Blog

ARE YOU forever losing everything from your car keys to your house keys? Do you wish there was a way that you could just ‘see’ where they are when they are out of sight? Well, now there is a solution – BiKN. No, that is not a spelling mistake, that is the name of a new product that has been in development and has finally [...]

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INVESTORS who like to take an opposing view to the rest of the market can make significant profits, but it does take nerves of steel to take a contrarian position and stick with it. To do this successfully, you need to understand a little more about how this works, so here we explain the basics. So what is contrarian investing? Contrarian investing is [...]

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TRIATHLON is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and it is becoming increasingly popular in Asia as people try to push their endurance just that bit further. Triathlon comprises a swim, followed by a cycle ride and then a run, which are all completed back-to-back with a ‘transition’ between each. It is just one of a [...]

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Eagles inhabit the vast grasslands and mountains of the Central Asian Steppe, from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan across into Mongolia. Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, forbears of the modern nomads, had thousands of hunting birds and their falconry expeditions were detailed by Marco Polo. It is also thought that berkutchi, as the art of eagle hunting is called, has been in existence on the Steppe for some 6000 years. In Mongolia’s Bayan Ulgii [...]

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SAVING for a pension as an expat abroad is not always simple, but if you want to ensure you are getting the most out of your retirement, you need to start planning early. With retirement for many people so far away, and more immediate drains on our income ever present such as mortgage payments and school fees, it is the one thing that often gets [...]

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Following on from the top free apps reviewed last week, here are some of the most useful paid for apps that will both entertain you and help you to work more effectively. Notability This top paid for app allows you to take notes through handwriting, audio recording and word processing, with each integrated so they seamlessly work to create [...]

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The increasing prevalence of apps around the world has made it ever more difficult to find the app that works for you, and with around 500,000 to choose from, we could all do with a little help. So here are some of the top five free apps for those looking to entertain themselves as well as getting a little work done. Pretty Pet Juice Empire HD (image [...]

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When it comes to the crème de la crème of ski resorts, you could be forgiven for thinking of the likes of Chamonix in France, or Whistler in Canada, but you do not have to travel anywhere near so far to get some good skiing in this winter, as Asia has more than its share of ski action. Liz King and Alison Steed take a look at what Asia [...]

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IF YOU are one of the millions of people battling the bulge before a summer break then you may be wondering if you can manage to lose the love handles without hitting the gym. But can you really make yourself healthier by making a few changes to your diet and lifestyle? Well, yes, you can, and the proof most [...]

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ASIAN smaller companies have been a key component of the region’s burgeoning fortunes in recent years, but the question is whether they can continue to boost the emerging economies to such good effect in the coming year? Over the last three years, smaller companies funds have performed well. For example, the Japanese Smaller Companies sector has made an average of 8.5%, against a backdrop [...]

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Investing in property is a desire for many expats no matter where they are, and for many it proves to be a good decision. Property prices rise and fall in the same way that markets do, the main difference being that once you have bought the property, it is much harder to liquidate your asset if you need to. Aside from that, [...]

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IF THERE is one thing to remember about history, especially political and economic history, it is its ability to repeat itself time and again without people learning the lessons of the past. Take the current economic situation with the eurozone countries desperately trying to get themselves out of the mire, without any of them losing face or seeing an obvious ‘winner’ to come out of this difficult [...]

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ONE OF the realities of markets is that at any one time, there has to be at least two individuals who are taking completely opposing views as to what is likely to happen next. While one person will look at the economic data and think the worst, another will look at the same data and interpret it in a completely different way – think of [...]

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WITH THE imperfect political solution arrived at in the US over the contentious debt ceiling averting the threat of default and the resultant turmoil, it has recently been the turn of the Europeans to provide all the drama in the ongoing soap opera that we call the financial markets. For reasons that are largely irrelevant [...]

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HAVING an adviser to keep a check on your portfolio is ideal – you have someone who will keep track of what is happening, make decisions on your behalf, if that is what you agree, or explain to you why you should make the decision he or she is recommending. The one thing that it [...]

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Commodities are sometimes seen as some of the more glamorous investments you can make, with gold, platinum and other precious metals sitting alongside wheat, oil and pork bellies – OK, maybe that is not so glamorous. But investing in commodities – whether directly if you have the means and the knowledge, or more likely through [...]

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Cycling is one of those pastimes that allows you to admire the beauty of the country you are in,  while getting fitter at the  same time, and there are  few places that are better  to do this than Cambodia. The country’s stunning landscapes can be accessed more readily in some areas by bike, and you know [...]

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Some years ago several friends of Dave Stamboulis returned from a beach holiday claiming they had found one of the last unspoiled paradises in Asia. Here, he explains why now is the time to visit the unspoilt Phu Quoc. I did some research on the place, Phu Quoc, the largest island in Vietnam, lying just [...]

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Ethical investing used to be a very niche area of investment that was reserved for the brave few who would rather their money ‘did good’ than ‘did well’. But things are starting to change as the sector becomes more mainstream, and the performance of ethical funds is now competing with more traditional, non-ethical sectors. Alison Steed looks [...]

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Whether you are into sport or not, most of us feel like we could do with losing our love handles and shaping up a bit. But finding the best way to do this is not easy, especially if you loath the idea of being incarcerated in a gym with around 20 other people, yet want the camaraderie [...]

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