Emerging from a summit in Paris, European government leaders pledged to bail out sinking banks and protect the interest of depositors in the wake of a global credit crunch whose effects are now being felt in Europe after wreaking havoc in US financial markets.

At the Paris summit, representatives of leading European economies deliberated on various options to deal with the worst financial crisis since World War II. Instead of a rescue plan in the manner of US government’s $700 billion bail out plan, they decided to work together to contain the economic fall out, relax accounting rules as well as impose stricter financial regulations.

A day after the Paris summit, several developments took place in the European finance sector which proved that the long-term impact of US market meltdown is far from over. BNP Paribas declared that it will take over the divisions of Fortis in Belgium and Luxembourg after government efforts to bail out the troubled bank came to nought. On the other hand, the government and financial institutions came together in Germany to raise a 50 billion euro or $68 billion rescue package for Hypo Real Estate Holding AG. The British government too declared that it will take all necessary measures to support its banking sector.

Hollywood producers Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Stacey Snider have decided to part ways with Paramount Pictures and move towards forming a new film company.

Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Geffen were the original founders of Dream Works SKG in 1994 with Jeffrey Katzenberg before it was sold to Viacom, Paramount’s parent company in 2006 for $1.6 billion. After becoming a division of Paramount, Dream Works was run by Ms Snider while Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Geffen operated as advisers without executive titles.

According to the present separation deal reached on Sunday, Mr Spielberg and Ms Snider will head the new film company which will take over the development of a number of projects which had been with Paramount. Paramount will still retain the option of co-financing and co-distributing these projects. The new company will be primarily backed by Reliance Big of India with debt financing raised by J.P.Morgan Securities. The new venture is expected to have resources worth at least $1.3 billion and would make six movies a year. Mr Geffen, who was an important force behind the organizing of the new company is not expected to be a part of it, clarified a joint statement from Dream Works and Paramount.

In recent times, the Dream Works subsidiary of Paramount has delivered several hits, with “Transformer” and “Norbit” being the most significant among them.

In the past one year, the US economy has taken a series of blows. The housing mortgage crisis, spiralling energy costs and the recent crisis in credit markets has led to the worst slow down in many years. The evidence of recession-like conditions is only too evident in an economy suffering from the worst job cuts in the past five years.

While jobs have been slashed across the country, some sections not only seemed to have survived the carnage but have even shown signs of growing opportunities. One such example is Texas which is home to three of the top labor markets in the country, according to a new Bizjournals survey. Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas occupy the top three positions in the latest employment rankings of the country’s 100 metropolitan areas. The three Texas markets have contributed to 107200 private-sector jobs in all since mid-2007 even as their unemployment rate has remained steadfastly below 5%.

The reasons which have enabled Texas to emerge as one of the hottest labor markets are ironically the same that have slashed jobs elsewhere – namely high energy costs. The growing job opportunities in the three Texas markets have been driven by the boom in the natural resources and mining industry of the state helped by rising energy prices.

While families struggle with shooting living expenses, taking a vacation seems the last thing on the monthly budget. However here are a few ways to save money on travels so that you can invest in things that return value on vacations.

Start with travelling light as rising fuel costs have made airlines very stringent about slapping extra fees on all baggage over the weight-limit. You might also save on exorbitant in-flight food and beverages by bringing your own.

Try booking your flight at least 45 days in advance of your date of departure since this will give you the lowest starting point on that route. Also avoid the rush seasons and book during the lean travel periods like the period from February to May.

One way to cut costs on the road is to make use of a reliable navigation system while driving a rental car. This will not only save on time fuel costs but also keep stress levels down.

If possible share a cab with a co-traveller as this will save on transport costs. Or use the subway for a cheaper mode of travel. Also avoid curbside luggage check-ins as they cost more compared to depositing your luggage at the counter inside.

Remember to pack in rechargeable batteries as they will do away with the need of paying fantastic sums for batteries at the airport gift shop.

Finally convert foreign currency at the bank beforehand instead of resorting to last-minute currency exchange at the airport which is costlier.

J.K.Rowling, creator of the hugely successful Harry Potter series of books has been named as the world’s highest-aid author with weekly earnings of three million sterling pounds.

Joanne Rowling, a 43-three year old mum of three earns more than nine of the best-selling authors put together. Most of that amount comes from the sale of Harry Potter books which have sold more than 375 million copies all over the world. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel appeared in 1997 and since then she has gone on to pen another six in the series, with the last four books consecutively setting world records for the fastest selling book in history.

Besides Rowling’s earnings from her books, she also gets an undisclosed sum from the profits of made out of Harry Potter films which have gone on to be huge hits at the box office. Rowling further pockets an estimated 100 million pounds from toy merchandise based on the characters from Harry Potter series besides taking home the profits from the video games and the Potter images that appear on every surface from sticking plasters to sweets. According to an estimate the Harry Potter brand is currently worth 7 billion pounds or $15 billion USD.