House of Phindik

Owned by partners of 12 years Phindi (34) and Tshepo Kgaudi (38), the business designs unique red-sole shoes for production in Brazil.

The House of Phindi K, situated in Northcliff in Jozi, produces high quality and stylish shoes and bags for classy, elegant and influential women.

The business opened in 1999 after the two quit their day jobs to venture into fashion and to showcase their hidden talents.

The couple, who also own an exclusive, upmarket tourist agency, have an interior design background, so moving to pursue their passion for shoes was easy.

Their shoes range in price from R500 to R2300 and are designed with a sexy red-coloured sole and a durable tip made from special skateboard material and seven layers of bonding. source

Click here to visit there website

G 20 Summit Updates

World leaders open summit

U.S.-China relations in focus at 'G-2' summit

Analysis: Crisis may lead to new world order

Singapore sees India, China role growing

G20 leaders close to global deal

Africa faces battle for G20 spotlight

South Africa heads to the G20 summit tasked with being the voice for a continent where poor states are in danger of fading into the background as economic giants thrash out their woes.

With its own economy struggling to escape recession, Africa's powerhouse and sole G20 representative will have to focus the attention of world leaders on developing countries even harder hit by the global economic backwash. Continue reading here

"Women at Risk" Amid Economic Woes

The global economic crisis could put more women and girls at risk of violence, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has said on the occasion of International Women's Day.
With the World Bank predicting that 53 million more people could be pushed into poverty in developing countries this year, progress towards gender equality could be disrupted, Yakin Erturk said on Sunday. Continue reading

Torontonians Face 4% Property Tax Hike

I'm not happy about this at all.!!

"Despite these harsh economic times, Torontonians can expect to dig even deeper this year to pay out to the city. Councillor Paul Ainslie, a member of the budget committee, says this year homeowners can expect to fork over 4% more in property taxes. "

source

France gripped by mass strike to protest fallout from global economic crisis

An activist dressed as French president Nicolas Sarkozy demonstrates in Paris. More than a million French public sector workers staged a massive strike, as anger at Sarkozy's handling of the economic crisis erupted in a day of protest.Photo:Joel Saget/AFP

I really hope these strikes clear up by March because I'm planning on going to Paris that month with my mother for vacation.

France is being hit by a massive strike by public and private-sector workers fearful over the fallout from the global economic crisis.
Officials say the strike has shut down rail and subway lines and left millions of schoolchildren without their teachers. In Paris, commuters braved freezing temperatures and biked, walked and even took boats to work. Continue reading here

Caribbean braces for worst tourism since 9/11

Caribbean business leaders and government officials are bracing for what many expect to be the biggest downturn in tourism since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Meeting last week at the 32nd annual Miami Conference on the Caribbean and Central America, participants discussed a range of strategies to prop up regional tourism, including directing new marketing campaigns away from the United States toward countries such as Brazil, Mexico, China and India; focusing on people of color -- a growing segment of the U.S. market; and simplifying visa requirements and expediting entry and exit at airports.


''People traveling perceive a long, hard process as hostile,'' said Carol H. Williams, founder of Carol H. Williams Advertising, one of the nation's largest African-American agencies. Continue reading here

Global stock selloff

Global fears about the financial crisis deepened on Friday as stock markets the world over fell sharply and government officials scrambled to contain the damage.

Expectations for a coordinated response grew while the world's finance ministers and central bankers prepared to meet this weekend in Washington. President Bush is expected to make a statement about the financial crisis shortly after 10 a.m.

In the United States, stock futures were trading sharply lower - a sign that investors are bracing for a rough time at the opening bell.

European markets got off to a terrible start. Within the first 10 minutes of trading, London's FTSE, the CAC in Paris and the XETRA DAX in Frankfurt, Germany, had all sloughed off about 10% of their values.

European markets recovered some, but all were down generally 6% to 10% by late morning. Continue reading

Britain unveils $84B bank rescue plan

British Finance Minister Alistair Darling on Wednesday announced a £50 billion ($87.4 billion) rescue package for UK banks.

The plan will inject money into the banking system to provide immediate relief and free up lending, a Treasury statement said. The government will give the largest banks £25 billion ($43.7 billion) with another £25 billion available if desired.

The government will also guarantee the lending that banks make to each other, the Treasury said.

Darling made his announcement shortly before markets opened in Britain. London's FTSE 100 opened down 2.5 percent.

The chancellor said it was important for the British government to "send a clear message" that it can step in and help the financial industry amid the global economic crisis.

"We will stabilize the position, we'll help banks restructure so they can rebuild their strength, and also do everything we can -- whatever it takes -- to ensure that we get that stability and we try and steer our way through what is a pretty turbulent period," Darling told CNN affiliate ITN. Source

Toronto stocks drop 7 percent as U.S. rejects bailout

The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index tumbled nearly 7 percent on Monday, the biggest drop in eight years, as U.S. lawmakers rejected a proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial services sector, sending investors fleeing for the exits.

As the U.S. House voted to reject the Wall Street rescue plan, concerns mounted that the fallout from the crisis in the United States was spreading rapidly around the globe and that the world economy was headed for a sharp downturn.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 840.93 points, or 6.93 percent, to 11,285.07, its biggest percentage drop since October 2000, when markets were roiled by the bursting of the tech bubble. On a points basis, it was the biggest decline ever. continue reading

Bailout bill fails; Dow plunges

The fate of the Bush administration's $700 billion financial bailout plan was abruptly thrown in doubt Monday as a House vote turned against the controversial measure.
The next steps were not immediately clear but supporters were scrambling to put it up for another vote.
What was supposed to be a 15-minute vote stretched past the half-hour mark as leadership scrambled for support.
Investors who had been counting on the rescue plan sent the Dow Jones industrial average down as much as 700 points while watching the measure come up short of the necessary support, before rebounding slightly. The key stock reading was down more than 500 points.
The measure needs 218 votes for passage, but it came up 13 votes short of that target, as the final vote was 228 to 205 against. About 60% of Democrats voted for the measure, but less than a third of Republicans backed it.
President Bush is "very disappointed" by the House vote, his spokesman Tony Fratto said.
A four-hour debate included impassioned pleas for and against the measure from Democrats and Republicans alike. Even some of those arguing the legislation must be approved were quick to point out problems with it.
But in the end, the vote began with both Democratic and Republican leadership telling their members the only way to protect the economy from a spreading credit crunch was to vote for the difficult to swallow measure.
"Our time has run out," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. "We're going make a decision. There are no other choices, no other alternatives." source