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Book exchange; Confucious and bitcoin; Clever Kiwis; Housing hysteria redux; E-smokes

Personal Finance
Book exchange; Confucious and bitcoin; Clever Kiwis; Housing hysteria redux; E-smokes

By Amanda Morrall

1) The karma book exchange

I love books. Always have. Always will. But in the Buddhist spirit of detatchment lately I have been giving them away. As a reviewer of books (one of my many sidelines) I get them for free.

Thank goodness as the cost of them here in NZ is pretty steep. I'm also fortunate to have a very good friend who owns a book shops who practically gives them away with his generosity.

I'm in Bali now and after giving away my most recently reviewed book to my gracious hostess told me about the book exchanges here in Ubud.

Obviously people have been doing this informally for ages but with collaborative consumption starting to revolutionalise traditional business models, it's encouraging to see these types of exchanges popping up.

Here's some books to avoid or else stuff your beach bag with on your  next holiday via dailyfinance.

2) Bit coin mania

For those who haven't heard of Bitcoin, you should get to know this emerging phenomenon.

In a nut shell, it's a new currency for the web, issued by a non-for-profit organisation, completely unregulated by any central bank, and tantalisingly popular for transactions over the web.

If I was a central banker, or a commercial banker, I would be seriously listening to the users of bitcoin as to why they prefer it to existing currencies. Could it be the internet of money? We'll see, and it's far too early to tell, but it's certainly worth watching. Here's an article from the Financial Times examining why the Chinese are finding it popular.

3) Clever Kiwis

Encouraging news on the progress of New Zealand trade negotiations that will help to stimulate exports and business abroad. According to this blog from the Financial Times, NZ Inc is trading on its "good international citizen" status to open doors.

4) Housing hysteria deja vu

What goes up must come down and then back up, again. Just in case you thought housing confidence was an Australasian phenomenon, this article from the Telegraph tells a bullish story on the UK housing market.

All the money being printed of late, along with a modicum of confidence, is a heady mix for optimism.

5) E smokes

I'm not so sure my tobacco loving friend will be pleased if I substituted her request for duty free carcinogens with e-smokes but I'd be curious to see the look on her face after the first puff .

Could tobacco be to the 21st Century what Buggy Whips were to the 20th? Let's see. It's fascinating to see that, like other disruptive technologies, they are much cheaper.  

Either way, this USA Today article on how E-Cigarettes are testing current law makes interesting reading.

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