VENEZUELA BOOK FLIGHT MONTHS IN ADVANCE

Simon Bolivar Airport outside Caracas. (Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters)

If you live in Venezuela and want to fly abroad, get in line.
Flights are booked solid months in advance, not from a new interest in exotic destinations but because locals are profiting from a play on the nation's tightly controlled currency market.
The airline scramble has added to shortages, power cuts and runaway prices as another symbol of the Byzantine economic challenges facing the new government of President Nicolas Maduro in the South American OPEC nation.

(Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins) "It's like you're trapped here," said travel agent Doris Gaal,telling a customer he would be better off taking a boat to a Caribbean island because the daily flights are fully booked. "It's all because of these stupid dollars!"

After a decade of currency controls set up by late socialist leader Hugo Chavez in 2003, the disparity between the official and black-market rates forthe local bolivar currency is higher than ever. Greenbacks now sell on the illegal market at about seven times the government price of 6.3 to the dollar.
There are strict limits on the availability of dollars at the 6.3 rate, but Venezuelans are cashing in on a special currency provision for travelers. With a valid airline ticket, Venezuelans may exchange up to $3,000 at the government rate.
Some are not even flying, leaving many planes half empty.
"It is possible to travel abroad for free due to this exchange rate magic," said local economist Angel Garcia Banchs.
The profit is realized from an arbitrage process known locally as "el raspao," or "the scrape."
Credit cards are used abroad to get a cash advance -- rather than buying merchandise. The dollars are then carried back into Venezuela and sold on the black market for some seven times the original exchange rate.
The large profit margin easily absorbs the cost of flights and accommodation for a trip.
"I've been able to buy new clothes and give some cash to all my closest family members!" said one delighted Venezuelan lady, just back from a trip to Europe.
"It was really easy. There was a guy in a hotel room with 10point-of-sale machines who swiped my card for $1,000 each day," said a Venezuelan pensioner, also asking not to be named as he described his trip to a Caribbean island.
Caracas-to-Caracas
Some Venezuelans do not even bother leaving the country, but merely send their credit cards to friends overseas, who swipe the cards and send the cash back to Venezuela.
"This is the reason many airlines are sending half-empty planes,"Ricardo Cusanno, head of a local tourism council, told Reuters, saying the government should cross-reference flight lists with those requesting foreign exchange to outwit the no-shows.
As a result of the high level of unused seats, some airlines are beginning to overbook at much higher rates than usual.
As well as perplexing the industry, the scramble for tickets has become a hot topic of conversation and humor on the street.
The nation's leading satirical website, Chiguire Bipolar (Bipolar Capybara,a Venezuelan version of U.S. comic website The Onion), ran a tongue-in-cheek story of a new airline route: from Caracas to Caracas.
The spoof round-trip flight would let passengers nibble on snacks as they leave Venezuelan airspace, swipe their cards to obtain "illicit dollars quickly and securely," and make even more profit by buying duty-free goods to sell at home.

(Photo: Jorge Silva / Reuters) "Raspao" was now the "most dynamic sector" of the country's economy, the story added.

Not everyone sees the humor in the situation.
The currency controls that Chavez implemented have exacerbated some of the very problems they were meant to address: inflation and capital flight from the country.
The lack of dollars has left importers struggling to pay for basic items that range from toilet paper to bread and wine for church masses.
It is also fueling the highest price rises in the Americas, 45 percent in the last year.
Maduro recently set up a new telephone hotline, 0-800-SABOTAGE, for Venezuelans to report illegal economic activity.
Adding to the frenetic demand for plane tickets is the low cost of flights -when they are available - for those with hard currency that they have changed on the black market.
This has turned Caracas into an informal hub for frequent fliers across the region.
"People from all over Latin America come here to buy flights using black market money," said Gaal, the travel agent.
Given the high demand, at least one foreign airline is looking to expand in Venezuela.
"We have requested authorization for additional services but have not received a response," said Martha Pantin, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, which has 48 flights every week in and out of Venezuela.
Back at her travel agency in a wealthy Caracas neighborhood, Gaal lamented her inability to serve customers.

"I'll see you on the boat!" she quipped.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER WANTS MILEY CYPRUS TO WALK HIM TO THE RING FOR HIS NEXT FIGHT

Floyd Mayweather has become one of the most prominent athletes in the world not only because of his undeniable boxing skill but also because he is an unbelievable self-promoter. In other words, he knows a thing or two about showmanship.
For several of his most recent fights, including his Sept. 14 bout against Canelo Alvarez and his May 2012 fight against Miguel Cotto, Mayweather had pop superstars Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne escort him to the ring. So how can he top that dynamic duo?
With the one and only "Twerk Queen."
In an interview with Billboard, Mayweather says he would like Miley Cyrus to walk him to the ring for his next fight.
"I was thinking about letting the twerk queen Miley Cyrus bring me out, why not?," Mayweather said.
That would be quite the spectacle.
Cyrus, of course, made headlines for her "twerk-heard-round-the-world" at the VMAs. Her dance, and the ensuing controversy, have propelled her to the center of America's pop culture stage. So in that sense Cyrus seems like a good fit for the role.
In explaining why he chose Bieber to walk him out, Mayweather said he is looking for people who are at the top of their profession.
"When you're the best, you only want to surround yourself with the best," Mayweather said. "He's an exceptional artist. He's the future."

KANYE DECLEARS HIS LOVE FOR KIM

 

Kanye West has never been one to bite his tongue ... although he's usually reticent when speaking about Kim Kardashian.
However, in a new interview with the BBC, we hear the "Black Skinhead" rapper more candid than ever when talking about his lady love.
The 36-year-old hip-hop star was asked during the hour-long radio interview on Monday if he allows any time for himself.
"Family time — it's what Kim gave me. She gave me everything. She gave me a family. She gave me a support system," West gushed.

"She was in a powerful enough situation where she could love me without asking me for money," he continued with a chuckle. "Which is really hard for me to find."
Kanye also revealed he plans to change the paparazzi laws for daughter North West so that one day she'll get paid for every photo taken.

"I'm going to tell my daughter, by the time she understands what it was, 'Man, me and your mother were in a completely different situation than you're in,'" he explained. "People could take pictures, people could climb over your fence, and you wouldn't even get paid for it. You see all these checks that you getting at age 6 because people are taking your picture? … I made that happen, Nori. That's what I'm going to tell her."

Over the past couple of months Kanye has slowly opened up more about their high-profile relationship — but the BBC interview marks the most in-depth West has gotten when discussing his life with Kim.

The previous high-water mark came during a spring interview with W magazine. West was asked whether he had any hesitations about appearing on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
"Oh, that's just all for love. It's simply that," West responded. "At a certain point, or always, love is more important than any branding, or any set of cool people, or attempting to impress anyone. Because true love is just the way you feel … thoughts and feelings can disagree sometimes."
Then in August, West debuted a photo of baby Nori on Kris Jenner's talk show, "Kris," and also expressed his love for the 32-year-old reality star.
"There's times when I wasn't with [Kim], I wanted be with her so bad I thought about taking up sports," the rapper joked (Kim's exes include NBA basketball player Kris Humphries and NFL star Reggie Bush).
"I can have people saying this is going to damage your credibility as an artist or a designer, and I say I don't care, I love this woman," he told Jenner. "When the paparazzi surround you, people know you don't like paparazzi, and they say, 'Why would you be with this person?' I'm being with this person because I love this person, and she's worth it to me."
Apparently the feeling is mutual.

Kim is said to be trying to distance herself from "the Kardashian PR machine," and rebrand her image. In doing so she switched PR teams.

Also, it looks like Kim is prepared to go on the road with her beau.

Kardashian was seen getting her three-month-old daughter a passport last week. Kanye has been spending time in London and Paris recently.

West kicks off his "Yeezus" tour on October 19 in Seattle and he also added a European leg of his tour in 2014.
Kim and Nori are expected to be on hand.

Maybe Blue Ivy can lend Nori some noise canceling headphones?

WAYS IN WASTING MONEY

Nearly everyone has holes in their budgets. And as with other kinds of leaks, you may have hardly noticed some of them. But those small drips can quickly add up to big bucks. The trick is to find the holes and plug them so you can keep more money in your pocket. That extra cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest or break your cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck.
We've updated our popular list of money-wasters with even more tips and resources to help you cut unnecessary expenses from your budget. Consider these 28 common ways people waste money. If any of them sound familiar, start plugging your budget holes right away.

Carrying a Balance

Debt is a shackle that holds you back. For instance, if you have a $1,000 balance on a credit card that charges an 18% rate, you blow $180 every year on interest. Carrying a balance can also cost you down the line in the form of a lower credit score that will trigger higher interest rates on your loans.
Get in the habit of paying off your balance in full each month - or at least limiting your balance to 25% or less of your available credit.


Buying Brand-Name Instead of Generic
From groceries to clothing to prescription drugs, you can save money by choosing an off-brand over a fancy label. And in many cases, you won't sacrifice much in quality. Clever advertising and fancy packaging don't make brand-name products better than lesser-known brands. For example, a 30-day supply of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor costs about $154, but a generic version costs half as much, according to DestinationRx, which creates drug-comparison tools for insurers and consumers.
QUIZ: Are You Saving Enough for Retirement?

Paying Late Fees and Missing Deadlines
istockphotoIf you pay a stack of bills every month, it's easy to overlook one or two every now and then. But if you miss a credit card payment by even one day, you will pay a late fee of $25 ($35 if it's the second time in six months). Your credit score could also take a hit if you pay your bill late. Your history of on-time payments accounts for 35% of your FICO credit score -- more weight than any other factor. If you pay the bill within 30 days of the due date, the lender might not report the delay to the credit bureaus. But if you let the bill go longer than that, the card issuer is more likely to inform the credit agencies and turn over your case to its collections department.
If you have a good payment record -- especially if you have paid on time for an entire year -- call your card issuer and ask that the late fee be waived. To avoid missing deadlines, set up payment alerts to be delivered by e-mail or a text message from your credit card company.

Buying Insurance You Don't Need
You only need life insurance if someone, such as a child, is financially dependent upon you. That means most singles, seniors and kids don't need a policy.
Other policies you can probably do without include credit-card insurance (better to use the premium to pay down your debt in the first place), rental-car insurance (most auto policies and credit cards carry some coverage) and mortgage life insurance (a regular term-life insurance policy is more comprehensive). See 5 Insurance Policies You Don't Need for coverage that isn't worth buying.

Overspending on Gas and Oil
There's no need to spring for premium fuel if the auto manufacturer says regular is just fine. You should also check to make sure your tires are optimally inflated to get the best gas mileage. And are you still paying for an oil change every 3,000 miles? Many models nowadays can last 5,000 to 7,000 miles between changes, and some even have built-in sensors to tell you when it's time to change the oil. Check your owner's manual to find the best time for your car's routine maintenance.
To lower your gas costs even more, consider one of our picks for the 15 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars, 2013.

Keeping Unhealthy Habits
Smoking costs a lot more than what you pay for a pack of cigarettes. The average price per pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is $6.03, but the health-related costs per pack are $35, according to the American Cancer Society. Over a year, those added costs can amount to $12,775 for a pack-a-day smoker.
Another habit to quit: indoor tanning. There is now a 10% tax on indoor tanning services. As with cigarettes, the true cost of tanning -- one of the most dangerous forms of cancer-causing radiation -- is higher than the price you pay each time you go to the tanning salon.
Once you kick your bad habits, you'll save even more if you institute these six healthy habits.
QUIZ: Test Your Financial Fluency

Paying Too Much for a Mutual Fund
ThinkstockMutual fund fees can weigh down performance. The average diversified U.S. stock fund charges about 1.3% a year in expenses. If your fund isn't beating its benchmark, you're better off buying a low-cost index fund or exchange-traded fund that matches the benchmark. For example, you'll pay an annual expense ratio of just 0.05% to invest in the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), which tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index. On a $50,000 investment, that's a savings of $625 per year over the average managed fund.
It is possible to outperform a benchmark with a well-managed fund (although it's not guaranteed). Stick with no-load funds, which can save you more than 5% in sales charges. See our favorite no-load mutual funds in the Kiplinger 25. And watch out for other nickel-and-diming, including low-balance fees or charges for paper statements.

Passing up Tax Breaks
There's a good chance you're among the millions of taxpayers who overpay taxes each year by overlooking deductions to which you're entitled. Failing to maintain a file of tax receipts throughout the year, rushing to file your taxes at the last minute, and fearing an IRS audit are all reasons that may keep you from claiming perfectly valid deductions. See if you've missed one of these commonly overlooked tax breaks. If you have, by all means, claim it! That money is yours. Just be sure you have the documentation to prove it.

Opting for a Low Insurance Deductible
ThinkstockA low deductible may seem appealing as you ponder a costly claim down the line, but you'll pay a lot more in higher premiums. Boosting your deductible from $200 to $500 can reduce your collision and comprehensive auto insurance premiums by 15% to 30%; raising it to $1,000 can save you 40% or more. If your homeowners insurance deductible is $500, increasing it to $1,000 can lower your premiums by up to 20%. Besides, when you have a low deductible, you might be tempted to file claims more frequently for small amounts. Insurers don't like frequent claims on your record and can punish you with higher rates.
Before raising your deductible, however, make sure you have enough cash in your emergency savings account to cover it if you ever file a claim. You won't have to rely on costly credit cards to bail you out.

Leaving Your Money in a Low-Interest Account

If you're stashing your cash in a traditional savings account earning next to nothing, you're wasting it. Make sure you're getting the best return on your money. Search for the highest yields on CDs and money market savings accounts. And consider using a free online checking account that pays interest, such as ones offered by Ally Bank and EverBank.

Diver photographs ‘Cookie Monster of the Sea’

Scuba divers are often amazed by the beauty of the reefs and their colorful inhabitants, and sometimes they’re even amused.
That certainly was the case for Mauricio Handler and his wife, Julia, during their last adventure to the reefs of Curacao in the Caribbean.
Among their many wonderful discoveries was that of a purple sea sponge that strongly resembled the famous Cookie Monster Muppet of “Sesame Street” fame.
Handler said via email that he had initially swam past the peculiar-looking sponge, without noticing it among the many other sponges on the reef.
But Julia came face to face with what the Handlers now refer to as “The Cookie Monster of the Sea,” and could not contain her laughter.

“It was Julia who went to get me, laughing through her mask about the unusual sponge,” Handler said. “So I did an about-face and went straight to it, and worked the subject to light it perfectly to get as much personality out of the picture as possible.”
It was a job well done by the photographer, who said the Cookie Monster was actually three tube sponges that had fused together over time. (Sea sponges, while they may appear to be plant-like, are actually multi-cellular animals that attach to the sea floor, or to reefs, and feed by filtering particles from currents.)
“I could not believe the fact that this was so unusual—so unique and humorous,” added Handler, who was shooting with a Nikon D3 DSLR, and a Nikon 105 macro lens.
The Cookie Monster of the Sea, which was featured earlier this week by the Daily Mail, is about three feet tall and located off Westpunt in northwest Curacao.
It cannot speak, obviously, but Sesame Street fans might imagine what it would be saying if it could: “Me want cookie!”

CAZORLA HITS BACK AT REAL MADRID CLAIMS OVER ARSENAL PAL OZIL

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has hit out at Real Madrid over their claims regarding new teammate Mesut Ozil.

Real president Florentino Perez defended the £42.5million transfer last week by claiming the German asked to leave because "he couldn't handle the pressure at Madrid."

But fellow midfielder Cazorla insists nothing could be further from the truth, however.

"No, I don't think that," he told Sphera Sports.

"He was at Real Madrid for three years and he showed his quality there.

"I don't know why he has left Madrid, but I am sure that pressure wasn't the reason.

"Mesut has played in big games and he has always turned up.

"I think he left for other, more personal reasons, and not because of the pressure he was under."

CAZORLA BLAST CHELSEA DECISION ON JUAN MATA

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla is surprised by the way Chelsea bossJose Mourinho has treated Juan Mata.

In an interview with Sphera Sports the Arsenal midfielder said he was baffled by Mourinho’s decision to freeze out the club’s top performer from last season but backed Mata to bounce back.

Cazorla said: "As well as being a great player he is a great friend for everything that we have been through together and I know that he is going through a tough time.

"After two spectacular years at Chelsea, being their best player, playing at a tremendous level, and being one of the best players in the Premier League, football has changed for him from one year to the next.

"But he seems calm and convinced that he is going to change the situation and he has a lot of faith in himself. I think he will show that he is worth his place in the team at Chelsea, but it is difficult for him at the moment because going from being an important player to being on the bench is tough."