and development jobs, as well as technical support services.

According to the company, staff for the centres are expected to be hired from the surrounding regions, with recruitment aimed primarily at those with technology industry experience although opportunities for university graduates are also anticipated.

Those with degrees and experience in engineering or geology are particular targets of the company.

“With their robust energy industries, quality and size of local and regional talent pools, and long-standing presence of Chevron operations, Aberdeen and Perth are excellent locations for our new technology centres,” commented Mark Puckett, president of ETC.

The jobs will add to the 53,000 people already employed by the global company, which markets and distributes energy products.

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Most people come to stock market investing when they become tired of the low returns that high street savings accounts offer, and they want higher growth and potentially a little excitement along the way.

But with more than 2,000 funds to choose from, how does the novice investor make a selection?

Here UK Net Guide explains the basics markets of investment funds, whether unit trusts or open-ended investment companies (Oeics).

Unit trusts are divided into different groups, or sectors, by the Investment Management Association to allow you to make comparisons between like and like.

You need to decide before you start whether you are interested in receiving regular money from your investments (income), or whether you are happier to watch any dividends get reinvested in your fund (growth).

Then you need to choose which of the worlds stock markets you want to invest in. There is a wide choice, including the UK and Europe, the USA, the Far East and various emerging markets (which include Latin America, Africa, parts of Asia and the Middle East).

Each of these markets can then be divided into the types of shares in which the fund chooses to invest.

The main fund areas are:

UK all companies: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in UK shares, which have a primary objective of achieving capital growth.

UK smaller companies: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in UK stocks, which make up the bottom 10% of the UK stock market in terms of size.

Japan: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in Japanese shares.

Japanese smaller companies: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in Japanese equities of companies, which form the bottom 10% by size.

Asia Pacific, including Japan: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in Asia Pacific shares, including some Japanese shares. The Japanese element must make up less than 80%.

Asia Pacific, excluding Japan: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in Asia Pacific shares and exclude Japanese shares.

North America: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in North American shares.

North American smaller companies: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in North American equities of companies, which form the bottom 10% by size.

Europe, including UK: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in European shares. They may include UK stocks, but these must not exceed 80% of the fund’s assets.

Europe, excluding UK: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in European shares and exclude the UK.

European smaller companies: Funds that invest at least 80% of their assets in European equities of companies, which form the bottom 10% by market capitalisation in the European market. They may include UK stocks, but these must not exceed 80% or the fund’s assets. (‘Europe’ includes all countries in the FTSE pan-European indices.)

Emerging markets: Funds that invest 80% or more of their assets directly or indirectly in emerging markets as defined by the World Bank, without geographical restriction. Indirect investment for example, China shares listed in Hong Kong should not exceed 50% of the portfolio.

For more information
see the UK Net Guide features:

An Introduction to Unit Trusts and OEICS
Common Stock Market Terms Explained
The Golden Rules When Buying Shares
How To Read The Financial Pages
Investing In Gilts

By Patrick Hind –

It may be football and the protagonists may be millionaires, but the principles of career moves and decision making remain the same. Henrik Larsson’s surprise loan move to Manchester United has shown that it’s never too late to make a career change. The 35-year-old is hardly ‘past it’, but in football terms he’s reaching the end of his career. However, the Swede has just completed a move to one of the biggest clubs in the world and has now transferred to arguably the two biggest clubs in Europe in what is usually the tail end of a striker’s career. Larsson’s move is therefore a message to us all: never give up on a career move. If your thinking of making a career move, UK Net Guide’s Job Search, has hundreds of jobs online from many top recruiters.

There are other footballers that present a parallel and a strong message to those either at the beginning, the middle or the end of their career. There are plenty of lessons to be learned about how to not grab too much early on, to not offend people during the middle of your career and know when the time is right to throw in the towel. There have been instances of people throwing it all away and this can be said for people in other professions as well. Falling down nightclub stairs and getting drunk every night makes you a poor professional footballer, it also doesn’t make you a great accountant either.

One example of a lad who wanted it all too early was Paul Gascoigne. He had the talent and the ability, but a poor temperament in a range of different spheres let him down and he ended up not really knowing when to go. Gazza went from Spurs stardom to a move to Italy, where he managed fewer than 50 games in three years before moving on. Alex Ferguson – tamer and developer of the best talent that there has ever been – was interested, but Gazza snubbed the right path and elected to go for the glamour and the mullets. Sadly he ended up finishing his career at Boston United; it could have all been so different.

I’m not saying Gazza was a bad player, because he certainly wasn’t. But imagine how successful he’d have been had he been under the correct stewardship, he certainly wouldn’t have ended up playing at Boston United.

A man known for his sulks and tantrums showed that, although you can earn money, you can’t earn professional respect. So before anyone tries to offend people to get to the top, observe the example of Nicolas Anelka, the former Arsenal starlet who looked like he had the world at his feet. Men would run down the stairs in the stands, bowing as they went to salute his greatness. Managers were falling over each other to shake hands with Arsene Wenger, who’d nabbed him for a small fee and had produced the best football out of him.

But Nicolas chose the money and the glory and headed over to Real Madrid, lasting only a year before he was shipped out Paris St Germain. He came back to the Premiership for a short time before again being moved on to Manchester City and then Fenerbache, followed by Al-Emarat. He’s now plying his trade at Bolton and has netted just the two goals this season, against Arsenal. Where then was the promise? A man who should have been an international ended up being labelled the ‘incredible sulk’. These sad tales are avoidable, so learn from footballers’ goldfish bowl careers; they’re short-lived and play out right in front of your eyes.

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Youre reading all your dates signals correctly. Youve avoided seeking approval and trying to force him or her to like you. Youve seen beyond shallow things such as good looks and money, and you dont worry about every aspect of your new relationship.

But youre not out of the dating minefield yet. Disaster could still befall your burgeoning romance if you dont step carefully.

Here UK Net Guide outlines more dating howlers and how to avoid them.

Mind your language

Endless profanity is not appealing (unless your date expresses a liking for such a thing) and nor is casual sexism, which many people can be guilty of without realising it. Men should avoid describing women in derogatory terms like birds and chicks. Women mustnt make generalisations about the opposite sex: Men are all the same!

You cant buy affection

Throwing money at a relationship wont help it blossom. Spending excessive amounts of money on gifts for your new boyfriend/girlfriend will only seem cynical, desperate, or even a bit creepy. It will be all too obvious to your date that youre trying to compensate for a lack real or imagined of charisma or intellect.

Sharing too soon is a no-no

Being a little mysterious will make you more attractive to your new partner and it will help avoid the dating error of opening up too soon. Pouring out your heart and revealing everything you think and feel can be overwhelming for the other person, sometimes even a bit scary.

Your boyfriend/girlfriend wants the challenge of learning about you bit by bit, and he/she doesnt want be feel suffocated by a deluge of information.

Its not an interrogation

Hopefully, your other half will be a little coy, making you work a bit for information about them (see above). Its up to you to ask questions, which shows that youre interested in them. Be careful, however, not to come on too strong, insisting they answer every query fully, no matter how personal. Youre getting to know the person, not pumping them for information. You want to show your interest in your date, and you should encourage him or her by offering snippets of information about yourself.

Dont try to be an entertainer

Unless youre a comedian by trade, youre probably not as funny as you think you are. Being witty is one thing, but acting the clown is another. Not only can it seem boorish and self-centred (youre drawing attention to yourself), it can be downright bewildering or offensive for the other person if they dont share your sense of humour or are simply not in a mood to laugh uproariously.

Watch where you look

Wandering eyes are not appealing to a new date. So keep your eyes on the person you are talking to, and dont take peeks no matter how sneaky at other people whom you might find attractive. You dont have to lock your eyes onto your dates, but look them in the face when you talk to them, and when they speak to you. And men avoid the classic talking to her chest blunder.

Further information

See the UK Net Guide features Dating Mistakes to Avoid, How to Keep Your New Date Interested, First Date Conversation and First Date Style.