Berlin – There’s no rest for the troubled Greek economy: The rating agency Standard & Poor’s said it would consider the latest proposals for restructuring the country’s massive debt as a default.

S&P’s announcement refers to the so-called Paris model, a proposal developed by French banks, to roll over Greece’s debt. According to the plan, private creditors would renew maturing Greek bonds on different terms. German banks have signaled they are prepared to join the scheme.

“It is our view, that the options described in the [French bank's] proposal would likely amount to a default under our criteria,” S&P said in a statement.

Paradoxically these measures are designed to prevent a state default within the eurozone - a scenario Europe’s governments are frantically trying to avoid.

It was immense pressure from the European Union that forced the Greek government only last week to push another austerity plan through parliament in order to secure further financial help.

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Every day, I get ten or fifteen emails from people who strongly believe in some particular issue or perspective. I hear from extreme political liberals and extreme political conservatives. I hear from devout literal Christians and outspoken atheists. I hear from people who live almost entirely off the grid and from others who are incredibly consumer-oriented.

The amazing part is that I hear a variation on the same story from all of these people. In each case, I hear from that person because they (or, on occasion, someone they care deeply about) have lost touch on some level with the values that they claim to hold dear.

Often, they’re upset about something in the world. Some are upset at environmental destruction. Others are upset about government spending. Still others are upset about the moral degradation of society. This isn’t in itself a problem, of course. It’s often very valuable to have something you care deeply about.

At the same time, I’ll see in these emails that they’re taking individual actions to make the very problem they claim to detest worse. They’re spending money on consumer goods that, during their production, damage the environment. They’re not

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Here is an updated promotion code that came out for Father’s Day that will waive the $3.95 purchase fee for American Express gift cards: EMDADWL, valid through 9/30/2011. There are also fees for shipping; 2-day shipping is $5.95. However, if you sign up for their “Premium Shipping Plan”, you can get free next-day air shipping trial for 90 days (cancel ASAP). More details on previous post on .

Finally, you can use certain cashback shopping portals like (1% back) or (1.6% back) to earn even more back, although getting credited for your purchases can take a while.

Single Family Property 2-story custom home in private gated community featuring 6,418 square feet of living space. he family room includes built in entertainment, fireplace and sit-down wet bar, with access to the backyard. Other features include theater/media room with wet bar, an office and four-car garage. The private backyard includes pebble tech pool and spa with rock formations and waterfall, covered patio and several palm trees. To see more detailed information about this home, you may visit us at Las Vegas Luxury Homes.

Sonoma, California Gloria Ferrer Estate Vineyards

In 1982, when Gloria and José Ferrer first visited the Sonoma Carneros cattle ranch that would become home to Gloria Ferrer Estate Vineyards, they could already picture the terrain lined with vines of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The couple, who also own the Catalonian-based cava house Freixenet, saw many similarities in the terroir of Carneros and the terroir of their native Catalonia, Spain. They followed their instincts, purchased the ranch plus an adjacent 100 acres, and began to plant. The following year, Carneros became the first wine region to receive an AVA designation based on climate rather than boundaries. And in 1986, Gloria Ferrer Estate Vineyards became the first sparkling wine house in the new Carneros region.

Building a California winery was the actualization of a longtime dream of the Ferrers’. They were determined to run it as a family business and to make their wines in a California style. As a result, they only imported three winemaking techniques from Freixenet: a commitment to handpicking the grapes, carrying the grapes to the winery in small bins, and pressing the fruit in membrane presses.

To this day, winemaking at Gloria Ferrer upholds its original commitment to experimentation and a desire to capture the full expression of the distinctive Carneros terroir.

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Reclaiming payment protection insurance (PPI) has gotten much easier since the banks threw in the towel a month ago and put £6 billion aside to pay out consumers. But claims handling agencies are leaching on top of this, charging 30%+ to process claims most people can EASILY do themselves. We currently have a ‘don’t use ‘em’ stance – yet some are using these companies anyway and there are scammers out there – so should we tell consumers the least worst and most legitimate?

I’ve been wrestling with this for a long time and would like your views. When the banks put their hands up I thought, as reclaiming would become much easier, claims handlers would go away. But the opposite has happened, they’re on a huge marketing push. For example, one of my team, who has NEVER had PPI received this outrageous text…

Wow! Free Message! Important! Our records indicate you may be entitled to £3,750 from mis-sold insurance. To claim reply, Yes”

Of course, everything needed for DIY reclaiming, including template letters, is in our PPI reclaiming and credit card PPI reclaiming guides. There are also othe

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As part of new reforms, the government is debating what downpayment size should be required for a “qualified” residential mortgage. If a mortgage doesn’t meet the new standards, the lending bank would have to retain 5% ownership even if selling the rest to investors. The initial proposal is for 20%, but of course the mortgage industry wants the required down payment to be as small as possible. They want to keep the good ole’ days from being able to offload the risk entirely onto others.

Honestly, if banks can’t handle keeping even 5% ownership of the loans they originate, why would I trust their underwriting at all? Their track record for determining creditworthiness hasn’t exactly been stellar. Of course, their public argument is that a low downpayment keep homes “affordable” for everyone. :

“Why, in a law intended to fix the mistakes that caused the credit crisis, would you mandate a certain down payment when low down payments were not the problem?” said Kathleen Day, spokeswoman for the Center for Responsible Lending.

Actually, they are a problem. how the mortgage i

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One of the biggest themes of The Simple Dollar is how you should stop caring what other people think. This is one of the most valuable things I’ve ever done in my life. The less impact that I allow the thoughts of others to have on my own choices, the easier it is to make challenging personal choices that improve my own life, like frugality or taking up an “uncool” hobby or living in a smaller house than I can afford or driving a used car or wearing a pair of beat-up falling-apart sandals.

Of course, it’s easy to look at that phrase and take it to an absurd extreme. Doing that creates its own set of problems. You can’t ignore the thoughts of your children or your spouse. You’re also not well served by ignoring the thoughts of people who have influence in your life.

So where does the maxim of “stop caring what other people think” begin and end?

For one, worrying about the impressions of people you don’t interact with is not a very use of time and an especially poor use of money. If you’re paying hundreds of dollars for clothes so you can impress the person who walks by you on the street, your money is probably misplaced, as is your concern. If you’re hoping th

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