Ratings agency - Is there a conflict of interest?

If you were a rating agency and company XYZ was paying you a fee for your service...you know that company XYZ's securities/bond offerings were of a poor quality, would you really write a report about them that would expose the securities/bonds as junk or report them as investment grade in order to raise additional fees?

Imagine it's mid 2007 today.
Pre-Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Before the worldwide market crashed. Before your retirement funds literally halved in market value. And if you live in the US, before your house valuation plummeted below your mortgage.

Would you behave differently knowing what you do now? We all would, if we could. As for Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and all those large investment banks, they would as well. After you read this, I hope you realise how important it is to perform your own research, investigation, analysis and due diligence on any fund, stock or security that you wish to invest in. Don't just rely on rating agencies guidance.

So what does 'credit rating' refer to? According to the definition provided by Wikipedia: "

A credit rating estimates the credit worthiness of an individual, corporation, or even a country. It is an evaluation made by credit bureaus of a borrower’s overall credit history.^[1] A credit rating is also known as an evaluation of a potential borrower's ability to repay debt, prepared by a credit bureau at the request of the lender (Black's Law Dictionary). Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities. Typically, a credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan. However, in recent years, credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums, determine employment eligibility, and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit.

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan, and thus leads to high interest rates, or the refusal of a loan by the creditor."

I've been tidying up my room, the massive piles of random articles, newspapaper clippings and magazines. Things that I found interesting at that time and wanted to re-read later. I found a few articles about the possible conflict of interest that undermine the rating agencies independence. These articles range between 2004 and 2007.

A Fortune magazine article (23 July 2007 edition) about Ohio attorney Marc Dann was quoted stating...

"The ratings agencies cashed a check every time one of these sub-prime pools was created and an offering was made...continued to rate these things AAA...among the people who aided and abetted this continuing fraud..."

Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch Ratings. The three main credit rating agencies that came under Dann's attack. Pensions and Mutal funds in the U.S hold only investment grade bonds so they are unable to invest in these bonds unless the bonds are rated. Below is a guideline of S&P and Moody's ratings structure:


A different report by Alec Klein suggest that:

"...they are free to set their own rules and practices, which sometimes leads to abuse, according to many inside and outside the industry...they have strong armed clients by threatening to withdraw their ratings- a move that can raise a borrower's interest payments"

He cites some examples of the rating agencies doing a bit of bullying in order to maintain their fees: Hannover Re (a German insurer), Compuware (a Detroit computer software maker).

Back in 2007, Moody's code of conduct was:

"Moody's has no obligations to perform, and does not perform, due diligence."

The Fortune article went on to state that '...the other two agencies [S&P and Fitch Ratings] have similar provisions...'

What's the whole point of using the ratings if the rating agencies don't perform 'due diligence'?! Not only have they absolved themselves from being responsible but they are saying we will rate the bonds/security/etc however we don't have to perform thorough checks and have no obligation to do so.

Katie Benner and Adam Lashinsky wrote:

"Dann and a growing legion of critics contend that the agencies dropped the ball by issuing investment-grade ratings on securities backed by subprime mortgages they should have known were shaky...In addition to receiving fees from bond issuers that want ratings, S&P, Moody's and fitch do not vet data provided by these customers..."

If only people took more notice of Marc Dann's foresight, his allegations and his opinion. Perhaps pension funds wouldn't have lost so much if they did. Even in 2007, ripples of the sub-prime problem was reaching the pages in our own Australian newspapers, albeit a small section hidden in the midst of the stockmarket 'boom' articles.

If there's anything to be learnt from the past 3 years recently, it's to perform your own due diligence and don't just rely on 'expert' opinion. If it's your own funds at stake, take control and do your research prior to investing in anything.

Help, my builders are crap and my neighbours are a$$holes!

So you've contracted builders to build your house or extend the house. Everything is going along swimmingly when you sign them up. Suddenly, as they start building, you notice that there hasn't been any mandatory council inspection during the builders progress. You also notice that the builder is flying along with his construction and some of their work is misaligned or simply, crap.

You've got problems and where can you go for help?

1)Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal - online application fo a dispute can be lodged with application fees ranging from $31-$167 (www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/cttt.html)

2)NSW Office of Fair Trading - www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/building There's helpful information and tips on how to construct contracts, decide on builders and resolving disputes

3)Insurance claim- All building work valued over $12,000 must be covered by home warranty insurance and builders must supply the owner with a certificate of insurance when the contract is signed. If your builder is insolvent you can direct your claim to the insurer specified onth certificate of insurance.

4)Legal action- www.lawsociety.com.au A directory of solicitors with a current practising certificate. This site is maintained by The Law Society of NSW

Vicious and unpleasant neighbours. I had a work colleague with a nasty neighbour. Their relationship deteriorated daily and he would start up his lawn mowing and drilling tools early in the morning every weekend just to drive my colleague insane. So what can you do about unpleasant neighbours?

1)NSW Department of Lands- www.lands.nsw.gov.au/land-management/dividing-fences They administer the Dividing Fences Act 1991. If you give your neighbour a written notice and there's no agreement reached after one month, the Local Land Board can adjudicate

2)Community Justice Centres- www.cjc.nsw.gov.au Available in NSW, they provide free mediation and conflict management services to assist with dispute resolution

3)Local courts- Civil issues valued up to $60,000 can be dealt with by the Chamber Magistrates

4)Local council- Councils can have compulsory notice powers for any disputes covered by the Local Government Act

5)Private legal action- www.lawsociety.com.au for solicitors

There's not really much you can do with annoying or unpleasant neighbours if they aren't breaching any laws. You can't really trade your neighbour too if you don't like them. It's always best to try and maintain a good relationship from the start.

You can however, ensure to some extent that you don't contract a crappy builder by ensuring they have all the relevant licences and registrations. That they have insurance covering their work. Don't pay the entire balance up front but in stages of completion. Check for references. See what work they have done in the past. Doing the legwork before contracting them can prevent a lot of headaches later.

Financial woes and getting help through counselling

Financial counselling and how it can help your financial woes.

If you're struggling with financial problems then it can help to have an objective, third party assist you. Financial difficulties may arise when you lose your job, have had your hours reduced, have an illness or have over committed. Don't wait until the problem is catastrophic, seek help early and you will have more options available. There are a few agencies around Australia that provide face-to-face counselling and also counselling by phone.

1)Financial Ombudsman Service (www.fos.org.au) 1300 78 08 08- Fair and independent dispute resolution for consumers and financial service providers
2)Care Inc Financial Counselling Service (www.carefcs.org) - Based in Canberra, offering drop-in programs and limited hours phone service
3)MoneyHelp Financial Counselling (www.moneyhelp.org.au) 1800 149 689 - A Victorian State Government initiative offering tools and advice for those who lost their jobs and struggle with bills and debts.

Some solutions that they may help you to negotiate if you don't know how to negotiate yourself include: budgeting assistance, negotiating a revised repayment schedule, extension of time on bills and debts due on certain dates, reduced interest rates, moratorium on payments for a period of time until you are able to meet your repayments in full.

It's may be too late to seek help when you're being serve a 'default notice' (borrowers have to pay overdue amounts within 30 days) or a 'statement of claim' which is calling in the loan due to failure to pay the default notice previously issued.

Never ignore your financial problems.

1) Contact your creditors straight away and request hardship variation. Most creditors will either assist you with organising a payment plan or a moratorium on their bills.

2) Prepare an income and expenditure statement (budget) list for your creditors. Submit your requests in writing.

3) Keep your creditors in the loop regarding your financial situation and do not ignore their correspondence. Seek help for anything you do not understand anything.

4) If they refuse to negotiate, request them to review their decision. If you are unhappy with their response, contact the financial counselling services listed above for assistance.

5) If they threaten legal action, ensure you see legal or financial assistance/counselling immediately.

6) Your Financial Services Provider may not alter your repayments and they don't have to. However, they 'must look at your current financial postion' and possibly ask you for more information 'to asses how they may be able to assist you.'

7) The Financial Ombudsman Service can award compensation on fees and interest if the Financial Services Provider has not followed procedures correctly.

Starting from January 2010, as a last resort, the Financial Ombudsman Service can now make the credit provider change the repayments for some credit contracts depending on the type and size of the credit facility:

* Most credit card contracts
* Personal loans
* Car loans
* Some home loans from January 2011 (if they are less than $500,000)

The will only pursue this option after they have analysed your financial situation and ability to meet a variation to the credit contract. Seek help as soon as you start experiencing financial difficulties. With a bit of good planning, you may beable to avert bankruptcies and financial disaster by negotiating new arrangements with creditors unti you can resume payment again.

Superannuation contribution limits

Were you planning to make extra contributions to your super fund by salary sacrificing? Beware that you do not exceed your Contributions Cap.

Working Australian Residents:

There are strict penalties if you exceed your Contributions Cap - you will be personally liable for the new tax - Excess contributions Tax. It is your responsibility to monitor your contributions.

Calculating the amount of your voluntary concessional contributions allowable to prevent the Excess contributions tax:

2009/2010 Concessional contributions cap for individuals under 50 years of age = $25,000 - 9% SG portion

2009/2010, 10/11, 11/12 Concessional contributions cap for individuals aged 50 and over = $50,000 - 9% SG portion

2009/2010 Non-concessional contributions cap is $150,000/annum. In future, the cap will be calculated as 6 times the level of the indexed concessional contributions cap.

Temporary Residents in Australia

If you hold an eligible temporary resident visa (Visa), you must claim your super benefit from your super fun within 6 months after the Visa being cancelled/expiring and you have left Australia. If this is not done within 6 months after the Visa ceases to be in effect and you have left Australia, then the money will be paid to the Commissioner as 'unclaimed money'. This can still be claimed from the ATO on 13 10 20. Your super fund is not obliged to notify orgive an exit statement to you when they transfer your superannuation to the ATO after you depart from Australia.

There are also limited conditions of release available to all temporary resident members (irrespective of whether or not they have left Australia):

* Death

* Terminal medical condition

* Permanent incapacity

* Departing Australia permanently to Temporary Residents who apply in writing for the release of their benefits

* Trustee payments to the ATO under the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999

* Temporary incapacity and/or

* Release Authorities under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

Lure of gold and selling your old unwanted jewelleries

I read an interesting article from the SMH (author Lesley Parker) about steps you should take first before selling your unwanted gold jewelleries in order to obtain the best price for yourself.

"1. Make your own estimate of the value of the gold jewellery you're thinking of selling
2. Obtain at least three quotes.
3. Check that the buyer has a second hand dealer's licence and calibrated scales
4. Consider whether you'd get more selling jewellery intact rather than as "scrap" metal
... consumers should expect about 80 per cent of the spot price for gold per gram according to its carat value..."

Step one is the most complicated because it requires you to weigh and value your own jewellery yourself. First, the confusion of gold terminologies need to be cleared up:

Troy ounce = 31.1 grams and is the unit used for measuring gold
Avoirdupois ounce = 28.4 grams is the standard ounce that we typically use
24 carats = pure gold
22 carats = 916 = 91.6% pure gold (22/24=91.6%)
18-carats = 750 = 75% pure gold (18/24=75%)
14-carats = 585 = 58.5% pure gold (14/24=58.5%)
9-carats = 375 = 37.5% pure gold (9/24=37.5%)


Parker writes that using grams will simplify things and you can ask the buyer (second hand dealer) to to put their offer to you as a price per gram.

i) Separate your gold jewelleries into piles of the same purity and weigh those piles separately
ii) The amount of gold you actually have is achieved by multiplying the weight of the piles by the purity. Eg 300g of 9-carat gold jewellery would melt down to 112.5g in pure gold (300g x 0.375 purity).
iii) Now you can roughly estimate the value by multiplying the pure gold weight by the prevailing gold price. Using the example from above: 112.5g x $40/gram = $4,500 for the pure "gold" in your jelleweries.

Although gold prices are usually listed in troy ounces, Parker wrote that you can find the price per gram (instead of troy ounce) in Australian dollars at goldprice.org/gold-price-per-gram.html which would be useful if you're not great at converting grams into troy ounces.

Using the example from above, 112.5g is 3.62 troy ounces (ie 112.5/31.1).

Gold buyers usually do not want the stones and if they do, ask for an additional quote for the stone that is separate from the quote for the gold. If you're in Australia, then you can check the jaa.com.au guide for Jewellers Association of Australia for additional information.

If you're interested in buying gold as an investment then you can buy gold coins or bullions from www.perthmint.com.au or buy gold investments through the ASX.

Understanding Credit Card Charges

If you buy $2000 worth on your credit card and don't pay that $2000 off by the due date, then you will be charged interest on the entire balance - even if you made a partial repayment of $1999.

If you pay the bill late, then most credit card companies will charge interest back to the purchase date (back dating interest).

If your bill is overdue, then most will cancel your interest free days until the overdue balance is paid completely.

Some credit card companies will charge interest on the entire balance even if you've paid a portion of your bill (even the new transactions that hasn't been billed to the statement yet). So until you pay your credit card statement in it's entirety, you will be charged interest even on the portion that you have partly paid off. And lose the interest free days on all the new transactions until the entire statement balance is paid off. This is entirely unfair but this is how they operate.

Balance transfer deals involves transferring your debt from one credit card provider to a new one who might be offering six months interest free deal. When the special period ends (in this example, it's six months) and there is a transfer balance remaining, the interest will be charged on that balance as if it was a cash advance. Cash advance rates are usually much higher than transaction rates.

If you find that you have overlooked the bill and paid it 1-2 days late (or even up to 1 week late) by accident and you have a good payment history, phone your card provider to explain and request them (very politely of course) to reverse the late fees and interest charges as a courtesy to you. They will usually reverse it for you if you have a good reason or you have a good payment history. It is usually left to the discretion of the staff member that is working which is why it pays to be polite when calling them to reverse any charges and fees.

If that doesn't motivate you to pay off the credit card statement in full, then you shouldn't be using a credit card. Not when it's costing you 10-28% extra in terms of interest charges.

2010 New Year Resolutions

How hard is it to compile a list of 100 goals??

A few years ago, if I asked any friends whether they had resolutions for the new year or not, they had plenty. Lately, I've noticed that we don't seem to form that many resolutions as previously. Now if we have any resolutions, they are harder and more complex to achieve, and they even stretch over the years rather than being achievable in one year alone.

Perhaps we are consolidating. Paying off mortgages. Building relationships. Maintaining friendships. Working and paying off bills. Some are planning to have kids while others have the panicky look in their eyes whenever the thought of having babies arises. Some are still hunting for their first property or home.

Some have realised that their financial mistakes in their early 20s have led to no savings and a tedious day to day existence of working to pay bills and get by.

It really feels like I've just left school yesterday. As if the decade had not happened. But looking back, a lot has happened and I'm anticipating a lot more. I hope that's the story with everybody.

What are your resolutions? I realised how anal I was when 2010 arrived and I was itching to find a quiet moment alone to form my 2010 resolutions...flipped my notebook open and realised that I had already compiled my 2010 resolutions back in early December 2009! New Years Eve & New Years Day is really one of the best times to form memorable resolutions so if you haven't done so, try it now.

I have a few of my own which I always break up into categories:

FINANCIAL
* Build a larger stock portfolio
* Pay off P#1
* Build a property investment portfolio
* Contribute extra into superannuation for retirement (which is decades away)
* Pay off more of my student loan (aka HECS...something that I've been reluctant to do since the interest on the loan is indexed to inflation)
* Build up trading capital
* Start trading in stocks (again), CFDs, Options and open myself up to international markets as well
* Save up for my own side projects

PERSONAL
* Spend more time with friends & family
* Keep up with correspondence - calls, emails, social stuff
* Write more - creative writing (novels, poetry, articles), journaling, blogging (on finance and craft work)
* Save up for trips to England, Europe, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, South America, Egypt and Tasmania
* Focus more on career and entrepreneurial ideas
* State of mind- happiness, relaxation, read more, allocate time for creative pursuits
* Throw more things out, hoard less
* Learn more- accounting, finance, personal finance, IT & web development, entrepreneurialship
* Be more environmentally conscious - buy things with less packaging, use grey water, less plastic, drive less and consume less

HEALTH
* Eat healthier (less junk food and snacks)
* Exercise more
* Increase fitness

As for coming up with 100 goals...that's something to think about!

Poor health can send you broke

Everyone knows someone who has been or is currently sick. If it's just a passing flu or virus, that's not a huge problem. However, if it's something terminal or something that will affect you for the rest of your life, such as cancer or disabilities, then it will drain your finance and could send you broke.

Personally, I've been blessed and fortunate that I have been born with relatively good health. A recent injury whilst snowboarding and over a year worth of stomach pains gave me a taste of what I was missing out on medically and financially.

First health problem of the year:
The snowboarding injury to the shoulder (compacted/compressed shoulder joint) required a visit to the Physiotherapist and several weekly visits thereafter.
Initial consultation $69
Each visit thereafter $57
Total cost of physio $ 426
Total cost out of pocket $228.50

I finally had the opportunity to use my private health insurance (besides the obligatory trip to the dentist for a checkup), so that meant I was out of pocket for $228.50
Bearing in mind that private health insurance fees are now about $1100 per annum and rising.

Second health problem of the year and still ongoing:
Stomach pains and aches. This health problem is a pain in the arse and ongoing. It's random...meaning the pain onsets at random moments...after I eat and not necessarily all the time. It's irregular and can happen whenever which is highly annoying because it's hard to pinpoint whether it's a gastro, allergy or organ problem.

So a trip to the doctor for blood tests - covered by Medicare
A trip for an ultrasound $50
Out of pocket $25

Unfortunately the stomach problems are still ongoing and still need additional tests with specialist doctors to find out what the problem is.

So far, medical bills out of pocket are $1353.50 and that's not counting the cost of travelling, time wasted in medical waiting rooms, and the actual cost itself in lost working days or hours.

Colds, Flu and Viruses
A trip to the doctor is typically covered by Medicare. A box of prescription medicine is typically $30-$38 for a packet. If you don't get paid for sick days that you take off, then the total cost of being sick each day may range from $100-$200 for each day and more. I find that if I'm stuck out and about somewhere, and it starts raining - it's much cheaper to just buy an umbrella for $7 or $30 rather than rushing around in the rain and increasing the probability of getting sick.

Broken Bones and Terminal Illnesses
Now we're talking big bucks. Huge bills. Specialist and hospital bills. Out of pocket costs are typically a few thousand dollars and I've heard of bills up to $35,000 for injuries involving ambulances, hospitals and no private health insurance. Even worse, having no travel insurance and injuring yourself badly overseas. Repatriation costs are several thousands of dollars and you could be left stuck, in that country that you've injured yourself in, with no way home.

Getting sick isn't cheap. Being continuously sick will end up costing you a lot. That's why it's important to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Something that we have to try to do more often.

Managing Cash Flow for Yourself, Business or Company

Cashflow is one of the most important concept for individuals and for businesses. If you're asset rich, but liquidity poor, then being unable to pay your bills or invoices could lead to a creditor taking you to court and this may force you declare bankruptcy if you haven't got the money to pay the creditor.

An interesting excerpt from Dun & Bradstreet Australia outlines how you can improve your cash position:

* Develop a cash flow projection and ensure you monitor and update it regularly
* Minimise bad debts through an established credit-assessment procedure
* Establish an accounts-payable policyat the outset of every credit
relationship
* Establish a deposit policy for work in progress
* Monitor
your customers' use of credit and adjust their credit limits accordingly
*
Closely manage your invoice process and collections practices
* Re-arrange
annual payments such as insurance so you pay small instalments frequently. This
will help smooth out lumps in your cash flow cycle
* Select an appropriate
source of funding for your requirements and pay the debt before the interest
kicks in
* Use short-term cash surpluses wisely. Don't keep them in accounts
that don't pay interest

I agree with all of the above, having utilised them in practice. The point about re-arranging your annual payments to pay by small regular, frequent instalments...that one I'm not quite a proponent of. If you can get discounts for paying the entire sum upfront annually, then this may be a more attractive option if your cash flow is reasonably liquid.

If you are struggling in terms of your own personal cash flow, then you need to review your budget and cut back unecessary expenses where possible. Contact creditors straight away to see what options they provide for clients experiencing hardships. Firstly by pre-empting the difficulty ahead, some creditors will be more lenient and offer you different payment terms, some will be informed and thus, not bill you for late fees and debt chasing fees.

For businesses, it's important to delay making early payment on accounts payable. For accounts receivable, it's important to follow up as soon as clients miss the payment date. The older the account, the less collectable it becomes.

Resourceful Websites for Business, Money, Finance and Random Things.

Excellent resource links for entrepreneurs and business people:

START UP SUPPORT
Australian Retailers Association (www.retail.org.au)
Business Enterprise Centres (www.beca.org.au)
Business Entry Point (www.business.gov.au)
Department of Innovation (www.innovation.gov.au)
E-business (www.e-businessguide.gov.au)
NSW Small Business (www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au)
SMExcellence (www.smexcellence.com.au)
NSW Department of State and Regional Development: offering inventors and small business innovators support to plan and commercialise their innovations. Original concepts, new or improved device, product, material, business process or service falls witin the definition of innovation may be eligible for assistance at NSW Innovation Advisory Centres.
Hunter Innovation Advisory Centre at Newcastle


LEGAL
Law Society of NSW (www.lawsociety.com.au)
LEADR (www.leadr.com.au)
Legal Issues Guide for Small Business (http://sblegal.industry.gov.au)

FORMS & LICENCES
Australian Business Register (www.abr.gov.au)
Business Licence Information Service (http://bli.net.au)
GovForms (http://govforms.business.gov.au)

GOVERNMENT
Austrade (www.austrade.gov.au)
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (www.accc.gov.au)
Australian Copyright Council (www.copyright.org.au)
Australian Government Workplace Ombudsman (www.wo.gov.au)
Australian Securities and Investment Commission (www.asic.gov.au)
Australian Taxation Office (www.ato.gov.au)
Australian Workplace (www.workplace.gov.au)
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (www.dewr.gov.au)
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (www.immi.gov.au)
Human Rights And Equal Opportunity Commission (www.humanrights.gov.au)
IP Australia (www.ipaustralia.gov.au)
NSW Office of Fair Trading (www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au)
NSW Office of Industrial Relations (www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au) (http://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/awards/controller.jsp?awardCode=135)
Office of the Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.gov.au)
WorkCover (www.workcover.nsw.gov.au)
Workplace Authority (www.workplaceauthority.gov.au)
Workplace Ombudsman (www.wo.gov.au)
Importing websites:
(www.syndication.business.gov.au/Business+Entry+Point/Business+Topics/Importing+exporting/)
(www.customs.gov.au)
(www.austrade.gov.au/overseas/layout/)




MENTORING



National Mentoring Association of Australia (www.dsf.org.au/mentor)

Australian Mentoring Institute (www.australianmentoringinstitute.org)
 
FAVOURITE WEBSITES FOR RANDOM STUFF
Government grants (www.ausindustry.gov.au)
Investing/Buying Gold (www.perthmint.com.au/gold)
A news gathering website (http://wotnews.com.au)
Property Investing (www.somersoft.com/forums/)
Property Management for Apartments (www.strataman.com.au)
Property Finance & Advanced Calculators (www.yourmortgage.com.au)
Property Newsletters (www.masteringwealth.com.au/newsletters/)
Mortgage Site (www.amrinteractive.com.au)
Business News (www.associatedcontent.com)
Business Articles (www.bestmanagementarticles.com)
Business Articles (www.businessday.com.au/business/money/)
Forums and money articles from one of the largest US site (http://moneycentral.msn.com)
Sales Articles (www.top10salesarticles.com/)
Personal Finance Blog (www.moneyandme.com.au)
Small Business Articles (http://smallbusiness.smh.com.au/starting/index.html)
#1 Internet Marketing Forum (www.warriorforum.com)
Affiliate Marketing Forum (www.wickedfire.com/)

CASH BACK HOME LOANS (get rebates on upfront/annual/trailing mortgage commissions)

Peach Home Loans & YourShare. Average upfront commissions are typically 0.6% and average trail commissions are 0.2%

DESIGN INSPIRATION: WEBSITES

Design Sponge Online (www.designspongeonline.com)

Apartment Therapy (www.apartmenttherapy.com)

Remodelista (www.remodelista.com)

James Merrell (www.jamesmerrell.co.uk)

Design Squish (www.blog.designsquish.com)

Decorno (www.decorno.blogspot.com)

Fine Little Day (http://finelittleday.blogspot.com)

Ikeahacker (http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com)

Loving Living Small (http://lovinglivingsmall.blogspot.com)

The Design Files (http://www.thedesignfiles.net)

Unhappy Hipsters (www.unhappyhipsters.com)

This Is Naive (www.thisisnaive.com)