Retiring from active life calls for a huge emotional, mental and psychological shift! For one, age is not on your side. For another this is the time when one is more likely to have physical problems and not be as physically fit as in one’s youth. Yet, it is only half the population of Americans who have any kind of retirement plan. One of President Obama’s economic plans deals with getting people to save, and one of the methods proposed is the Individual Retirement Arrangement or the IRA.

In President Obama’s budget for 2010, employers will be required to enroll all their workers in the IRA. This is a retirement plan account, and allows for tax advantages on retirement savings. For example, there is a 50% match on the first $1000 of retirement savings if the family earns less than $65,000. It is also fully refundable. Employees may opt out of they wish. The options for saving are in the form of bonds, stocks, cash, or a new government bond, the R-bond. What finance experts believe is that once Americans begin saving, they will become investors. There are arguments both for and against the IRA, but as a beginning, it cannot be faulted. It is important for people to live with dignity in their retirement.

A landmark in American politics was the Congress approving a bill that would curb heat-trapping gases that are linked to change in the climate. President Obama worked tirelessly for this because he believed that it was time that America confronted this problem and took up the challenge to do something about it. He clearly wants a clean-energy economy. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and former VP Al Gore personally appealed to those who were undecided. Of course this is only a beginning, because the issue has to be debated by the Senate, but a beginning it is, nevertheless.

The legislation is not 100% perfect, and there are many compromises, and there were many groups that did not support it or were divided about it, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly endorsed the bill. The program is to commence in 2012. The goal to be worked towards is in two stages – in the first stage the greenhouse gases were to be reduced to 17% below the 2005 levels. This was to be effected by 2020. The second stage would show a reduction by 83%. This would be accomplished by mid-century. The bill included the production of renewable electricity. Billions of dollars were sanctioned for new energy products, subsidies for low-carbon agricultural processes, research on clean coal and the development of electric vehicles. All these would contribute significantly to the lowering of the greenhouse gases. It is time that America put her shoulder to this world-wide concern.

Many people in debt feel like there is nowhere to turn. However, help is at hand - and that help can often come in the form of debt advice.

This is available from many organisations, and is often offered for free. One example of debt advice is budgeting tips.

Budgeting

Budgeting simply means understanding and controlling your finances. It involves keeping track of your monthly income (everything your household receives/earns - salary, benefits, etc.) and your expenditure (everything your household spends/pays out - mortgage/rent payments, utility bills, essential living costs, etc.).

When you’re working out your ‘expenditure’, don’t include your payments to ‘non-priority’ debts - your unsecured debts, such as credit cards, store cards and unsecured loans. These debts are important, but staying on top of your priority debts, like your mortgage payments, is absolutely essential, as the consequences of not doing so can be so much more severe.

In order to work out a budget, you must first calculate your total income and your total expenditure (all your ‘priority’ debts, essential bills and living costs). After this, by subtracting your total expenditure from your total income, you will be left with your ‘disposable income’.

Your disposable income is the amount of money available on a monthly basis to put towards servicing (making the necessary payments to) your unsecured debts. If there is any money left after doing this, your disposable income can also be used for saving and purchasing ‘non-essential’/luxury items - or for ‘overpaying’ your debts, which will help you clear them more quickly and can save you a lot of money in interest payments.

Budgeting while in debt can help you make sure you have enough money set aside each month to cover all your financial commitments, including your unsecured debt repayments. If you find that your disposable income isn’t enough to cover those repayments, you should take immediate action - you could start by speaking to a professional debt adviser.

The ‘zero-sum’ mentality is the confrontationist’s attitude to a situation that might improve. People with ‘zero-sum’ mentality work behind the scenes, and look at improving relations between countries as a win or a defeat, thereby thriving in an unstable political situation. There are such people both in the US, and in Moscow. However, great things are in store at the Obama-Medvedev summit. President Obama is looking at establishing a multi-faceted relationship with Russia and while he is in talks with President Medvedev, there will be a business summit and a civil society summit taking place at the same time.

The talks will include reviews of the situation in Iran, the Mideast and North Korea. What is of interest is that there might also be discussions on climate change and energy efficiency. Typical to his style, Obama is not going to talk about various human rights issues that both countries face. The two countries are also going to announce the formation of a joint intergovernmental convention. President Obama is to meet with opposition politicians and will also give an interview to the Novaya Gazeta, which is an opposition newspaper. Murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya had worked for this paper. All-in-all, it does promise to be a summit with a difference.

After months of living on sustenance provided by the government in the form of financial help auto giant Chrysler finally filed for bankruptcy. Its sudden move adds to speculation that it may tie up with the FIAT brand to manufacture cleaner cars for the future.

Chrysler which is the nation’s third largest automobile manufacturer was forced to file for bankruptcy as a group of credit holders defied the court and government pressure to wipe out the debt piled up. The filing of bankruptcy by auto giant Chrysler is another nail in the coffin of auto mobile industry in America which has borne the brunt of the recession coupled with the rising fuel prices and customer tastes. Most of the manufacturing plants were shut down and workers asked to return home as Chrysler tried to make a last stand before going down. It has been said that the government has sunk about $25 billion in aid to Chrysler and General Motors during these few months.