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Expats living in Australia need to keep a close eye on their UK debit and credit cards as retailers in the country increasingly move towards lowered security

Australia is among the most popular destinations for emigrating Brits, with over 100,000 moving Down Under between 2005 and 2010. While most living abroad open accounts in their new home, a 2010 study revealed that more than half those Brits that emigrated over five years ago retained a UK current account.

However, little-used cards that sit in a drawer forgotten could pose a big threat to those living Down Under. Last year, a payment system was introduced that removes the need for a pin or signature for transactions under AU$35 (£24). Companies involved so far include the country’s main supermarkets Coles and Woolworths (Xetra: 886853 - news) , McDonald’s and K-Mart. Unlike contactless payment systems, which only work with specially issued cards, the system works with existing cards, including those issued overseas, confirmed Mark Austin of Visa Europe .

“A UK card used at the participating merchants will work without a signature or PIN for transactions under AU$35. This is true whether the card is used via the chip or via the magstripe. It will work as long as the issuing bank approves this transaction; an issuer could choose to decline the transaction if they felt that it was too risky,” said Austin.

Consumer groups in Australia have raised concerns about these “time-saving” measures and the fact there is no way cardholders can opt out. Card issuers and retailers claim the low limit deters thieves, but fraudsters could still run up a big bill by making lots of small transactions.

However, the UK Cards Association confirmed that UK cardholders would not be liable if someone stole their card and used it in such a manner, so long as any unauthorised use was reported to the card issuer within 13 months as required by the Payment Services Regulations.

“If the retailer decided not to take a pin or a signature, the onus is on the bank to prove that the customer was negligent,” said a UK Cards Association spokesperson.

“In the case of fraudulent use, the cardholder is protected by the same liabilities and chargeback rights as in the UK,” added Austin.

Given that the Financial Ombudsman has said that dealing with complaints about disputed transactions forms a significant part of its workload, it seems banks can be difficult when it comes to unauthorised card use. Those living in Australia are advised to be extra vigilant about the whereabouts of all their cards and report any loss immediately.

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Expats in Australia warned about card fraud

(Asia One) - India's top cop has spoken. He says his countrymen are the largest depositors in foreign banks. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director A.P. Singh said in Delhi on Feb 13 that Indians have illegally deposited an estimated US$500 billion (S$622 billion) in overseas tax havens such as Mauritius, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and the British Virgin Islands.

The Press Trust of India reported that he revealed this at the opening of the first Interpol global programme on anti-corruption and asset recovery in the Indian capital. This amount is more than twice India's external debt and close to 30 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) of US$1.85 trillion last year.

In a November 2010 report, United States-based Global Financial Integrity said India had lost more than US$460 billion between 1948, a year after its independence, and 2008 because of companies and the rich illegally funnelling their wealth overseas.

India Today noted that Mr Singh took a swipe at some of the countries ranked at the top of the honesty chart by Transparency International Index and said 53 per cent of these "least corrupt" countries are favourite destinations for parking black money by individuals and firms.

"For the criminals, it only involves setting up a few shell companies and making layered transfers from one account to another within hours as there are no boundaries in banking transactions," he said.

DNA reported that the CBI director said the jurisdiction in criminal law is territorial and does not apply to other nations. "Criminals use such principles to their advantage by often spreading the crime over at least two jurisdictions and investing in a third," MrSingh said.

He said that differences in legal systems, high costs in coordinating investigations, inadequate international cooperation and bank secrecy have made the task difficult for the anti-corruption authorities.

"Tracing, freezing, confiscation, and then repatriation of stolen assets is a legal challenge.

Managing the asset recovery investigation is complex, time consuming, costly and, most importantly, requires expertise and political will," he added.

The CBI headquarters in Delhi is hosting the six-day event and 39 police officers, investigators and prosecutors from several Interpol member countries are participating. The programme is a first of its kind in which investigators learn ways to identify the assets created out of corrupt practices.

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Indians have $622 billion in tax havens

For once, some offshore savers are getting a better deal than savers onshore

The third anniversary of base rate at 0.5pc falls next month and will surely be marked by the Bank of England yet again leaving it at this low level.

It’s been a long hard three years for savers, particularly those offshore, and there’s no immediate sign of things changing. But there are some reasons for expat savers to be cheerful including how, for once, some are getting a better deal than onshore savers.

Most UK expats will have at least some of their financial affairs, such as their pension, based in their mother country And that means that like it or not, the inflation rate in the UK remains important. Last week there was a sizeable fall in inflation: which is good news for savers.

Anna Bowes, director of savings website http://www.savingschampion.co.uk , said: “It’s encouraging news for savers that inflation has dropped quite dramatically from 4.2pc to 3.6pc, especially for those who rely on their savings. However, it’s still clear that savers have a long way to go to recoup the losses in real terms, since interest rates hit an all-time low and inflation has been rising in recent years.”

She (SNP: ^SHEY - news) added: “The news does give savers a little light at the end of the tunnel, giving some the chance to make a small 'real’ return on some accounts, although it’s tougher for those in offshore accounts because the rates don’t seem to offer as much as in the UK.”

With inflation at 3.6pc, expats will need to opt for a fixed rate lasting for longer than a year to get a real return. And this might be a good idea anyway, given that a fall in inflation probably makes it even less likely that the Bank of England will increase base rate in the near future.

Indeed, Sir Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, hinted that base rate will stay at 0.5pc until 2014 although some experts say it could remain at this level until 2017. Sir Mervyn said that he had “deep sympathy with those who… suddenly find that the returns on their savings have reached, as I said, negligible levels”.

But he said that were interest rates increased to 4pc or 5pc, it may give the impression that savings returns had increased but the overall effects would not be positive. “I think that many savers would find that the value of their wealth would fall more than enough to offset the apparently higher yield and everyone would be worse off,” he said.

However, here’s some good news for offshore savers: in some cases they are getting better deals than or identical rates to those available to onshore savers.

Take for example AIB International ’s 12 month fixed rate of 3.5pc. On the UK mainland, its sister bank Allied Irish Bank GB is paying 3.4pc. It was paying 3.5pc but the rate was cut on Valentine’s Day. This could of course mean that a rate cut is imminent offshore, but two other providers Clydesdale International and Permanent Bank International (formerly known as Irish Nationwide IOM) are also paying 3.5pc.

Clydesdale International’s one-year rate is higher than its onshore sister, Clydesdale Bank, is paying for UK residents the rate is 3.2pc. And Permanent Bank’s one year rate of 3.5pc beats the 3.25pc its owner Permanent TSB (KOSDAQ: 045340.KQ - news) is paying on €10,000 or more for residents in its Irish homeland.

Over two years, Clydesdale International’s 3.8pc is higher than than the 3.6pc Clydesdale Bank pays onshore and Alliance & Leicester’s 3.7pc can be matched onshore by its parent, Santander (Madrid: SAN.MC - news) .

For five years, the picture is more mixed. Lloyds TSB International ’s 4.5pc can’t be beaten onshore by any others in the Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY.L - news) of companies, with the best deal from the Lloyds family 4.25pc fixed for five years from the Halifax. Clydesdale International’s rate of 4.3pc can’t be beaten by the 4.25pc offered by Clydesdale Bank in the UK. Alliance & Leicester 's UK parent Santander doesn’t currently have a five-year fixed rate to compare its deal with.

While it’s good news that in some cases offshore savers are beating those onshore, it’s worth remembering that this could mean deals may be withdrawn. Fixed rate deals can be taken off the market and repriced at any time. Although this doesn’t tend to happen quite so fast offshore as it does onshore, you should be aware of this risk if you find a rate that’s particularly attractive. Others are likely to feel the same way: which means it could disappear without notice. Charlotte Beugge used tables compiled by Moneyfacts.co.uk in the writing of this article Moneyfacts.co.uk the comparison site you can’t afford to ignore

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Expat rates: reasons to be cheerful

Apple may be hitting new all-time highs and trading with a forward P/E of "just" 11.6, making it a value stock, but many other hot Internet and technology stocks don't look quite so cheap. Just the opposite. Many are trading at nosebleed levels.

Yet the justification has always been that you're paying for growth and that growth doesn't come cheaply. After all, investors must pay a premium to buy into the hottest technologies.

As the 2012 stock rally advances, however, many of these stocks have also seen big gains and that has pushed their P/E ratios even higher.

Take a look at the forward P/Es of some of the glamour companies and their expected growth rates:

1. Pandora (NYSE:P - News)
P/E of 1235
EPS growth: expected to lose a penny in fiscal 2012 and make a penny in fiscal 2013 for 172.4% growth

2. LinkedIn (:LNKD)
P/E of 356
EPS growth: 89.2%

3. Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM - News)
P/E of 324
EPS growth: an actual decline of 73% in fiscal 2012

4. Zillow (NasdaqGS:Z - News)
P/E of 133
EPS growth: 264%

5. Groupon (NasdaqGS:GRPN - News)
P/E of 73
EPS Growth: 127%

Has irrational exuberance again gripped some segments of the technology sector?

Will investors get burned?

Read the analyst report on P

Read the analyst report on LNDK

Read the analyst report on CRM

Read the analyst report on Z

Read the analyst report on GRPN

Zacks Investment Research

More From Zacks.com

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Are Tech Stocks Getting Bubblicious?

Marketing your home is the most important step when selling a home. This is also the same when it comes to Miami commercial real estate landlords. In order for your property to gather enough interests to increase the possibility of lease, you have to take advantage of the many ways of advertising a real estate property. Fortunately there are plenty of options to choose from.

The first and obvious choice is the local newspaper and magazines. Traditional publications are still effective way of advertising your Miami commercial real estate property. There are still people who still go for the classified ads section when trying to look for things that they want, be it a job or a real estate property. You can improve your chances by choosing a real estate newspaper or magazine. When it comes to marketing, you need to use as much methods as you can to boost your success.

Another way for you to market your property is through the television. Though there are plenty of people who use the internet in watching their favorite show there are still plenty of people who prefer to do it in a traditional way. The power of television marketing is very huge and for sure you can get some prospects through this method. But of course it is very important that you are ready for the television ads because this is very expensive depending on the time slot in which you are planning to place your television ads.

Internet is also one of the most suitable places to advertise your Miami commercial real estate property and sometimes this method does not cost you even a single penny. Now there are plenty of listings websites that you can use. There are some websites that combines residential properties with commercial ones, while there are also others that solely deal for commercial or residential. But, online listings are great advertising channels for your property. Especially now that there are much as 90% of buyers and investors who are taking their property search to the internet, you can certainly get the attention you intend your property gain through online marketing.

Another way for you to market your Miami commercial real estate property is through billboards. You will surely earn the exposure that your property deserves from both local and outside investors. What makes these billboards great is your chance to have a 24/7 marketing exposure. Once you put ads up, you can sleep at night knowing that there are prospective buyers who will notice it. But of course it is very important to seek a location for your advertising campaign. Highway or street that gets substantial amount of traffic is a great choice for this type of strategy.

Ella Ayson
Miami Commercial Real Estate

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Advertising Your Miami Commercial Real Estate Property Effectively