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Won't this start to decrease votes? People only have to log in for X amount of days, and recieve rewards (not as much as you would supposing get from voting, but still).

Personally don't really like it, as I think players recieve enough as it is without it turning into a 'Play2Win' format (or OP survival in a way, lol). Just my opinion anyway.

[Indian PM Narendra Modi's government has unveiled a business-friendly budget aimed at attracting greater investment for the economy.]

India budget to boost investment
Source: British Broadcasting Cooperation

Indian PM Narendra Modi's government has unveiled a business-friendly budget aimed at attracting greater investment for the economy.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an unprecedented corporate tax cut, in the government's first full budget.

But he also proposed major benefits for the poor, introducing a universal social security scheme.

India will grow at a rate of more than 8% during 2015-16, a key economic report said ahead of the budget.

The growth forecast follows the country's new way of calculating GDP which has caused some confusion.

Presenting the budget in parliament Mr Jaitley said the country was growing at a strong rate, inflation was down and foreign exchange reserves were high.

"We inherited a sentiment of doom and gloom. The investment community had almost written us off. We have come a long way since then," he said.

"We have turned around the economy, dramatically restoring macroeconomic stability and creating the conditions for sustainable poverty elimination, job creation, durable double digit economic growth."

Among the major announcements made by Mr Jaitley are:

1. Five "ultra mega" power projects of 4,000 megawatts (MW) will be built to ease the energy crisis
2. Spending on infrastructure will be raised by $11.3bn (£7.32bn) to boost growth
3. Creating a "universal social security" that would give poor Indians access to subsidised insurance and pensions
4. Implementation of a uniform countrywide goods and services tax (GST) by April 2016
5. Welfare money to be paid directly into people's bank accounts to eliminate corruption and wastage
6. Wealth tax to be abolished and replaced by a surcharge on the super rich
7. Corporate tax to be cut by 25% over next four years

Analysts say the government's challenge will be to balance its spending with the need for fiscal restraint.

Mr Jaitley said the government would achieve its goal of cutting the fiscal deficit to 4.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2014-15 from 4.5% the year before.

[The owner of British Airways, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), has confirmed a 265% rise in annual profits to £601m.]

BA Owner's Shares Soar On Profit Take-Off
Source: Sky News

The owner of British Airways, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), has confirmed a 265% rise in annual profits to £601m.

The company, which is currently aiming to bring Irish carrier Aer Lingus into its stable, said Spain's Iberia had returned to annual profit for the first time following a major restructuring.

British Airways' operating profit increased to £883m last year, which IAG said demonstrated progress on its long-term targets.

Its share price rose almost 5% when the FTSE 100 opened for business on news the company had upgraded its profit forecast for 2015 by over 20%.

It cited lower fuel costs and rising capacity for the move.

The upgrade is the latest in a series from IAG, which raised this year's forecast last October, buoyed by its exposure to strong demand for North Atlantic travel and Iberia's profitability.

IAG, which also owns low-cost Vueling in Spain, wants to add Aer Lingus to its portfolio but its approach is yet to get the backing of the Irish government which owns a 25% stake.

Unions are also cautious as the £1bn bid is set to result in back office job losses though IAG insists its plans will grow the business.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh told Sky News: "The board and the management team of Aer Lingus recognise the value of that and have strongly supported our bid ...we remain excited about the prospect of Aer Lingus being part of IAG.

"We believe we can bring a lot of additional value to Aer Lingus so we'll wait to see what shareholders in Aer Lingus have to say."

Ryanair, which holds a 29% stake in Aer Lingus, is believed to support the offer as it remains under regulatory pressure to draw down its holding to just 5%.

Mr Walsh added that the IAG proposals would, in his view, "significantly accelerate" the growth opportunities Aer Lingus had identified for its business.

"I think the management team at Aer Lingus has done a very good job but they recognise that their plan has quite an element of risk and that that risk could be eliminated or significantly reduced as part of IAG", he said.

You do laundry in a washing machine. This case laundry equals money laundering; linking it to the tax evasion scandal. (At least I believe this is what Connor is implying, lol.)

[HSBC has said 2014 was a "challenging year" after reporting a 17% drop in profit to $18.7bn (£12.2bn).]

HSBC blames 'challenging year' as profit falls 17%
Source: British Broadcasting Coorparation

HSBC has said 2014 was a "challenging year" after reporting a 17% drop in profit to $18.7bn (£12.2bn).

The bank blamed the negative effect of $2.4bn in fines and settlements and UK customer redress for the sharp fall.

The results follow allegations, which emerged earlier this month, that HSBC had helped people evade UK tax using hidden HSBC accounts in Geneva.

HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver saw his overall pay for the year fall to £7.6m from £8.03m in 2013.

HSBC's shares fell more than 5%, hitting their lowest level for two-and-a-half years, after it reported its fall in profit, which was larger than analysts had expected.

The drop in profitability was driven by $2.4bn in fines and customer compensation costs, largely connected to fines in connection with traders' attempted manipulation of foreign exchange rates and compensation for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.

The bank has been streamlining its business in an attempt to boost earnings, and Mr Gulliver said it had now closed or sold 77 businesses and lost 50,000 jobs since he took the helm in 2011.

Fines and "redress" (in the main payments for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance) total £2.4bn. The bank has also raised significant concerns over Europe, saying that reform is "far less risky than going it alone".

The bank said restoration of trust in the industry "remains a significant challenge as further misdeeds are uncovered but it is a challenge we must meet successfully".

Investigation

The Financial Conduct Authority, HMRC, Swiss prosecutors and MPs on the Treasury Committee are looking into the allegations that HSBC helped people evade UK tax using hidden HSBC accounts in Geneva.

The former director of public prosecutions, Lord Ken Macdonald, has warned that HSBC has left itself open to criminal charges in the UK over the tax-dodging scandal.

Congratulations to you dpa, and of course starii!

krankenstein20

Love my keyboard.

There currently is a creative server, based on a normal map. However, would it be an idea if a creative plot-world was added, as well?

[Post Merge: Feb 17, 2015, 06:27 PM]

5 random players gets a steve co crate every 10-15 minuites please! 
Post Merge: Feb 17, 2015, 06:27 PM
add super flower gun that you shoot fireballs like a bow and fire aspect and one hit = 1 kill 

1. If I recall, a random player receives a chest every 15 minutes or so. Giving out keys would by to much, imo anyway.
2. A 'super flower' could work, but not one which shoots fireballs; a bit OP, and could be abused quite a bit.

Claustropgobia.

Type Dictionary.

Pudding.

Type Simulator.

is a bcv a town because it sometimes gets bcv   I think so ya

Towns can be BCV'ed, providing all owners and members of the town have exceeded the inactive period.

This sentence really does not make sense. Lmao. 

So, let's stay a new one:

There

and

SuperFinTime

Type: Quantum.

Jinx has been banned for: Not being Dino enough.

Green has five letters in. Giant has five letters in. Five plus five is equal to ten. The ternary of ten is 101(3). The year is 2015. 2015 minus 101 is 1914. World War One started in 1914. There are seven continents in the world. There are seven deadly sins. One of the sins is greed. Greed is the desire for wealth of personal gain. Wealth can be gained via good gaming. Good gaming is GG. G equals Green. G equals Giant.

Bet you did not see that coming.

Does this involve swapping forum software or something?

I cant find the "give diamond" button

Where it says total amount of diamonds,  click the diamond on top of it. You will need to create an account though.

True.

The person below me has flown a plane.

What Timezone is it for 8pm?

It is 20:00 GMT.

i already have and it was locked and i was told to wait 2 weeks however i dont feel that 2 weeks AND a global ban is fair

This debate can be taken to an unban request, as not needed on this thread.

I look forward to participating in the event this Saturday!

well if global means literally ALL sft servers then its wrong cause i was on pixelmon just now

Globally meaning all connected SFT servers via Bungee. Pixelmon is not connected to this system.

If you can't access any SFT server, including the Lobby, it probably means you were banned globally, meaning you can not access any SFT server. It would be up to the staff team if they would just change your ban to a survival ban.

China's growth rate still very high, envious of other countries around the world. Some may argue that China may struggle to cope under this announcement, while other may say that this 'restructure' is good. Government may cut interest rates, in the hope of encouraging more spending, or perhaps it has been said they may try to reduce the cost of imports.

But, who knows what they will do.