Why do we call dollars “bucks”?

Once again, found this in the depths of the Wikiverse…

The colloquialism buck (much like the British term “quid“) is often used to refer to dollars of various nations, including the U.S. dollar. This term, dating to the 18th century, may have originated with the colonial fur trade. Greenback is another nickname originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln to finance the costs of the Civil War for the North. The original note was printed in black and green on the back side. It is still used to refer to the U.S. dollar (but not to the dollars of other countries)…

Your “Mark-to-Market” Cheat Sheet

By Matthew Philips
For Newsweek.com

To most people, it’s an arcane accounting rule. But to bankers, it’s the whole ballgame: “mark to market” pricing is the practice of requiring banks to value their assets based on their current market value. Not what banks paid for those assets yesterday. Not what they could get for them in, say, a year or two when the financial industry has settled down. What they could get right now. Which is basically bubkes. Banks have been pleading for this requirement to be lifted since the credit crisis began, and last week they got their wish. Confused? Here are four things you need to know about “mark to market” in order to sound smart at a cocktail party…

The Top 10 Highest Paid Politicians

From TimesOnline.co.uk…

1. Lee Hsien Loong – Singapore

Salary in dollars – $2.47 million

Salary in local currency – S$3.76 million

2. Donald Tsang Yum-Kuen – Hong Kong

Salary in dollars – $516,000

Salary in local currency – HK$4 million

3. Barack Obama – United States

Salary in dollars – $400,000

4. Brian Cowen – Ireland

Salary in dollars – $341,000

Salary in local currency – €257,000

5. Nicolas Sarkozy – France

Salary in dollars – $318,000

Salary in local currency – €240,000

6. Angela Merkel – Germany

Salary in dollars – $303,000

Salary in local currency – €228,000

7. Gordon Brown – UK

Salary in dollars – $279,000

Salary in local currency – £194,250

8. Stephen Harper – Canada

Salary in dollars – $246,000

Salary in local currency – C$311,000

9. Taro Aso – Japan

Salary in dollars – $243,000

Salary in local currency – Y24 million

10. Kevin Rudd – Australia

Salary in dollars – $229,000

Salary in local currency – A$330,000

The World’s Most Worthless Money

From Portfolio.com…

Zimbabwe: As Americans worry about the rate of inflation exceeding 4 percent, we should consider Zimbabwe, where the inflation rate broke the shocking 100,000 percent mark and the country released a 10 million-dollar note (now valued below $4 on the black market). But Zimbabwe’s currency is hardly the only one inflated beyond reason. —George Quraishi

Vietnam: 500,000-dong note. U.S. value: $31.37. An early-1980s U.S. embargo hobbled exports, leading to price controls and the printing of excess currency.

Indonesia: 100,000-rupiah note. U.S. value: $11.05. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the rupiah lost 80 percent of its value within months, sparking riots in Jakarta (and soon ending President Suharto’s 32-year rule).

Iran: 50,000-rial note. U.S. value: $5.35. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran’s inflation rate has hovered around 15 percent, thanks in part to ever-rising oil prices.

São Tomé: 50,000-dobra note. U.S. value: $3.47. This African island nation’s economy is tied to the volatile price of its chief export, cocoa, and is measured against its trading partners’ robust euro.

Guinea: 10,000-franc note. U.S. value: $2.33. In 2002, the mineral-rich African country refused to implement reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund; foreign cash dried up, and the central bank printed too much money.

(Photos by Tim Hout and Dalia Nassimi)

How To Pay Off All Your Debt [worth reading if you’re a loaning college student like me]

By J.D. Roth
ZenHabits.net
June 22, 2008
Click here for the original article

Last December, after twenty years of owing money, I finally paid off all of my debt (except the mortgage — and I’m working on that). Co-incidentally, Leo paid off his debt at the exact same time. I didn’t pay off my debt overnight. It took many years, and I made plenty of mistakes. But with patience and perseverance, I met my goal.

Along the way, I learned that for many people (including me), debt elimination involves three main steps:

1. Stop acquiring new debt.
2. Establish an emergency fund.
3. Attack existing debt.

Based on my experience and the experience of many of my readers, I’ve compiled a brief guide to getting out of debt. The hints and tips below worked for me. They should work for most others in similar situations…

Click here for the full article