“For anyone who is in a dark moment”, Pawlu Borg Bonaci shares words of courage

Mar 14 2023

“Someone, someone slept alone for the first time, someone graduated even though the current was against him, someone embraced his mother for the last time and doesn’t know she will leave him tomorrow…”

These were the initial statements of local singer and entertainer Pawlu Borg Bonaci as he posted a few sentiments of courage on Facebook for all those who may be going through a tough time.

Attempting to motivate anyone attempting to overcome adversity to speak to someone or seek help, Borg Bonaci stated that while the statements may not make sense to some, they could be all someone needs to save a life.

“Someone tasted a lemon for the first time, someone felt alone in an office of people, someone hugged their father after ten years and forgave him for not accepting he was gay, someone threw away a packet of cigarettes and said that they won’t smoke anymore”, the post continued.

“For anyone who is in a dark moment”, Borg Bonaci concluded.

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Maltese couple surprised by Top 100 DJ Christina Novelli during their wedding

Mar 14 2023

It’s not everyday that a pair of newlyweds have a world-renowned DJ play at their wedding but Maltese bride Christina was met with the surprise of a lifetime after seeing DJ Mag Top 100’s Christina Novelli enter their wedding hall.

Most known for global hit ‘Concrete Angel’, Novelli’s collaboration with Gareth Emery is an absolute favourite amongst Maltese music-lovers; safe to say that the newlyweds are fans.

“You’re crazy”, the bride told the groom as the trance legend entered the hall, to which he answered “Yes, I know.” With the crowd in awe of the DJ’s presence, Novelli took to the DJ stand to drop a few tracks as the crowd danced the night away to celebrate the couple coming together.

What do you make of this?

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Photos: Brighter Image Weddings

“Kemm għoliet il-ħajja?” Here’s how inflation in Malta really affects you

Mar 14 2023

If, over the past months, you’ve felt that things got really expensive really fast, you weren’t wrong. The increase in the level of prices of goods and services is a phenomenon called inflation which, in a nutshell, explains why you can buy less with €1 today than you could have bought yesterday.

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Inflation is measured considering a basket of selected goods and services such as food, fuel, cars, clothes, banking and hairdressing, amongst others. The basket usually reflects the purchasing habits of people living in a particular country, whereby the level of prices is measured periodically.

However, inflation isn’t always bad. In fact, moderate inflation is a typical sign of economic growth and progress, with high inflation tending to feed on itself and impair the economy’s long-term performance.

That being said, you may ask, “is Malta’s level of inflation worrying?” Well, even though the country’s 6.8% in January 2022 is one of the lowest inflation rates in the eurozone, this is still much higher than the desired 2%, with the current global economic and political scenario causing an increase in price levels.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution, but central banks brace for the most negative effects of inflation by increasing interest rates. By doing this, the consumer pays more when borrowing money but gets more money when investing in assets with a positive relationship with rising interest rates, such as real estate and stocks.

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If you’re saving money in your bank account, inflation will erode the real value of your savings. If you have a loan, increasing inflation will decrease the actual value of your loan over time and if you are an investor, and you are receiving fixed interests, the real amount of your return is less than it was before because now you can buy less goods or services than you could have bought yesterday with the same amount of money.

What happens if I have a home insurance policy? Well, inflation could also impact it. As a client, the sum you have insured is the total amount for which you are covered and the maximum amount your insurers will pay you for claims. If you get this insurance value wrong and it is lower than the real value at risk, then your premium will be based on the wrong value and will be lower than you should have paid to cover the property at risk. For example, in case of a home insurance, the sum insured may not reflect the real value of the property and the relative costs to reinstate or repair it, specifically due to the increasing levels of inflation and higher cost of living.

Ultimately, as a consumer of financial services, you should understand what the impact of inflation on your investment or saving decisions is. In any case, always check the real interest rates linked to your payments or returns, and if in doubt, ask your service provider to provide further information.

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Maltese parents not having children because of increasing costs, Labour MP states

Maltese parents not having children because of high property prices, Labour MP states

Mar 14 2023

Labour Party MP Omar Farrugia stated that Malta’s decreasing fertility rate may be partly caused by expensive properties and high cost of living.

Addressing Parliament on Monday, PL MP Omar Farrugia referred to the recent Eurostat figures showing Malta with the lowest fertility rates in Europe, with 1.13 live births per woman.

Apart from being a significant drop from the EU average of 1.53 births per women, this year’s results are the latest in a downward trend in local fertility since 2013, with the sharpest decreases were registered between 2017 and 2019.

Farrugia credited this downward trend in fertility partly to increasing property prices and cost of living, stating “so young people, or young couples, due to this, decided to wait more to purchase a property. Basically postponing life plans for later.”

“A lot of young families want to have children but when considering a loan, when considering a potential home loan or car loan, does the family have enough disposable income to live comfortably with a child or two?”

Additionally, a study released in September 2022 showed how Maltese men left their parents’ homes on average after the age of 30 during the year 2023. With the European average standing at 27.4 across all countries on the block, Maltese men and women left a little later, with women leaving at the age of 29 as opposed to the European average of 25.5 years of age.

During his discourse, Farrugia also shed light on the stark difference between Malta’s traditional culture, which is heavily dependent on family values, and the feeling of huge failure in the fact that Malta has one of the lowest fertility rates in Europe.

Do you agree with Farrugia’s statement?

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