Tag: money

Politics

Cyprus The Latest Country To Get A Bailout

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Cyprus is the latest country to require a financial “bailout” from other European countries to keep its banks and economy from collapsing.

Like Greece, which was bailed out of an economic crisis last year, Cyprus is one of 17 countries in Europe that uses a type of currency, or money, called the Euro.

The problems for Cyprus began with the country’s banks, which loaned money to people who didn’t pay it back. Governments of other countries that use the Euro became nervous that Cyprus banks would fail if they were re-paid, and that the problems could spread to their countries.

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News Politics

Canadian Senators’ Expenses Being Reviewed

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Senators are people who are chosen to help make the laws in Canada.

But right now, some of the senators are getting attention because of money they are spending on travel, and on apartments or houses to live in while they sit in the Senate in Ottawa, Ont., Canada’s capital city.

Senators can get as much as $22,000 each year from Canadians or their living expenses, as long as their main residence is at least 100 kilometres away from Ottawa.

But people say that some of the senators are claiming money to pay for their homes even though they are not living in them when they claim to be.

In other cases, people say the homes that are being paid for by Canadians are the main place of residence, or where the senators live most of the time — not just when they have to help make laws in the Senate.

If that is the case, these people say, the senators should be paying the cost themselves.

The senators who are being questioned about whether Canadians should be paying their housing and travel expenses include former TV news personalities Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy.

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Lighter

Homeless Man Gives Back Valuable Ring

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What would you do if you had no money—and someone accidentally gave you something very valuable?

Would you return it to the person or would you assume that fate was smiling on you and take the money?

That was the decision faced by Billy Ray Harris, who lives in Kansas City.

But for him, it wasn’t a difficult decision at all.

Harris is a homeless man, who sometimes sleeps under a bridge.

Recently, he was asking people for spare change; Sarah Darling stopped and spilled all of the change from her change purse into his cup. Then she went on her way.

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News

Distribution Of Canadian Penny Ends

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The penny has been dropped from Canada’s currency.

On Feb. 4, the Royal Canadian Mint stopped sending pennies to banks and businesses.

The government decided that pennies cost too much to make and distribute. They estimate the country will save about $11-million by eliminating the penny.

Without a one-cent coin, many business transactions will change.

The Canadian government told businesses they can “round” cash sales to the nearest five-cent mark.

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Arts News

Cirque Du Soleil Lays Off 400 Employees

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Some of Cirque du Soleil’s performers will soon have their feet on the ground.

That’s because the fantastical circus company is laying off 400 employees.

Cirque employs about 5,000 people around the world, doing more than 100 types of jobs including performing.

Most of the lay-offs will be at the organization’s Montreal headquarters, according to an article in the Globe and Mail.

Cirque du Soleil is a famous Canadian performing troupe. According to Wikipedia, they describe themselves as “a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment.”

They were founded by two former street performers, Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix, about 30 years ago.

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Lighter News

Lottery Winner In BC Donates Money To Help Community

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When blankets arrived for the homeless and new cars appeared for those in need, people in the city of Terrace in British Columbia thought it must be magic.

It turned out the magic was coming from Bob Erb, 60, who won $25-million in a national lottery called Lotto Max.

Erb believes in sharing his wealth.

In fact, since he won the lottery about a month ago, he’s given away more than $7-million.

He has given money to the staff at the gas station where he bought the ticket.

He gave $20,000 to the man who sold him the ticket.

He’s given money and shoes to the homeless. And he’s helped support more than a dozen local businesses.

Erb has been buying lottery tickets for more than 40 years.

One day, the clerk he bought the ticket from accidentally rang up more “plays” than Erb had asked for. But he let it ride.

And it’s a good thing he did, because one of those plays hit the $25-million jackpot.

Erb’s generosity has helped his whole community.

The new vehicles he bought and gave away helped the car sellers have a better year.

And if people he chose didn’t need the vans, they passed them on to someone else in need.

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News

Bank Of Canada’s Loss Is England’s Gain

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On Monday, Mark Carney made news when he announced that he was leaving his job as Governor of the Bank of Canada to become the Governor of the Bank of England.

The governor of a country’s central bank watches over the country’s money, and sets interest rates for borrowing or lending money to governments and others.

The governor also has to make sure there is enough cash in government accounts to cover all the programs it runs.

The central bank’s governor sets policies and rules for money matters at the highest level.

Carney told reporters that he took the job with the Bank of England because it will be a challenge.

He meant that he wanted to see if he could do a harder, or different, job than what he is doing now.

England is part of the United Kingdom, which is a member of the European Union.

Right now, the European Union is facing big decisions to make sure Europe’s financial future is strong.

Carney will have to help England to make those decisions.

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Lighter

New Canadian Bills Can Melt If Left In A Hot Car

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The Bank of Canada recently unveiled the country’s new $20 bill.

The bills, like the recently updated $100s and $50s, are made of a polymer (a type of flexible plastic) instead of paper.

The new bills have a transparent “window” in them.

The new $20 bills are more environmentally friendly than the old bills, because they are more durable so they won’t have to be replaced as often. The government says they last 2.5 times longer than paper bills.

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Sports

Bad Calls By Replacement Refs Irritating NFL Players, Fans

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In any sport, referees sometimes make mistakes.

After all, no one’s perfect.

But major league football teams have been irritated by the unusually high number of bad mistakes made by the referees these days, including a bizarre call on Monday night.

The National Football League (NFL) is using stand-in refs.

The league’s usual referees are in a contract dispute and are unable to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

So the NFL has brought in replacement refs that aren’t as well trained or as experienced.

And they’re making some bad calls.

On Monday night, there was an especially poor call made by a ref that directly affected the outcome of a game.

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Sports

Lockout Threatens NHL Season

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The start of the NHL season, and the season in general, may not happen as expected.

The NHL has locked out its players.

For the second time in eight years, the NHL is experiencing problems between its owners and players.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement between players and owners has expired.

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