eCommerce Associates

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, officially launched the UK boiler scheme in the company of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, they may well have pulled of the public relations coup of the century, Because, either by accident or design, with most of Britain up to their knees in snow and ice, as the UK suffers its coldest winter in close to thirty years

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband on launching the scheme, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown proudly beaming in the background pointed out the advantages of his brainchild by saying "The boiler scrappage scheme will not just save around £200 off heating bills per year for families that are replacing their old boilers

Two popular UK myths were exploded this week, one in close succession to the other. The first was that the weather it can get colder and the other was that British Gas could improve their already generous offer to match the government's new £400 boiler scrappage allowance announced last week.

Statistics now show that more than sixty percent of the working population are living on a day to day basis with this fear, and are increasingly fretful, largely due to increasing silence from both the banks and the government on policy regarding repossessions. Many of the public feel that the government has paid too much attention on bailing out the banks and insurance companies, and not on providing some form of "safety net" for home owners.

Falling fast in the footsteps of HSBC who enjoyed some fabulous success with their recent rights issue, it looks like 2009 will be the year of the rights issue in the UK. So far, seventeen British companies have been successful in rising close to £25billion through share issues, twenty times more than raised in the first three months of 2008 through rights issues.

The initial fury of the current recession appears to be waning, and the World seems to be now well aware of what is required to control and contain it. There is a mood of cautious optimism around and the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be shining bright and clear. However when will we know when the global downturn is behind us? The answer is when the UK service industry gets back to full steam.

Estimates from a leading Bank of England policymaker over the weekend that the UK government will be obliged to spend up to 90 billion pounds to prevent the unemployment crisis from permanently damaging the economy was not exactly what anyone wanted to hear this weekend, as further frighteningly significant figures were being bandied about as to the plunging state of the country's economy. The investment will be needed to help to create up to three quarter of a million jobs in the public sector.

Liquidators of the bankrupt Wall Street merchant bankers, Lehman Brothers have posed some questions to Barclays Bank Plc that may cause the bank no little discomfort. The questions, set by Bryan Marsal of Alvarez & Marsal charged with liquidating the company, are around the estimated $3.3billion that the UK bank received when it acquired part of the Lehman Brothers towards the end of last year.

On the high street, Jessops the camera and video equipment retail chain announced over the weekend that they are set to breach their borrowing lending agreements, as it posted widening losses with the company auditors raising questions over their future survival. The 230-store retailer said it was not likely to meet its banking covenants and that it is in discussions with banks about putting in place a new covenant test and restructuring its net debt of £57.4m.

So what should you do? Here are ten ideas for the way that you can ask that all important question, will you marry me. Now, if you’re not a romantic, you’re going to struggle with this whole concept. You might ask, what’s wrong with asking while watching an episode of East Enders, or waiting for the traffic lights whilst in the car going to work? Because, quite simply, you have to try harder than that. Hopefully, in your time on this mortal coil, you’re not going to be asking the question