Earlier this week Immigration minister Damian Green announced the final iteration of the student visa rules, to come into effect on the 6th April. Students can currently stay in the UK for up to two years following the completion of their course, however the new rules mean that only those who graduate from a HEI, and have a job offer of £20,000 or more from “a reputable employer accredited by the UK Border Agency” will be able to stay. Whilst the changes have been promoted by the government as intended to clamp down on bogus colleges, universities have regularly warned the government that they will discourage lucrative overseas students from coming to the UK at all, detrimentally affecting the health of UK HEIs and the UK economy.  In a press release, Universities UK Chief Executive Nicola Dandridge said that “The UK is already losing market share in what is a growing market and reducing our competitiveness further will amount to a missed opportunity for growth. T Read more…

Consumers both reduced their debt and showed progress in making on-time payments across a number of financial products in 2011, Equifax said in a recent report.

Equifaxs December National Credit Trends Report showed two things clearly:

• Delinquency rates fell for many financial products
• Total debt levels dropped sharply

According to Equifax, the largest year-over-year improvement in delinquency rates (those with payments 60 or more days late) was seen with credit cards.

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Using cash back credit cards is rewarding in two specific ways. First, youre earning money when you spend. Thats the obvious part. But when you know that youre getting a rebate when you use your credit card, you also feel better about spending than you would otherwise. Feeling good can be dangerous, as you might make mistakes like spending more than you should while chasing that good feeling.

Thats why Ive identified ten traps for using cash back credit cards. The issuers know that many people will fail to handle their credit cards properly, and the resulting profit from customers mistakes helps pay for those cash back rebates.

Credit card users are generally aware of these traps and can avoiding them, but sometimes other problem occur, beyond the spenders control.

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The Bank of England, as was widely expected, is launching another round of QE in an effort to stimulate the economy.

On a day when industrial production and the trade deficit provided some good economic news the Bank notes that:

Some recent business surveys have painted a more positive picture and asset prices have risen. But the pace of expansion in the United Kingdom’s main export markets has also slowed and concerns remain about the indebtedness and competitiveness of some euro-area countries. A gradual strengthening of output growth later this year should be supported by a gentle recovery in household real incomes as inflation falls, together with the continued stimulus from monetary policy. But the drag from tight credit conditions and the fiscal consolidation together present a headwind. T

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Surpassing all previous fundraising rounds, privately-held medical device company ConforMIS, Inc. announced today that it has raised $89 million in a Series E round of funding, with additional funds beyond this amount committed upon meeting certain milestones. The company, which more than doubled its revenues in 2011, will use the funds to support ongoing sales and marketing expansion, R&D investment into new product lines, and build out of manufacturing infrastructure. The investments originated from private-equity funds in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Principal investors in the round include AGC Equity Partners and Axel Johnson, Inc., along with Government Investment Funds from Asia and the UAE.

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Have you ever set out to “window shop,” only to emerge with a bag full of items you never intended to buy, much less budgeted for? Alternatively, maybe your “retail Achilles heel” starts to rear its head when pass a particular store, or starts to feel excitement around a change in the weather or before an upcoming event.

More than likely, youll regret the unintentional spending spree, vowing to never again lose control, only to find yourself repeating the mistake down the road. Fear not. There i

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