Here are some of top rewards cards in Ireland:

• MBNA’s new Pigsback.com credit card. With 0% APR on balance transfers for 10 months and 2,000 PiggyPoints after your first card purchase, it’s pretty great. The APR isn’t bad either (14.9 % APR when this went into print). As for your reward? You get 1 PiggyPoint for every 2 Euros you spend on card purchases! It really does fair high on my list of best credit card deals in Ireland.
• SonyCard. For every € 1.5 you charge on the card, you receive one “pulsebeat.” You can get stuff free by using your pulsebeats. Sony offers over 600 products available for purchase with pulsebeats.
• Tesco’s Clubcard Credit Card. This card gets you one point for every €4 you spend. Sometimes it’s double points, but bear in mind each point is worth about only around 4cents when you redeem them. You can spend your points at Tesco stores or petrol stations. You can also use the clubcard vouchers as airmiles
• Sainsbury Credit Card. This card gives you two Nectar points for every €1 you spend in Sainsbury (for the first two years you hold the card). When you use the card elsewhere, you get one Nectar point for every €5 you spend. Each nectar point equals 0.5cents. You can use your vouchers at Sainsburys and Argos. You can also use them at certain restaurants, video stores, cinema tickets, and for airplane tickets.
• Play.com credit cards lets you earn points for spending at play.com and elsewhere. You get two playpoints for each €1 you spend at play.com. If you use your card elsewhere, you receive one playpoint for each €1. Five hundred playpoints equal €5. You can redeem your points at Play.com where you can buy DVDs, music, games, books, computers, electronics, and gadgets.
• Ulster Bank credit cards also offer YourPoints. But you only receive one point for every € 1 you spend. You can use YourPoints to make travel arrangements and you can get shopping vouchers for them.

Club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are believed to have extended the £290m RBS debt for another year, but agreed to pay back £60m.

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Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports owner BAA slumped to a loss of £545 million in the first six months of the year, as recession-hit travellers cut back on trips and its pension fund deficit ballooned.

The debt-laden operator, which is owned by Spanish building group Ferrovia, also said that it was still in ongoing talks with several potential buyers of Gatwick, despite recent reports that the two main bidders had walked away.

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One of the main reasons that people seek to live a frugal life is because they feel stressed out about money. The single biggest cause of that financial stress is debt. By learning how to reduce (and eventually eliminate) your debt, you can significantly reduce the amount of stress that you feel about money. This can lead to a much better experience with frugal living. One key method that you might use to reduce your debt is debt consolidation. Let’s take a closer look at what debt consolidation is all about.

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Read more: Is debt management a good idea?

Often, the best way to do that is to overpay - to pay more than you`re actually obliged to. However tempting it is to make just the minimum payments, it`s important to think long term and focus on the amount of interest you`ll be saving if you clear your store card debts early.

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Best way to clear store card debts

It might be because they’ve lost their job. It might be because they’ve seen their income fall, whether they’re earning less in terms of bonuses, commission or overtime, or because they’ve actually had to accept a pay-cut or shorter working hours. Or it might be because they’re simply worried about the effects of the recession - even people whose income hasn’t been affected at all by the recession are ‘tightening their belts’ and cutting back on non-essentials.

All this, of course, can have a knock-on effect. The less people spend in the shops, the worse individual businesses will do, which is clearly bad financial news for their own employees.

For people with debts, the thought of dealing with a reduced income can be particularly worrying. As well as rent/mortgage, utility bills, petrol, food and all their other essential expenses, they’ll need to keep up with their payments to unsecured debts. The monthly payments which seemed no problem a few months ago might suddenly be a real challenge.

They might even find they simply can’t stay on top of all their debts. In cases like this, debt management might be able to help. A debt management organisation may be able to negotiate with their unsecured lenders (credit cards, store cards, personal loans, etc.), asking them to consider accepting a few changes to their repayment terms so the individual can afford to keep up with their debt repayments.

For example, they may agree to accept lower payments, based on how much the individual can realistically afford once they’ve accounted for all their essential expenses.

And/or they may agree to reduce (or even freeze) the interest they’re charging on the debt, so the individual knows their payments are reducing the debt itself, rather than just the interest.

This can make a huge difference to the individual’s finances. Since their payments to their unsecured debts are based on their disposable income (what’s left after their essential expenses), they’ll know they can keep on making their payments to their mortgage/rent, so they won’t face the risk of eviction - a major worry for many people who are facing financial problems.

Having said that, reducing the size of their monthly payments will mean they’re repaying that debt more slowly. That means it’ll take longer to repay the debt - and unless their lenders reduce the interest rate by enough, it can cost more, as the debt will have longer to accrue interest.

Plus, a borrower’s credit rating can suffer if they fail to repay the debt as originally agreed - by negotiating lower monthly payments, for example - although there’s a chance this will already have happened, since a debt management plan isn’t an option unless they can’t afford to keep up with payments to their debts, so they may have already breached the repayment terms before their debt management plan even started.

In Scotland, 5,693 individuals became insolvent in the first quarter of 2009. This was an increase of 71% compared with the first quarter of the previous year. Significantly, the number of bankruptcies stood at 3,722 - an increase of 158% on the same time period last year (before the introduction of the LILA).

According to www.scotland.gov.uk, the ’significant increase in bankruptcies is attributed to the introduction on April 1, 2008 of a new route into bankruptcy for people who have low income and low assets’.

It should be stressed that (unlike the LILA) the DRO is a form of insolvency, but will not be counted as a form of bankruptcy.

“Looking to England and Wales,” said a spokesperson for Think Money, “it’s fair to assume the introduction of the DRO will also have a significant impact on insolvency figures. Accountants KPMG have stated that they expect individual insolvencies to top the 150,000 mark this year - a 40% increase on last year’s figures - partly due to the introduction of DROs and partly due to the worsening state of the economy.

“Before the DRO was introduced, many individuals had little opportunity to clear debts which had become unmanageable, as they were unable to afford the fee of around Pounds Sterling 500 which bankruptcy requires.

“Costing just Pounds Sterling 90, the DRO is far more accessible than bankruptcy, and may be suitable for many of those who would already have had themselves declared bankrupt, had they been able to afford the fee. In other words, we may see significant interest in DROs from people whose financial situation has been serious for some time.

“However, the introduction of the DRO is unlikely to be make any difference to the majority of people considering an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement). According to KPMG, the average debt owed by someone entering an IVA in the previous quarter was Pounds Sterling 47,800, putting them well beyond the Pounds Sterling 15,000 limit for DRO eligibility.

“As for the country’s economic problems, we may also see people entering a DRO as a result of the recession, although we would stress that no form of insolvency is an appropriate way to address short-term problems. Someone who has recently lost their job but is hopeful about finding new employment in the near future would be better advised to look into alternative, more temporary, ways of helping them survive a (hopefully) short-lived period of financial difficulty.

“In fact, anyone in a DRO is required to report any change in circumstances to the official receiver - who may decide to terminate the DRO if they believe the individual is now capable of making payments to their creditors.

“This is why Think Money stress the importance of providing a comprehensive range of debt solutions. In our experience, this is an essential part of providing a tailored service that truly caters to the individual needs of each customer.”

Money problems can come in all shapes and sizes, but debt can be one of the hardest to deal with. After all, someone whose bank balance is low might consider themselves to be in financial trouble, but someone who owes more money than they have is clearly worse off financially - they`d probably be happy to wipe out whatever savings they have if they could just wipe out their debt too!

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Used by many Fortune 500 companies and medium sized businesses, OpenLogic Exchange (OLEX) Enterprise Edition is the industry’s first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for comprehensive sourcing and governance of open source software. OLEX Enterprise Edition delivers access to the OpenLogic Certified Library as part of a comprehensive open source software governance platform. The OpenLogic Library encompasses 130,000 open source packages, including more than 500 enterprise-ready open source packages that are certified, supported and indemnified by OpenLogic.

“OLEX Enterprise Edition now provides a cradle-to-grave open source management and governance solution from download to deployment to distribution,” said Kim Weins, senior vice president of products and marketing of OpenLogic. “As more enterprises increase the use of open source software due to economic conditions — prudent enterprises are demanding cradle to grave open source governance.”

The newest version of OLEX Enterprise Edition extends the management and control of open source software by adding new functionality including:

--  Identifying open source alternatives to proprietary software to save
    money: Companies can use OpenLogic's free open source scanning tool, OSS
    Discovery, to uncover usage of proprietary software like Websphere,
    Weblogic and Oracle, and then use OLEX EE to identify lower cost open
    source alternatives.

--  Tracking intended use of open source at time of download to prevent
    legal issues before they occur: OLEX EE now lets companies require users to
    declare their planned usage of open source at the time of download. This
    enables the corporation to track the intended use of open source software
    and prevent legal issues before they occur.

--  Customizing approval processes to meet enterprise needs: OLEX EE now
    provides completely customized processes for approving the use of open
    source software. Companies can define multi-step processes with customized
    forms and automated notifications and alerts.

--  Expanded audit tool with fingerprints for more than 130,000 open
    source packages: This new release of OLEX EE includes an expanded version
    of OpenLogic's free scanning tool, OSS Discovery. OSS Discovery can detect
    open source software without requiring access to source code.

Enterprise Open Source Governance and Provisioning

Built over the past few years with input from dozens of leading Fortune 500 and mid-sized businesses, OLEX Enterprise Edition is the industry’s most comprehensive governance and provision open source solution offering:

 -- Policy Management Workspace -- Allows administrators to control open
    source usage across the enterprise by specifying policies for each
    open source license and open source package. Technical and legal
    staff can see a company's policy for each open source package as
    they browse the OpenLogic Certified Library in OLEX Enterprise
    Edition, enabling them to select packages that meet their open
    source policy as well as their technical needs.
 -- API Access to the Certified Library -- Allows for RESTful or
    SOAP-based programmatic access to the Certified Library, enabling the
    creation of mash-ups and custom user interfaces.
 -- The OpenLogic Maven Repository -- Provides access to certified open
    source components using the Maven build tool.
 -- Request Approval Work Flow -- Provides an easy-to-use, web-based
    approval process that streamlines requests to use open source software
    in internal projects. It automates the approval workflow and enables
    enterprises to control the required levels of review, including
    business, legal, and technical. The Approval Manager includes email
    notifications to ensure that all of those involved in the process can
    stay abreast of status and progress.
 -- Role-Based Access -- Allows enterprises to customize OLEX Enterprise
    Edition to the way their business functions. Access to management and
    administration features is restricted by role, and roles define the
    business, legal, and technical personnel that are required to approve
    open source usage requests.
 -- OpenLogic Technical Support Portal -- Provides package-specific
    details on the technical support Service Level Agreements that have
    been purchased from OpenLogic. The Technical Support Portal also
    allows OLEX Enterprise Edition users to open new support tickets
    without picking up a telephone. Both developer support and production
    support coverage are available for the hundreds of open source
    packages in the OpenLogic Certified Library.
 -- OpenUpdate Notifications -- Delivers email alerts on security patches
    and new releases for the open source packages in the Certified
    Library.
 -- Activity Reports -- Creates transparency around the open source
    software used in the enterprise by providing tracking information on
    downloads from OLEX Enterprise Edition. These detailed reports help
    administrators monitor download activity and trends in open source
    usage across the enterprise. Reports track a variety of information on
    downloads, including:
    -- Package names and versions
    -- Who downloaded
    -- When downloads were initiated
    -- The license(s) related to the package
    -- Downloads from the Maven repository

About OpenLogic

OpenLogic is a leading provider of open source solutions that enable enterprises to safely acquire, support, and control open source software. OpenLogic provides enterprises with a certified library of open source software that encompasses hundreds of the most popular open source packages via OpenLogic Exchange (OLEX), a free web site where companies can find, research, and download certified, enterprise-ready open source packages on demand. With the broadest open source coverage in the industry, OpenLogic offers indemnification; updates; and enterprise-grade technical support backed by the OpenLogic Expert Community. OpenLogic also provides solutions for open source governance and to automate the integration and deployment of open source components — reducing the risk and maximizing the cost savings associated with using open source software. For more on OpenLogic, go to www.openlogic.com.

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire - April 29, 2009) - Callidus Software Inc. (NASDAQ: CALD), the leader in Sales Performance Management (SPM), today launched the Callidus Monaco Suite: a robust, SaaS offering that delivers the most modern-looking and rich user interface experience available in the sales performance management marketplace today. The Callidus Monaco Suite is the only unified SPM software solution that provides complete alignment of the entire business with corporate objectives to optimize performance, streamline profitability and deliver a rapid ROI. The innovative offering reinforces Callidus’ lead role in the development of ground-breaking solutions that set the pace in the booming SPM arena, while further expanding its Pervasive Performance Management portfolio.

“Callidus unveiled a beautiful new user interface today. It’s clean and succinct but powerful with many layers of detail,” said Denis Pombriant, founder and managing principal at Beagle Research. “Users should be delighted with this new capability to get at sales compensation data quickly from a single screen.”

The Monaco Suite is Callidus Software’s market-leading, multi-tenant SPM offering and is available through Callidus On-Demand. The web-based solution streamlines:

– Objective Management

– Quota Management

– Reporting and Analytics

– Compensation Calculation

– Embedded Workflow

– Plan Distribution

“Issues around system usability and accessibility to essential data are increasingly being raised by companies pursuing SPM product evaluations and upgrades,” says Michael Dunne, research vice president at Gartner. “They are interested in helping business users become more self-reliant in taking advantage of application features to promote individual productivity and decrease requirements for training and IT support. Embracing interface design principles popularized by consumer Web sites is viewed as one avenue for accomplishing this, even with relatively sophisticated functions, like defining, managing, and updating plans, or delivering dashboards and reports that materially increase visibility into performance and cost trends.”

The Monaco Suite delivers all the power of a desktop application via a browser. It is easy to use and encompasses full, interactive web standards plus state-of-the-art Adobe Flash technology.

“The Monaco release is a major achievement for Callidus Software and its customers. It combines high performance, industry-leading functionality and usability,” says Leslie Stretch, president and CEO at Callidus Software. “Callidus Monaco leapfrogs all of our competitors and addresses the needs of all key market segments. The software extends our product leadership, is simple to use and implement and easy to acquire.”

With the added element of self-service capabilities, Monaco empowers the non-administrative user to make sound business decisions and adapt the solution to their specific needs. The suite’s global homepage provides striking, interactive analytical dashboards, a universal work queue and self-guided information that is most relevant to the desired actions, including the ability to:

– Establish and distribute objectives throughout organizations

– Set and distribute quota targets

– Distribute and approve compensation plans

The Monaco Suite is the most revolutionary SPM offering ever developed by Callidus. It provides the user with an end-to-end application for improving sales and employee effectiveness through the alignment of each individual’s objectives with corporate strategy. It combines proven SPM functionality that today powers the performance of more than 1.9 million sales people with goal and objective management functionality designed for the rest of the business. Until now, organizations were forced to use different systems across the enterprise for everything from appraisals and bonuses to sales force compensation, which made the task of coordinating corporate strategies complex. With the Callidus Monaco Suite, the ability to coordinate and set effective incentive programs across an entire business is seamless, thus generating quick ROI and driving revenue.

About Callidus Software®

Callidus Software (www.callidussoftware.com) (NASDAQ: CALD) is the market and technology leader in Sales Performance Management (SPM). Performance-based compensation is one of the largest investments for all companies. Callidus’ customers gain a competitive advantage by maximizing the return on this strategic asset. Our award-winning Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications set the standard for pervasive performance management across the enterprise. Over 1.9 million employees and channel partners have their performance managed by Callidus Software.

© 1998-2009 Callidus Software Inc. All rights reserved. Callidus Software, the Callidus Software logo, Callidus TrueAnalytics, TrueComp, TrueComp Grid, TrueComp Manager, TrueConnection, TrueFoundation, TrueInformation, TruePerformance, TruePerformance Index, TruePerformance Indicator, TrueMBO, TrueAllocation, TrueProducer, TrueQuota, TrueReferral, TrueResolution, TrueTarget and TrueService+ are trademarks, servicemarks, or registered trademarks of Callidus Software Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brand, service or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or owners.