Here goes Argentina

Algerian Fans

Here goes BRAZIL

CAMEROON

CHILE

DENMARK

ENGLISH

FRENCH

THE GERMANS

GHANA

GREEK

ITALIANS

THE MEXICANS

NETHERLANDS

PARAGUAY

PORTUGAL

SLOVAKIA

SLOVENIA

THE HOSTS- SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH KOREA

SPAIN

Switzerland

USA

Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Cribber:

Women who crib, talk negatively and belittle people are a great turn-off. Sure we all have our bags full of complaints, but it is one thing to complain once in a while, and it’s something else to crib big time 24×7 about every issue or every person one comes across. Men can’t understand why a woman has to crib and bitch all the time. Either you do something about the issue or stop complaining – it’s as simple as that.

Weight-watcher:

‘Oh can’t have beer, it has 150 calories’, ‘I must hit the gym everyday’ – if these are your favourite catchwords, you have trouble coming your way. There is only so much diet, exercise regimens men can take and if you are too conscious, a man is likely to be exasperated. Women need to know when to give in ‘without throwing their weight around’!

In-law basher:

Agreed only the fortunate are blessed with a good set of in-laws. So if you are not one of the lucky ones, will you constantly bash them up verbally? They are somebody’s parents and if you don’t have anything nice to say something about them, don’t say anything. How does that sound?

Worker bee:

If you are buzzing nineteen to a dozen only about the presentations you have to make for the boss, deadlines, colleagues, HR head and the office

janitor – it’s obvious you have nothing else to talk about. A man may want to know about your interests, your views on him, and more, but you prefer to hide behind ‘work’ all the time. If you want a man, any man actually – get a life first.

Agony aunt:

There are some women who constantly feel they are an ‘advisory body’. They feel it is their business to hear out the whines of everyone around them and suggest suitable solutions. They are so deeply involved in this part-time job that they inadvertently sound like they are advising you as well. Nobody wants to date a mom, you know.

But, the pitfalls while selecting a property, especially for NRIs, are many and it has been seen that people while buying property overlook some important factors and suffer later. As the investment involved in purchasing a property is substantial, it is essential that buyers go about it in an organized and methodical way.

When buying a property, ensure that the title of the land in question is clear. The property title is the legal document that confers ownership of the land on the seller. V Ramesh from California bought a house without checking the title. Soon thereafter he got a legal notice from the actual owner. Rues Ramesh, “I was shocked when I got a legal notice and realized my folly when it was too late.” Cases such as these are common among NRIs who simply grab the first property they like without checking the title.

Not many are aware that the purchase price of the property is not the only cost to be borne. You need to factor in other hidden costs such as brokerage, stamp duty, legal fees, inspection fees, mortgage fees and the like. Ensure that you’ve budgeted for these too lest they spring up unpleasant surprises later.

A commencement certificate is issued by the local authorities to allow the builder to begin construction once all norms have been met. Unless the commencement certificate is granted, the construction is illegal or may never happen. If you don’t verify the project’s commencement certificate, you could end up paying money for a property that will never be constructed. And that’s exactly what happened to Sameer Shah when he paid a huge amount for an apartment in Mumbai which was under construction only to realize later that it was an illegal construction. He says, “I have filed a case against the builder, but I don’t have any hope of recovering my money.”

Another important document is an occupation certificate which is issued by the local municipal body after the builder has provided basic amenities like electricity and water besides having constructed according to the permission granted. Do not sign on the dotted line until you check this document.

Suresh Prabhu bought an apartment in a newly constructed building in a posh locality. But after all the formalities had been completed he got a shock when he found out that the building did not have an intimation of disapproval (IoD). An IoD is a set of instructions that a builder has to fulfil in order to construct the building. It is valid for one year and has to be reissued if the construction is not completed in a year’s time. Unfortunately, Suresh was unaware that the builder had flouted this regulation and that it had got into a legal wrangle. He waited for nearly two years for the possession of this apartment.

There have been several cases in which builders have failed to provide adequate water supply connections leaving residents high and dry. In such instances, residents have no choice but to depend on water tankers. Ensure that your property has adequate water supply connections.

Acute power shortage is a reality in several areas in India, even in metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Voltage fluctuations too are common which can damage delicate electrical equipment. Take this into account before you narrow down on a property.

A buyer needs to get the survey number of his property. This is the unique identification number given to a plot of land to help identify the same as an authorized building. Certain areas like forest or agricultural land are out of bounds for residential purposes. Finding out the survey number protects you from being taken for a ride by a builder who constructs houses in a prohibited area and charges you for it. Such a building could be declared illegal and demolished by the authorities without paying you any compensation. So beware!

A background check on the reputation of the builder needs to be done, as you may land up buying a property from a builder with a dubious reputation. There have been instances where builders have constructed poor-quality flats or have swindled people of their money. Ensure that you buy property from a reputed builder.

Buying an apartment not only involves a substantial investment but also has long-term repercussions. It pays to do your homework before embarking on this exercise, to prevent your property from becoming a millstone around your neck.

STRESS vs TIME

But when this pain is persistent and hinder your day to day activities, it should become a cause of worry.

Fibromyalgia may not be a household name, but it affects 30 per cent of population. ‘Fibro’ stands for fibrous body tissues and ‘algia’ stands for aches. So fibromyalgia stands for pain in the body tissues that is continual.

What is it?

Fibromyalgia is a muscular ailment that is characterised by muscle pains, fatigue and tenderness in areas such as the spine, neck, shoulder and hips (also known as ‘tender points’). These points hurt throughout the day and especially when strained excessively, for example while lifting a heavy stuffs, studying with head bent down or working on the computer.

Who can it affect?

Of the 30 per cent of population that fibromyalgia affects most are women. In men, it is common in those who indulge in excessive physical activity that revolves around one joint.

Even though it can occur at any age, people between the ages of 20-35 are more prone to fibromyalgia. This especially includes working professionals who have sedentary lifestyles.

SYMPTOMS

• Difficulty in sleeping
• Feeling tired even after sleeping all night
• Frequent headaches
• Numbness in hands and feet
• Bodily stiffness
• Difficulty in waking up/ laziness
• Sometimes it can result in irritation and severe depression in the patient
• Aches in different areas of the body. Particularly near the upper back, shoulder blade and neck.

Causes

There is no absolute cause that can pinpoint why fibromyalgia occurs. But there are things that trigger it – accident, childbirth, stress, faulty sleeping habits (sleeping face down repeatedly). When the muscle or ligaments in the body are severely strained over a period of time, fibromyalgia occurs. Also sometimes after a severe muscle injury, the healing makes the muscles stiff, making it lose its original flexibility, thereby resulting in the ailment. Research has also found that deficiency of serotonin in the central nervous system and resulting the imbalance is blamed for its occurrence.

Treatment

There are a number of ways to deal with fibromyalgia.

There are oral muscle relaxant pills and painkiller ointments that are prescribed to the patient.

If the fibromyalgia is at a more serious level, then regular physiotherapy is also administered.

In some cases when fibromyalgia leads to depression, anti-depressants are prescribed.

Clinical healing through heat or vibration treatment can also be given to the patient.

Coping with it

Since fibromyalgia has no fixed cure, only its symptoms can be treated by effectively managing it. Here is how to cope:

Stretching exercises:

Stiffness is often caused by fibromyalgia. This can be treated with simple stretching exercises. Try out active stretching (stretching through yoga) instead of using gym equipments. You could even workout

on the gym ball. However make sure you inform your trainer about your weak spots.

Swimming:

Swimming relaxes the mind and energizes the body. It will equally stretch the entire body at one go.

Hot water bath:

If you feel lazy after waking up, massage your body with scented oils and have a hot water bath to refresh yourself.

Relaxation:

Take short breaks while working for a long period of time. This will calm down the strained muscle.

But when this pain is persistent and hinder your day to day activities, it should become a cause of worry.

Fibromyalgia

may not be a household name, but it affects 30 per cent of population. ‘Fibro’ stands for fibrous body tissues and ‘algia’ stands for aches. So fibromyalgia stands for pain in the body tissues that is continual.

What is it?

Fibromyalgia is a muscular ailment that is characterised by muscle pains, fatigue and tenderness in areas such as the spine, neck, shoulder and hips (also known as ‘tender points’). These points hurt throughout the day and especially when strained excessively, for example while lifting a heavy bucket, studying with head bent down or working on the computer.

Who can it affect?

Of the 30 per cent of population that fibromyalgia affects most are women. In men, it is common in those who indulge in excessive physical activity that revolves around one joint.

Even though it can occur at any age, people between the ages of 20-35 are more prone to fibromyalgia. This especially includes working professionals who have sedentary lifestyles.

SYMPTOMS

Difficulty in sleeping

Feeling tired even after sleeping all night

Frequent headaches

Numbness in hands and feet

Bodily stiffness

Difficulty in waking up/ laziness

Sometimes it can result in irritation and severe depression in the patient

Aches in different areas of the body. Particularly near the upper back, shoulder blade and neck.

Causes

There is no absolute cause that can pinpoint why fibromyalgia occurs. But there are things that trigger it – accident, childbirth, stress, faulty sleeping habits (sleeping face down repeatedly). When the muscle or ligaments in the body are severely strained over a period of time, fibromyalgia occurs. Also sometimes after a severe muscle injury, the healing makes the muscles stiff, making it lose its original flexibility, thereby resulting in the ailment. Research has also found that deficiency of serotonin in the central nervous system and resulting the imbalance is blamed for its occurrence.

Treatment

There are a number of ways to deal with fibromyalgia.

There are oral muscle relaxant pills and painkiller ointments that are prescribed to the patient.

If the fibromyalgia is at a more serious level, then regular physiotherapy is also administered.

In some cases when fibromyalgia leads to depression, anti-depressants are prescribed.

Clinical healing through heat or vibration treatment can also be given to the patient.

Coping with it

Since fibromyalgia has no fixed cure, only its symptoms can be treated by effectively managing it. Here is how to cope:

Stretching exercises:

Stiffness is often caused by fibromyalgia. This can be treated with simple stretching exercises. Try out active stretching (stretching through yoga) instead of using gym equipments. You could even workout

on the gym ball. However make sure you inform your trainer about your weak spots.

Swimming:

Swimming relaxes the mind and energizes the body. It will equally stretch the entire body at one go.

Hot water bath:

If you feel lazy after waking up, massage your body with scented oils and have a hot water bath to refresh yourself.

Relaxation:

Take short breaks while working for a long period of time. This will calm down the strained muscle.

The cultural gap across the Atlantic

The Western world (i.e. Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand) could be considered as a single “Western civilisation”. ‘Westernness’ could be defined by people who are ethnically or culturally European, in other words people of European descent or speaking a European language as their mother-tongue.

Europe itself has the greatest linguistic and cultural diversity of the Western world. However, the common history, geography and socio-political evolution of the European continent, as well as the cultural divergences that have occured in former colonies, have resulted in the creation of a common basis for European culture that contrast (sometimes sharply) with the USA or the rest of the Western world.

Here is a summary of my observations on the differences between Europeans and Americans (USA). These are of course the major trends, and exception exit everywhere. Irish and Polish people, for instance, tend to be closer to the American mainstream than to some of their fellow Europeans. Canadians are somewhere in between, sometimes more European, but often closer to their southern neighbors.

Feeling of time & distances

Perception is shaped by our environment. A 100-year old house or church is considered new by Europeans, but old by Americans. I have even heard Americans think that 200 years was “ancient”. For a European “ancient” refers to something that is typically 2,000 to 5,000 years old (related to the Antiquity, not antiques !).

Things are reversed when it comes to distances. Europeans would tend to think that driving 100 km is quite a long way, while for Americans that would be rather near. This is due to the much higher density of population in Europe, and the smaller size of Europe (believe it or not the EU is over twice smaller than the USA). Yet, Europeans travel much more than Americans, inside or outside their own continent. This might be because Europeans are used to go “abroad” since their childhood, European countries being so small, and do not feel the whole experience to be so exceptional. Supposedly Seatlle residents feel the same about going to Canada, a stone’s throw away.

Cars

Almost all Europeans have cars with manual gears, while Americans have a marked preference for automatic ones.

European cars are also very different in style than their American counterparts. American cars tend to be more massive and squarer, because size matters in the States. Americans have a fondness for (very) long limousines as well as pick-up trucks (in the country). Both are virtually unseen in Europe. Europeans like rounder designs of cars. Smaller cars are much more common in Europe, probably because Europe has a more urbanised population and small cars are easier to park in cities (especially on pavements of historical cities where big parking lots are rarer than in the USA).

Washing machines

European washing machines normally have only a cold water inlet (the water brought to adequate temperature inside the machine) as opposed to a hot and cold water inlet in the USA. European washing machines are almost always loaded from the front, as opposed to the top in the USA. Interestingly, Japan decided to follow the American system.

Measure System

All Europeans use the metric system (metres, grammes, litres, Celsius, etc.). Although Americans do learn it at school, the vast majority of them still use the old English Imperial system (yards, miles, pounds, Fahrenheit, etc.) for everyday life.

Date and time system

Europeans write the date in the format “Day Month Year”, whereas Americans use “Month Day, Year”. Americans usually consider that the week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday, while in Europe it always starts on Monday and finishes on Sunday.

Most non-English-speaking Europeans use the 24h system, as opposed to the 12h system used in English-speaking countries.

Public holidays

Labor Day (1st May) is a national holiday in (most) European countries, but not in the USA. EU countries also celebrate Europe Day (5th or 9th May), although it is not an official holiday (yet).

Social customs

Europeans think of “traditions” like baby showers and bachelor(ette)’s night with strip-teasers as typically American (which they are). This is something most Europeans only see in US series and movies. The same is true of Thanksgiving and, until the late 1990′s, of Halloween (but this last one exported itself well to Europe and East Asia).

Schooling

Schools and universities are free in most European countries. Europeans see university as granted, while American families often have to save for years for their children to attend one. What is more, universities in most countries around the world have entry exams, while only a few European countries do (like the UK).

North Americans have prom night at the end of the last academic year of high school (and sometimes also middle school), while Europeans have no such tradition.

Languages

Foreign-language learning in Europe is now compulsory in every country since primary (elementary) school. Most Europeans learn 2 to 4 foreign languages, for obvious reasons. Americans usually only speak English (+ their mother tongue for immigrants) because they do not need more in their huge country.

Politics

Europeans tend to be more liberal regarding soft drugs, prostitution, alcohol, abortion, or cloning (but interestingly not so for GM food). Americans on the contrary grant greater freedoms when it comes to gun possession, as well as driving a car from a relatively young age (the norm is 18 years old in Europe).

Government system

Americans have a “Congress”, while Europeans all have “Parliaments”.

American politcs is chiefly curtailed to two parties, which would be center-right and right, but lack influential left-wing or green parties. It is rare for a European country to have less than 3 main parties. It is often 4 or 5, which makes politics less bipolar (but often also more complicated to reach agreements).

The American police (FBI) is much more “aggressive” than the police in Europe (car chases, break into houses with guns shouting “police, don’t move, hands on your head !” or such scenes almost non-existent in Europe). Suspects in the US are detained more easily and interrogated more harshly. Americans also go to court much more promptly than in Europe.

The legality of guns in the States also makes daily life and one’s sense of safety completely different from Europe.

Patriotism

Americans put much more emphasis on patriotism than Europeans. Being a patriot is a way of life in the USA. The term is rarely used in Europe.

Few Europeans would mind rational critics of their country’s government, while a good deal of Americans find them offensive or disrespectful (especially from non-Americans). Some Americans go as far as regarding criticism of their government as a personal attack. Europeans are only too happy to hear other people criticizing their own politicians or their country’s problems.

Religion

Americans are much more religious than Europeans. Church going is very popular in the US, where it is seen as an indispensable way of socializing. In Europe the practice has almost entirely disappeared and is mostly limited to the elderly, or special events like weddings or Christmas.

God is often mentioned by American politicians, but almost never in Europe. Mixing religion and politics is taboo in many European countries (notably France), due to the stricter separation of state and religion. There are exceptions, such as Poland or Spain, but even these countries do not appear very religious compared to the USA.

More extremely, a majority of Americans would find offensive for someone to openly claim not to believe in god, whereas the opposite is often true in Europe.

Circumcision

Circumcision is almost unheard of in Europe, as in most of the non-Muslim and non-Jewish world. The practice became very popular in the USA after WWII, and over 90% of baby boys born during the Cold War era (until the 1980′s) were automatically circumcised, with or without their parents’ consent. It is becoming less common nowadays. Nevertheless, a 2002 survey revealed that 79% of American men were circumcised. The prevalence was lower among Hispanic men, and lowest of all in men born outside the US.

Political correctness

Due to their great ethnic and religious diversity, Americans have developed a more acute sense of political correctness, in an attempt to attenuate frictions between the various groups. Europeans still associate very much with their place of birth with their ethnicity, language and culture. In fact, until recently, adjectives for language, ethnic group and nationality would often match (with notable exceptions, like Belgium and Switzerland). In the US (almost) everybody has the same nationality and language, and it is ethnicities and religions that differentiate people first, hence the greater importance for respect toward other ethnicities and religions in the USA.

In Europe the emphasis of respect is put on cultures and languages. Making aggressive jokes about a particular linguistic or cultural group (e.g. calling the French “cheese-eating monkies) because of the importance of cheese in French culture), for instance, is the equivalent of attacking a particular ethnic or religious group in the US. It’s a big no-no. However, making fun of religions is usually quite acceptable in Europe.

Food

Europeans all have a lot of traditional dishes from their region or city. Specialties tend to be very local, so that some pastries can be seen in one town, but not 100 km away.

Europeans eat more varied and balanced meals (especially in southern cultures) and less fast food than Americans (except maybe the Brits). Europeans eat more cheese (not just the French !), more yoghurts, and on average drink more wine and stronger beers than Americans.

Americans consume sweeter food and much more soft drinks than Europeans. US alcohol laws are much tougher than anywhere in Europe (see map of legal age to drink alcohol in Europe below).

Sports

It is interesting how the popularity of sports can be so different between Europe and North America. The most popular sports in ALL Europe is football (soccer), probably followed by tennis, cycling, and Formula 1 (as well as other motor races). In the US, soccer and F1 are far away in the popularity ranking. It is baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football that attract the crowds and make money. And as much as European sports lack popularity in the US, the reverse is true (except for basketball).

Dating & Marriage

While marriage is increasingly seen as a completely optional “folkloric tradition” in Europe, it is still quite important in the USA (probably because religion is also more important there). Statistically Americans marry much more than Europeans, but also divorce more. Gay marriage, now legal in several EU countries and hardly an issue for debate in Europe (because of the little importance of marriage in Europe nowadays), is still vehemently opposed by a big part of the US population.

Wedding ceremonies are also much more important and formal in the USA. In most of Europe it is limited to an informal family gathering (usually at the bride or groom’s parental home). Marriage traditions do vary considerably between European countries, and even more between families. But in average it is certainly less important than in the States (or in Asian countries for that matter).

Furthermore, there are some strong nationwide American traditions regarding wedding ceremonies, like bringing “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. There is obviously no equivalent thing at a European level, and most often not even at a national or regional level.

In fact, even the way of dating tends to follow so well-defined rules in the USA. For instance, there are widely followed conventions about sleeping on the 3rd date. Men know they shouldn’t expect to see a woman again if she insists to split the bill (“check” in AmE) at the end of their first date. The way of proposing, or buying an expensive ring are more important for Americans too. In Europe, the way of doing things is more informal and spontaneous, and can varies a lot from one region to another, and even on a person to person basis. Sometimes, that makes Europeans envious of how easy and clear things look in the USA in comparison. The drawback is that it seems too stereotypical, especially if you don’t like the conventions.

Nobility

Europe still has a class of noble people (restored in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism), and many countries will mention the title (e.g. Baron) in official documents. About 1% of family names still have a “noble particle” (uncapitalized “de”, “di”, “von”, “van”, etc.) and it does have a meaning for some people. Europe also has hundreds of thousands of castles reminding people on a nearly daily basis of the time where nobility once ruled over everything.

Military politics

It is prohibited in most of Europe for the military people, or anyone with a professional military history to become a politician. This means that they become politically ineligible. In the USA, the reverse is almost true. It is almost required to have a military history to become president, and quite a few Congress people have also served in the army. Maybe this is because the president’s image is still strongly associated with that of the “commander in chief”, and because defense (or offense) is so important in US politics.

Let’s also note the common use of gangsters and criminals in the US military for their “killing talents”, and the way they can pass from notorious criminals to national heroes – something mostly unheard of in Europe. The US government has even used this tactics in post-war Japan to fight communism by forgiving and rehabilitating convicted war criminals and yakuza leaders (some even became Prime Ministers with the support of the US, like Kishi Nobusuke).

This gigantic lagoon is located in the resort of San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo city, on the southern coast of Chile.

The Guiness Book of World Records has named it the largest pool in the world. How big is it? – over a kilometer long (3,323 feet), covering 20 acres and containing  250,000 cubic meters of water.

And the collapse did not stop there. From the United States to Iceland to Kazakhstan, banks and insurance companies were either acquired or merged or went belly-up thanks to a fatal combination of pure greed, bizarre financial instruments, and the sub-prime crisis that swept America. The shocking results left the world gasping.

There was a time when experts, analysts, rating agencies found it very easy to describe the best banks. The bank with the largest asset under management was the ‘best’ bank. But now in banking parlance, large often means ‘bad’.

In a recent study, Economy Watch and the Economist came to a conclusion that instead of depending on the ‘fatally flawed assumption that all assets are created equally, and that they won’t decline in value en masse’, it is better to focus on quality of assets, cash flows and management.

This very unique study threw up an interesting list of which could be the world’s top 10 banks.

JP Morgan Chase & Co

JP Morgan Chase & Co is a leading global financial services firm with operations in more than 50 countries and has its corporate headquarters in New York City. Under the JPMorgan and Chase brands, it serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients.

One of the world’s oldest, largest and best-known financial institutions, the firm is a leader in investment banking; financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking; financial transaction processing; asset management; and private equity.

JP Morgan Chase & Co is built on the foundation of more than 1,000 predecessor institutions that have come together over the years to form today’s company. The many well-known heritage banks include JP Morgan & Co, The Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co, Chemical Bank, The First National Bank of Chicago and National Bank of Detroit.

JPMorgan Chase & Co reported first-quarter 2009 net income of $2.1 billion, compared with net income of $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2008.

Jamie Dimon is the bank’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Meltdown fallout:
Acquired: Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual (WaMu).

Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse can look back on a history stretching over 150 years.

On July 5, 1856, prominent Swiss politician, business leader, and pioneer Alfred Escher founded ‘Schweizerische Kreditanstalt’. The original purpose of the new bank was to finance the expansion of a railroad network as well as further industrialisation in Switzerland. The founding of the company was a huge success.

What was once just a Swiss investment bank gradually developed into a globally active and integrated universal bank.

Credit Suisse provides companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth private clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland, with advisory services, comprehensive solutions, and innovative products.

Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Credit Suisse is active in over 50 countries and employs more than 46,000 people from approximately 100 different nations.

Brady W Dougan is its chief executive officer.

Credit Suisse Group reported net income of *CHF 2.0 billion in the first quarter of 2009

Meltdown fallout:
Credit Suisse was an early victim of toxic assets, but it moved quicker than competitors to get those off its books or write off completely.

*CHF = Swiss Franc

Goldman Sachs Group Inc

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities and investment management services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

It was founded in 1869 by German Jewish immigrant Marcus Goldman. And when Goldman’s son-in-law Samuel Sachs joined the firm’s name was changed to Goldman Sachs.

It was invited to join the New York Stock Exchange in 1896. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centres around the world.

Lloyd C Blankfein is the chairman and chief executive officer.

The company reported a better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $3.23/share.

Meltdown fallout:

Goldman Sachs got help from Berkshire Hathaway, which bought $5 billion in Goldman’s preferred stock, and got also warrants to buy another $5 billion in Goldman’s common stock.

Goldman also received $10 billion of capital from the American government in October 2008, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Blackstone Group

In 1985, Stephen A Schwarzman and Peter G Peterson, who retired from the firm in 2008, co-founded the Blackstone Group with a shared secretary and a balance sheet of $400,000.

Today Blackstone is a leading global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services listed on the New York Stock Exchange with total fee-earnings assets under management of $92.2 billion as of March 31, 2009.

Since inception, the New York-based Blackstone has completed investments in such notable companies as Hilton Hotels Corporation, Equity Office Properties, Allied Waste, AlliedBarton, United Biscuits, Freescale Semiconductor, Nielsen Company, Biomet, Michaels Stores and Travelport.

Stephen A Schwarzman is the chairman and chief executive officer.

Economic net income was a loss of $93 million for the first quarter of 2009, significantly better than the loss of $827 million in the fourth quarter of 2008

Meltdown fallout:

Blackstone Group may be the key mega entrant of the Financial Crisis.

Banco Santander

Banco Santander’s history began on May 15, 1857, when Queen Isabel II (of Spain) signed a royal decree authorising the incorporation of the founding of bank.

Right from the start it was a bank open to the outside world, being initially linked to trade between the port of Santander in the north of Spain and Latin America.

In 2007, Santander held its 150th anniversary as the world’s 12th largest bank by market cap, the 7th in terms of profit and the bank with the largest retail network in the western world, with 10,852 branches.

Emilio Botin is the chairman of the board and Alfredo Saenz Abad is the chief executive officer.

Banco Santander’s net attributable profit in the first quarter of 2009 was euro 2.1 billion, a decrease of 5 per cent from last year, but an increase of 8 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.

Meltdown fallout:
Acquired:

• British retail and mortgage bank Alliance and Leicester of Great Britain
• British Diversified financial services firm Bradford and Bingley Wyomissing, Pennsylvania (USA) based Sovereign Bank.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the largest bank in the world. It is one of China’s ‘Big Four’ state-owned commercial banks (the other three being the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank).

It is the largest bank in the world in terms of market value and one of the world’s top ten banks by assets.

It was founded as a limited company on January 1, 1984. As of 2006, it had assets of RMB 7,055 billion ($893 billion), with over 18,000 outlets including 106 overseas branches.

ICBC was simultaneously listed on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange on 27 October 2006. It was the world’s largest IPO to date.

Jiang Jianqing, is chairman and executive director.

Meltdown fallout:

Goldman Sachs recently sold about $1.9 billion worth of shares in ICBC at a discount of 4 to 6 per cent.

Standard Chartered Bank

Headquartered in London, Standard Chartered Bank operations in more than seventy countries and has a network of over 1,700 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) and employs 73,000 people.

Despite its British base, it has few customers in the United Kingdom and 90 per cent of its profits come from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Standard Chartered is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Its largest shareholder is Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

The name Standard Chartered comes from the two original banks from which it was founded and which merged in 1969 — The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and The Standard Bank of British South Africa.

The Chartered Bank was founded by Scotsman James Wilson following the grant of a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1853, while The Standard Bank was founded in the Cape Province of South Africa in 1862 by another Scotsman John Paterson.

Peter Sands is the current chief executive officer.

On February 29 2008, Standard Chartered PLC announced it has received all the required approvals leading to the completion of its acquisition of American Express Bank Ltd from the American Express Company. The total cash consideration for the acquisition is $823 million.

Rabobank

Rabobank’s roots lie in agriculture. In 1898 two separate cooperative banks – the Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Bank in Utrecht and the Cooperatieve Centrale Boerenleenbank in Eindhoven – were founded by enterprising rural folk, who, with little access to the capital market, decided to help one another.

The two banks served their rural communities independently for three-quarters till they merged in 1972.

Rabobank opened branch offices in Europe, North America, Asia and South America and entered into strategic alliances with European partners.

In terms of Tier-1 capital, the organisation is among the world’s fifteen largest financial institutions.

Meltdown effect:

Previously considered a laggard, this Dutch bank is now hailed as far-sighted for his conservation mode of operation.

The Bank of New York Mellon

Established in 2007 from the merger of Mellon Financial Corporation and The Bank of New York Company, Inc, The Bank of New York Mellon is a leading asset management and securities services company. Headquartered in New York, the bank has $19.5 trillion in assets under custody or administration and $881 billion under management.

It helps organisations build assets, enhance performance, improve operating efficiency and reduce risk through a wide range of asset management and securities services solutions.

For individuals, it offers sophisticated financial solutions, including investment and wealth management, private banking and shareowner services.

Robert P Kelly is the chairman and chief executive officer.

On June 9, 2009, The Bank of New York Mellon celebrated its 225th anniversary.

Meltdown effect:

The bank boasts of negative toxic assets, as unlike regular banks it provides custodian services and do not put its own capital at risk.

BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is the European leader in banking and financial services, with a significant and growing presence in the United States and leading positions in Asia. The Group has one of the largest international banking networks, a presence in over 85 countries and 172,300 employees.

BNP Paribas is the largest bank in the Eurozone by total assets and second largest by market capitalization according to The Banker magazine.

Baudouin Prot is the chief executive officer.

In the first quarter of 2009 BNP Paribas posted a very solid performance enabling it to generate a net profit of euro 1,558 million.

Meltdown fallout:

Once BNP Paribas buys a majority stake in Fortis Bank of Belgium it will become eurozone’s largest deposit holder through its positions in Belgium and Luxembourg.

A slide allows quick access from  different floors ….
There are also poles available … they  are similar to the ones used in fire stations

Employees can eat all they want from a vast choice of food and drink.

Each employee has at least two large screens. There are 4-6 ‘Zooglers’ per office.

Large boards are available just about everywhere because ‘ideas don’t always come when seated in the office’ says one of Googles managers.

Pool tables, video games etc. are  available in many areas.

Problem with your computer ?  No problem ….Bring it to this area where drinks are available while it is being fixed

On each floor, there are private cabin areas where employees can attend to personal  affairs.

Professional masseurs (eusses) available.

This room provides massage chairs that you control … while you view relaxing aquariums ..

 There are many books in this  library … even some about programming !!