Neil Parmar | Freelance Journalist and Editor

Legalities: A Global Love Affair

Published by WSJ.Money Magazine

LOVE HAS NO BORDERS, of course, which may help explain why it's not just the economy that's gone global. To hear estate and tax planners talk, cross-border marriages are skyrocketing—along with a host of international estate and tax-planning headaches. The issues can indeed get thorny: Can an Australian deduct any business expenses in his home country if he and his wife live in Texas? Is a will written in Spain executable by a spouse in Greece? And don't even start on the thicket of prenup issues. Read more...

Secret space is where BlackBerry smartphones are born

Published by The National

Waterloo, Ontario // Getting access to BlackBerry's New Product Realisation Centre to witness the birth of a smartphone is a lot like visiting a hospital delivery room - with a few high-tech twists. The process requires passing two security guards, ditching all digital devices at the door and donning an antistatic smock as well as foot straps to avoid tracking in electricity and mistakenly frying circuit boards or other sensitive gadgetry once inside. Sounds like a pain? Even Queen Elizabeth Read more...

Best deals on tech

Published by Money Magazine and Money.CNN.com

Money magazine’s Best Deals on Everything: Your guide to the latest bargains in videocams, tablets, flat-screen TVs and more… Click here to read the rest of this article. - Neil Parmar Published in Money Magazine

Supersizing the Sunroof, Even in Economy Cars

Published by The Wall Street Journal

The sunroof is rising again, and this time the views are bigger than ever. Nearly 33% of new vehicles sold or made available in the market last year featured a sunroof—a fourfold jump since 1990, according to analyst firm WardsAuto. And a recent poll by Harris Interactive found that 40% of new-car buyers said their next vehicle purchase would likely include a panoramic sunroof. With Americans now holding on to their vehicles, on average, for nearly six years—an all-time high—buyers are Read more...

Making Over the Multi-Billion Microfinance Industry

Published by Arabian Business Magazine

MADRID// Thousands of rickshaw drivers cram into the city streets of Bangladesh every day. But at least one driver escaped this urban nightmare to pursue his rural dream of becoming an entrepreneur back in his home village. He started by plunging into his savings and topping it off with an interest-free loan of less than $150. He then bought a phone recharging and tuck shop, quadrupling his monthly income from around 200 Bangladeshi takas — or less than $2.50 — to 800 takas. After he grew Read more...

Answering: ‘How Will You Change the World?’

Published by The Huffington Post

ABU DHABI// "How will you change the world?" That was the question posed at the launch of the third annual Hult Global Case Challenge, which tackles global poverty this year. To entice a participant pool of more than 4,000 teams made up of college students and alumni from around the world, Hult International Business School dangled a $1 million carrot to fund the three proposed solutions that could best help:  One Laptop per Child place 10 million laptops in the hands of children in the next Read more...

Too Close For Comfort

Published by SmartMoney Magazine and republished by The Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! Finance

NEW YORK CITY// Whether they’re trying to sell an investment or influence government regulators, more financial firms are commissioning scholarly studies to provide a halo of academic approval. Is the relationship between companies and B schools getting too cozy? ... For decades financial-services firms have relied mostly on their own public-relations prowess to win over advisers and persuade a skeptical public to buy investing products. But in recent years they’ve found a new tool to drum Read more...

Crafty Ways Restaurants Cut Costs

Published by SmartMoney Magazine and republished by The Wall Street Journal

DENVER// When it comes to dining out, Kevin Moll is the kind of frugal patron restaurant owners would love to see more of. The father of two from Denver always passes on the cream and sugar. He never pours a blob of ketchup next to his fries. Even better, after enjoying a plate of barbecued ribs, he usually prefers to wipe his saucy fingers with a cloth napkin, since the cleanup job would require at least three of the paper variety. And don't even get him started on carbonated beverages. This is Read more...

Twitter becomes powerful tool in conflict resolution and natural disaster response

Published by The National

When someone loses a cow in the village of Lanet Umoja, Kenya, and Francis Kariuki hears about it, he normally sends a short message on Twitter so people know where to return the animal once found. But Mr Kariuki, who is better known by more than 17,000 followers as @Chiefkariuki, has also utilised the social media tool to combat conflict. "I am using Twitter as a tool for community policing, neighbourhood watch and crime-reporting activities," Mr Kariuki's Twitter profile reads. The use Read more...

Taking Care of Business

Published in SmartMoney Magazine

NEW YORK CITY// Has a world-famous watchdog become too cozy with the firms it monitors? We investigate the Better Business Bureau. A few years ago, Tonie Burns found herself at wits' end with her wireless company after it kept charging her for roaming services she says she didn't need. Like millions of Americans who can't get satisfaction through a company's customer-service department, she took it to the next level: "Hello? Better Business Bureau?" Burns had already sat on the phone enough Read more...