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All those illustrious ‘bubbleologists’ out there are not going to like this one bit: not all real estate bubbles burst. Some of them actually sink - just like The Titanic

Only a few weeks ago the real estate bubble captured the attention of a great many bloggers, authors, even news commentators all of which had in common a very dire prediction, which can be encapsulated into what has become known as the ninth note of the musical diatonic scale, right after Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do: ‘Pop’, with all the consequences that such novel high-octave implied, including a cataclysmic price crash, Armageddon and, possibly, the end of life on Earth (save and except, perhaps, for a handful of protozoa).

At the root of the Theory of The Bubble, it will be recalled, were the notions that U.S. consumers have too much already and want more, that they do not save enough, that the trade deficit is too large and bound to become even larger and that the American economy is far too dependent on housing. Absent from the minds of the bubbleologists, however, was the fact that much of this debt is anchored on the built-in equity of real property assets, which thus far has been growing steadily. So therefore, to make the monthly debt burden onerous enough to cause a bubble to burst - that is a cascade of mortgage defaults with a flood of foreclosures on the market, which in turn would bring prices down - one would have to look not to higher interest rates but, rather, for a big drop in family income. As monthly debt payments remain the same, a drop in income would quickly dry up the cash reserves of many consumers, so that the predicted avalanche of mortgage defaults would start rolling down.

Unfortunately for the doomsayers, however, not only nothing of the kind has happened but, furthermore, data released by the Federal Reserve System and the U.S Department of Commerce indicate that consumers are far, far away from suffering a catastrophic drop in family income for a very long time to come. As a matter of fact, the US economy has created 211,000 new jobs in March, according to the Labor Department, which have contributed to an overall drop in the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent, annualized. This level of activity, furthermore, has caused consumer spending to rise by 0.6 percent, up from the 0.2 percent growth seen in February. Which rise in spending, the bubbleologists should be made aware, was aided by an increase in family income, up 0.8 percent in March compared to the 0.3 percent jump in February.

This past week, in fact, Ben Shalom Bernanke, the new Feds’ boss has announced that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.2 percent in the January-to-March quarter, the highest level in these past two and a half years. This marks a vast improvement from the anemic 1.7 percent growth rate in the final quarter of 2005. And on April 19, 2006 the US Department of Commerce has released data showing that the benchmark median housing price has increased at an annualized rate of 3.2 percent for the First Quarter of 2006 ending on March 31.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, moreover, is pegging the Consumer Confidence Index at 109.6 in April, up from 107.5 in March and higher than the 103.8 of December, 2005, when I published the Article entitled “Breaking The Real Estate Bubble Myth”, which has earned me an interview on local TV and that has been praised by many for its thoroughness and, now, rightfulness. The Consumer Confidence Index is now at the highest level since March, 2002 {figures released by Statistics Canada, incidentally, are equally positive). Finally, in line with the inflation-targeting approach announced by Prof. Bernanke in February, the Feds has raised interest rates again by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 percent. Rates have increased from 1 percent over the past 20 months, and are now at the highest level since April, 2001. And, finally, the Greenback rose against most currencies on the prospect of higher borrowing costs, which tend to enhance its attractiveness to foreign investors. This signals a renewed influx of foreign capitals into the United States and, by reflection, Canada - both still the the most economically secure, politically stable, most trusted and better defended investment arenas of the entire world.

A note of caution was made by the Feds’ Chairman, to the extent that “while prices at the pump have yet to impact confidence, further increases (of gas prices) could dampen consumers’ mood”. Should that come true, however, and should cost of crude and prices at the pump hamper spending and reduce - or even halt growth, that would have nothing at all to do with a real estate bubble bursting, since the whole economy would be affected. In fact, all world economies would be affected.

So therefore, there is no valid reason to believe, under the circumstances, that consumer confidence applies to everything but real estate and that an economic bubble would affect only real estate markets and nothing else. It is furthermore evident now, in light of the foregoing deluge of statistical data, that all those bubbleologists, Sunday-afternoon crystal ball readers and part-time economists out there have been completely wrong. So much so, in fact, that merely to cite another example, in the Summer of 2004 the long-term bond treasury yield was 5 3/8 percent, whereas right now it is 5 1/8 percent. This is another clear indication that the US Treasury does not envision rates to climb much higher, contrary to what the bubbleologists have been prophesying all along.

It is, therefore, pretty difficult to foresee a collapse of the real estate market with interest rates which, in the long run, are actually dropping.

Perhaps some of those Hollywood big movie producers should ask Leonardo Di Caprio to star in “The Bubble”, a sequel to “The Titanic”, where one could enjoy watching another transatlantic ship sink right to the bottom of the ocean, with all those bubbleologists jumping overboard to meet their destiny into the frigid waters of their economic ignorance.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

“Before Jackie Robinson broke the color line, I wasn’t
permitted even to think about being a professional baseball
player. I once mentioned something to my father about it, and he
said, “Ain’t no colored ballplayers.” There were the Negro
Leagues, of course, where the Dodgers discovered Jackie, but my
mother, like most, would rather her son be a schoolteacher than
a Negro Leaguer. All that changed when Jackie put on No. 42 and
started stealing bases in a Brooklyn uniform.”- Hank Aaron, TIME
Magazine, 2000

In 1947, Branch Rickey, GM and president of the Brooklyn
Dodgers, saw promising young talent forming in the Negro
Leagues. There were no official bans on black players in Major
League Baseball at the time, but Rickey’s idea of integration on
the field was often met with opposition from rival clubs and
league officials.

But, Rickey didn’t care. He signed a talented young prospect
from the Kansas City Monarchs.

On April 15, 1947, 27-year-old Jack Roosevelt Robinson debuted
at first base, and didn’t hit a single ball in his three times
at bat. But he did do more for the game of baseball than anyone
ever could have imagined that day. Jackie Robinson broke
baseball’s color line and changed the game forever.

Robinson was one of the best players of his time exuding a
confidence and silent strength that stood up against abuse from
rival ball clubs, fans, even members of his own team.

Some of Robinson’s teammates said they would rather strike than
play alongside him. Dodger management responded by telling the
defiant players they were welcome to find employment elsewhere,
the sedition ended…at least in the dugout.

On the field it was another story. Pitchers threw at Robinson’s
head, base runners tried to cut him with their cleats and the
verbal abuse from opposing teams was relentless.

The Philadelphia Phillies, led by manager Ben Chapman, were
especially offensive to Robinson. Rickey would later recall
that, “Chapman did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When
he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified
and united thirty men.” (Wikipedia)

By 1953, six of the 16 Major League Baseball teams had African-
Americans on their rosters.

Robinson earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1947 and National
League MVP honors in 1949. He led the Dodgers to the World
Series six times in his career, including the Dodgers first and
only victory over their cross town rivals the New York Yankees
in 1955.

At the close of the 1956 season, Robinson was sold to the New
York Giants. But rather than play for another team, Robinson
opted to retire at the age of 37.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1959,
twelve years after Jackie Robinson took the field for the
Dodgers, the last team in Major League Baseball signed an
African- American player. Pumpsie Green made his debut with the
Boston Red Sox.

In 1972, the Dodgers retired Robinson’s number 42 alongside
fellow teammates Roy Campanella (39) and Sandy Koufax (32). That
same year Robinson made his final public appearance at Game two
of the World Series in Cincinnati. There he expressed to fans
and management his desire to see a black man managing a Major
League Ball club.

Two years later, the Cleveland Indians hired still active player
Frank Robinson (no relation to Jackie) as manager. Four years
later, after being fired by the Indians, Robinson became the
first black manager for a National League team, The San
Francisco Giants.

By 2005, five teams had African- American or Hispanic managers,
and 13 of 30 had hired one at some point in their history.

Mitchell
& Ness, a well-known manufacturer of authentic vintage
jerseys based in Philadelphia estimates that about 35 percent of
the jerseys they carry are Hispanic and African- American
players, like Robinson, Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson and Willie Stargell.

The Jackie Robinson Foundation will auction off new Jackie
Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers commemorative pennants from Mitchell
& Ness. The pennants are available at mitchellandness.com and
jackierobinson.org, and a portion of the proceeds benefits their
mission of providing scholarships to students of color.

The heroes of today would not be around without the legends of
yesterday. Icons like Robinson, Campanella, Willie Mays and
Frank Robinson led the way for African-Americans and Hispanic
players in the big leagues today giving them an even playing
field to inspire the players of tomorrow.

Robinson once said, “I’m not concerned with your liking or
disliking me…I only ask that you respect me as a human being.”

Oh we do Mr. Robinson. We do.

Buying Platinum jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing.
Whether you’re considering a gift of Platinum jewelry for
someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to
learn the terms used in the industry. Here’s some information to
help you get the best quality Platinum jewelry for your money,
whether you’re shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store
or online.

Platinum is a precious metal that costs more than gold. It
usually is mixed with other similar metals, known as the
platinum group metals: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium
and osmium.

Different markings are used on platinum jewelry as compared with
gold jewelry, based on the amount of pure platinum in the piece.
The quality markings for platinum are based on parts per
thousand. For example, the marking 900 Platinum means that 900
out of 1000 are pure platinum, or in other words, the item is
90% platinum and 10% other metals. The abbreviations for
platinum - Plat. or Pt. - also can be used in marking jewelry.

Items that contain at least 950 parts per thousand pure
platinum can be marked simply platinum. Items that have at least
850 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked with the
amount of pure platinum and the word platinum or an abbreviation
(for example, 950 platinum, 900 Plat. or 850 Pt.). Jewelry that
contains less than 850 parts per thousand pure platinum, but has
a total of 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals (of
which at least 500 parts is pure platinum), may be marked with
both the amount of pure platinum and the amount of the other
platinum group metals in the piece. For example, the marking 600
Plat. 350 Irid. means that the item has 600 parts per thousand
(60%0 platinum, and 350 parts per thousand (35%) iridium,
totaling 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals, and 50
parts per thousand (5%) other metals.

When building your own home, certain building materials must be chosen and ordered well in
advance of when they will be used. This is mainly due to how long the delivery time
is once the order is made. By ordering these materials at the proper time you ensure
that they will be on the job when they are needed.

Some of the materials that need to be ordered with plenty of lead time include windows,
plumbing fixtures, roofing, siding, electrical fixtures, brick, flooring, interior trim and
appliances.

Windows and certain plumbing fixtures should be ordered about the time the foundation is
poured. Windows can take 3 to 6 weeks to get so order them accordingly. Ideally you would like
these ready for delivery once the roof is framed and covered with sheathing so they can be
installed while the carpenter contractor is still there.

Plumbing fixtures such as bathtubs and shower stalls get put in place on the rough. Two to
three weeks should be plenty of time to make this available for your plumber.

Roofing should also be ordered even if it is a stock item. Make sure the color and style you
want is available so there are no surprises. If it needs to be ordered it gives your supplier
time to order it for you. Once the plywood is on the roof you will want to shingle it as soon
as possible. This item should also be considered about the time the foundation is poured.

Siding and Brick should be considered once the rough framing is completed. This gives
the other trades a chance to run electric, plumbing, or vents out exterior walls. Once that
is done these exterior finishes should be at your disposal.

Electrical fixtures should be ordered once the rough is finished. If ordering these from an
electrical supply house, specialty fixtures could take as much as six weeks.

Flooring is another item that should be considered once the rough carpentry is finished.
You will want to make sure items such as carpeting, ceramic or quarry tile, laminate, hardwood,
or vinyl flooring is available when you need them.

Interior trim and millwork should be measured up for and ordered after the drywall is up.
While the taping and painting is being done, your order can be run. Once the painting is done
your order should be ready for delivery. Give this two to three weeks lead time.

Once the painting is done, ordering appliances is in order. I know a guy who ordered his
refrigerator for when the drywall was done so his favorite beverage was on hand as he worked
on his new home.

Having all the necessary materials on hand is important to keep your homebuilding project
moving smoothly. If your trying to meet a deadline this becomes even more important. If your
paying on a construction loan, ordering materials with plenty of lead time can save you money.

(c) 2006 Mike Merisko
www.sawkerfs.com

About the Author: Mike Merisko has been a carpenter for 26 years. Most of those years were spent in the homebuilding and remodeling industries. He was also in business as a carpentry and general contractor. While that is his forte, he also has experience in bridge building, commercial construction, and exhibit building which is how he earns his living these days. You can browse through articles by him and others at his website http://www.sawkerfs.com or visit his blog at http://www.sawkerfs.blogspot.com

Almost everyone experiences acne at some point in life. For some, acne is nothing more than an occasional annoying and embarrassing event during adolescence, when hormone levels surge. However, some people suffer extreme bouts of acne for decades. Either of these extremes can result in acne scarring, ranging from mild to severe.

Acne scars, like any type of scarring, can seldom be permanently removed. Fortunately, there are several acne treatments now available that can help the scarred area return to a more “normal” appearance.

Today’s available treatment options differ considerably in their approach. What’s right for a person will depend on several factors, including the type and extent of scarring involved, an evaluation of how the scarring is impacting the person’s livelihood, and the individual’s budget. Before making a decision, it’s always advisable to thoroughly discuss treatment options with a dermatologist.

Causes And Types Of Acne Scars

Acne scars result from tissue damage. As with all scars, when tissue is damaged, the body reacts by initiating the repair process and taking steps to protect against infection. The body sends collagen to the damaged area. However, sometimes the body produces too much collagen. When this happens, the excess collagen builds up into a fibrous mass, eventually resulting in a smooth, firm acne scar with an irregular shape. Many different types of scarring exist: “ice-pick” scars, depressed scars, soft scars, atrophic macules and others.

Treatment Options

An effective method for most people is injecting collagen into the scar site. Once injected under the skin, the collagen puffs out the scar area, making the scar less noticeable. While effective, it is a treatment that needs to be repeated about every 3 to 6 months.

Another option, called autologus fat transfer, uses a person’s own body fat. Fat is taken from another part of the body and injected into the acne scar, causing it to fill out. This treatment also needs to be repeated, although less frequently, because the fat will be absorbed back into the body.

A common treatment for most types of acne scarring is dermabrasion. Performed under local anesthesia, a thin layer of surface skin is removed using a brush set on high speed. Removing the surface layer removes some shallow scarring at the surface, which lessens the depth of scarring. Microdermabrasion, a similar technique, removes the surface skin by using crystals of aluminum oxide that pass through a vacuum.

Another scar treatment option uses lasers of various intensity and wavelength that are used to change a scar’s shape. Depending on the scar, permanent results are sometimes achieved, although multiple treatments may be necessary.

Other acne treatment options include skin grafting and skin surgery. However, these are extreme procedures, which should be reserved for extreme situations.

Many treatments now exist to help with acne scarring. See your dermatologist to select the best option for you.

Visit Getting rid of acne scars to learn more. Ron King is a writer and web developer, visit Articles for authors.

Copyright 2006 Ron King.

Anyone with the ability to use a camera correctly has the potential to sell their images. Picture agencies handle images of every subject and are always looking for emerging talent.

Pictures libraries and stock agencies are in the business of selling images. The don’t give you advice on how to take better images. Their purpose is business - they sell images to magazines, book publishers, the travel industry and many other industries that use images.

Many photographers look upon agencies as a last resort to sell their work; if you have been unable to sell any of your images, the chances are that most agencies won’t accept them.

If you are interested in an agency selling your images, you must be able to produce high quality images which are suited to the agencies market. Check out their website to view samples that are currently in use.
If you feel your work meets their standards and suits their customers - then approach them by e-mail or by standard mail.

But, before placing your work at an agency make a short-list of the agencies that seem to suit your work. Contact each agency outlining your work and which magazines have already published your images. If an agency is then interested they will ask you to send them samples.

If an agency accepts your work, don’t take this as a guarantee that your images will sell.

Don’t approach an agency until you have a large collection of images. Minimum first submissions can consist of anything from 50 images to 500 and regular submissions are normally required thereafter. Most agencies work on a commission basis - 50 % being the standard rate. If an image sells for two hundred euro - the photographer receives a one hundred euro fee.

When an agency takes on a photographer’s work, they normally require a four or five year retention period. Agencies normally sell the reproduction rights of a pictures - the image being licensed to a buyer for a specified purpose.

It may take as long as six months before an agency sells a picture belonging to you. First they need to scan your images if they are submitted by film; then they need to contact their clients and let them know that there is new material available - all of this takes time, so you must look at supplying a picture agency as a long term investment. It is only when you have several hundred images placed in a library that you’ll start to see regular sales.

Remember: agencies can’t sell images if there isn’t a market for them and placing images at an agency does not guarantee you sales.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer and a freelance writer. If you are looking for some photo tips visit the photography directory he frequently writes for: www.goldprints.com To view some of his images visit his on line gallery @ www.goldenirishlight.com

Just a decade ago the suggestion of a wall-mounted telly may possibly have looked like something from a science fiction film. It was out of the reach of most electronic consumers, with high charges that ordered taking out a second mortgage to get these very stylist televisions. Although, over time, these astonishing TV products reached the level of attainability. Yet, still not something you might just go out & pay for, it has in recent time steadily become much more of a chance. Marked-up prices for these flat panel High Definition TV sets are at this time diminishing quicker than new house values, & have made the electronics vision a certainty.

Presently there are 2 competing flat-panel technologies: plasma & LCD. Though each type provides a clear picture and these TV sets do deem the same from the front, the components on the inside is reasonably different. And thought LCD TVs have been limited to 37″s & below, sets with the liquid crystal display technology are currently in sizes as huge as plasma.

But in spite of that, a lot of buyers discover plasma to offer quite a lot of key advantages over LCD. The key selling points is that plasma television sets classically include deeper black levels-promoting that the blacks are in fact black & not merely just a dark type of gray. This in turn means that the colours are much more vibrant and authentic. The current models from Toshiba & Panasonic have in actual fact taken the black levels to incredible depths, and therefore have created the greatest pictures we have watched to date.

Regardless of the rumours that plasma TV sets “needs to be recharged” after six-thousand hours, nothing can be far more from the truth. Today’s flat panel plasma televisions would often work for sixty thousand hours or more, awarding you years of first-rate TV viewing. Even though there has been a worry over issues like that of burn-in (appropriately so, as this could ruin that expensive plasma TV). the latest televisions incorporate equipment to cope with image retention, giving pixel shift modes that slowly move the whole screen and more crucially, take away any ghosting should static images in fact “stick” the image. This has a white wash mode not counting an inverse mode to take away all burn-in. Stop your quest today as Digital Direct has great deals on Plasma and LCD TVs. Click here to visit the website.

118 118 Directory Enquiries is presently the primary directory enquiries facility in great britain & 1 of the best as well. If you need business contact details fast, then use the 118 118 Directory Enquiries service.

Should you yourself discuss around how significantly the organisation has pulled off since it was first launched to market you should observe that the success is a lot. In excess of fifty % of the British market opt to use the 118 118 services over any other. All this explains that the directory firm can be trusted and that the directory enquiry business provides a product which works considerably well and the the British public use around a day to day basis. Although you yourself associate 118.com with just suppliers of business and United Kingdom public telephone numbers, you should see that the directory firm now offer even more than this. Yourself can often rely on the directory firm to supply you yourself with train times in the arrivals & departures, this is for the large mass of train journeys up and down the UK, the directory company should additionally be practiced to tell you yourself cinema schedule & film listings for any movie theatre you require, you yourself should appreciate the option to discuss the film schedule with the directory company or they will patch one right to the movie theatre one would want to speak to. A lot of the British public just relate the 118.com service with the phone however, it has currently branched out noticeably further than this.

The directory enquiry business additionally offers a text messaging service, all that supplies the directory company customers to gain access to the most recent tennis scores in all the big sport leagues, pub quiz support where one would can text message & ask the directory enquiry company a quiz question & 118 will MMS you yourself back with the correct quiz answer UK lottery results can also be text msg to your mobile phone as well. Although this is not an inexpensive service if you are desperate & in real need of any info then the the business text message offering is going to be astonishingly valuable to you.

It must be very emotional for a man to become a father, especially for the first time. So many questions must revolve around a young or not so young man’s head. “How will I manage my life? Will I be a good father? Will we be able to provide for our child through his growing years? Will my partner’s treatment of me change once the baby comes? Will the baby like me?”

Every day on earth, millions of men become fathers. Possibly, only a few of them ever think of baby rearing as a job, and most babies grow into adulthood looking healthy enough. The emotionally healthy children, however, do possess fathers who take their child-rearing job seriously.

A father’s touch–the way he holds his baby, the way he plays with him, cares for him, nurtures him–matters greatly for an infant’s optimum development. In reverse, the interaction with his baby aids a father’s personal growth by teaching him how to be protective and nurturing.

A father’s attention improves his baby’s understanding, emotional development, and even intelligence. The baby sees the differences between Mommy, Daddy, and other people through his interaction with his father.

His father’s support helps the baby develop self-confidence and guides him to explore the world around him more enthusiastically. Fathers usually encourage perseverance in their children, more so than other people around them. Fathers also are the ones to persuade their children to take risks and overcome their initial fears of new projects.

By becoming role models to their children, fathers promote the concepts of honesty, fairness, gentleness, and empathy.

Parenthood is a scary mission. When a man gets the first news of becoming a father he may feel a plethora of emotions: happiness, shock, worry, pride, panic, fear, excitement, anxiety and a whole lot of other things. These feelings are understandable and acceptable because they are normal. Addressing these feelings by talking about them with one’s mate, a friend, or one’s family is a very constructive approach.

Also, if the father-to-be has had his differences with his own father in the past, it would help his situation greatly to discuss these problems with a professional, if not for himself, then for the sake of his baby. Promising to oneself not to repeat other people’s mistakes and to be the best father ever may not always work perfectly.

Being a good father starts when the baby is still in the womb. It is hypothesized that the babies do understand plenty of things before birth. Talking to the baby while touching the mother’s belly will make the baby get acquainted with his father’s voice, his intonation, and his moods.

At this stage, a baby care course would be a great idea for the expectant couple. Fathers who attend such courses take care of the babies better, and as a result, become closer to their children.

Supposing the future father passed through the pregnancy and childbirth together with his wife in flying colors, what can the couple, as parents, do once the baby gets home?

* The father has to understand and put up with his partner’s moods. Childbirth is a physical process and a woman’s body goes through many changes as the result of it. Most women suffer from baby blues because of hormonal changes. In such a case, positive relationship with the father of her baby helps a woman immensely.

* The father has to understand and accept that not only his wife but he, too, will experience physical and psychological discomfort and sleep deprivation.

* The father has to, not aid but, participate and become an equal partner in the care and nurturing of the baby. When he does that, he will start creating an emotional connection between himself and his offspring.

* Changing, bathing, dressing, feeding, holding, and playing with the baby are means to a good communication between a father and a child. While talking to an infant, using signs, or even using sign language, may help the bonding and the baby’s mental development.

* If the father and the mother are working and have found an alternative solution to their baby’s care, neither should feel guilty, but instead, they should turn the time they spend with the baby into quality time. If a situation can not be helped, it can be remedied.

* The parents have to stop expecting the continuation of their social life before the baby was born. On the other hand, they both should make an effort to take care of themselves, eat right, and get some rest and exercise.

* If the father has to be away for long periods of time because of work, laminating large photos of his face and hanging or placing or them around the baby’s crib can be considered an alternative. Also playing video and audio tapes of the father may help the baby to become familiar with the father.

The idea of “Practice makes perfect” works very well with fathers. The more a father pays attention to his baby, the more capable the father will become, and his baby will develop faster and better in his mental, physical, emotional, and social growth.

This article has been submitted by Joy Cagil in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names.
Joy Cagil’s educational background is in foreign languages and linguistics. She also has experience in psychology, mental health, and visual arts. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag

Second marriages can be a tricky situation for a variety of
reasons. There may be problems with step kids, ex spouses or
even some religious stumbling blocks for the marriage taking
place.

However, when we talk about the etiquette for buying gifts for
those going through a second marriage, it is a fairly
straightforward process.

It is the norm for a couple going through a second marriage not
to ask for, nor to expect, wedding attendees to bring gifts.
Traditionally people received gifts at their first wedding to
help them set up a home for their new life together. It is
considered that couples going through second marriages already
have all the trappings of modern life and do not require the
gifts usually received at a first wedding.

If you have been invited to a second wedding and have received
an invite that makes no mention of gifts, then that is good. It
shows that the bride and groom have taken note of etiquette and
have not requested gifts on their invitation. However, it is
permissible and not uncommon to give gifts at a second wedding.
If you are related to the future couple you may wish to give a
gift anyway, if you are not married then you may politely
enquire if the bride and groom have a gift registry, so as to
make sure if you do by a gift for a second marriage, you get
them a gift that they want.