The National Bank of Romania has a long and storied history. It was established way back in 1880, in the capital of Romania, Bucharest. It is a national bank and has responsibilities that include the issuing of bank notes, setting monetary policy, and managing the official reserves.

In the news recently for seeking to tighten retail lending regulation, the National Bank of Romania has sparked debate in its country. They have been calling for stringent reforms on the rules surrounding corporate loans in foreign currency, as well as those to consumers.

The drive for reform and innovation continues in other areas. In a move that would have been unthinkable not so long ago, the bank has looked to an American company to provide certain ‘solutions’.

Many of the innovations seem to be around replacing so-called ‘legacy systems’. Accounting Treasury operations as well as Back, Middle and Front Office concerns. With the currency reserves and monetary policy execution of Romania at stake, this is clearly a high stakes game.

The whole field of treasury management is understood by few. Even though this is true, it is something which has consequences that extend far beyond that group, and into the wider global economic system.

This is not the first time a central bank has trusted Wall Street Systems. It has been reported that as many as 42 central banks have brought them in over the last fifteen years.

It is not just central banks who have used the company’s services. Corporate treasuries often have to delay with some of the same kind of numbers as central banks, and they to have looked to the company named after New York’s famous financial district.

With the Euro in jeopardy, the threat to the economy of further regulation to the banking system, and the danger to the economy of an insufficiently regulated banking system it is fair to say that investors are living in ‘interesting times’. With this in mind, lets take a look at some investment ideas that should keep your money safe, and a couple of curve-balls that might just let you gain an edge.

Safety

In investment safety is a relative concept. Just about anything has the potential to go wrong, so obviously no investment can ever really be guaranteed to be totally watertight – and if the returns are below inflation then you are of course losing money in real terms, which you don’t need a PHD in economics to know is not the aim of the game.

I have written about premium bonds before. These remain a reasonable choice in order to park some cash. The chance of wining big can mean that it is more attractive to have money in these than earning a low rate of interest elsewhere. Of course although the capital is always accessible and totally secure, it is dependant on luck whether you can outrun inflation. Possibly not ideal in the long run, but maybe acceptable until things settle down a bit.

Another asset class which is seen by many as being fairly secure are so-called index-linked gilts. These are in fact government debt made flesh. Unless the government in question is question is Greece. The return on these is called a “coupon” – these can either be linked to inflation or running at a fixed rate.

Corporate index linked bonds can sometimes represent a decent balance of security and return. These are not to be confused with similarly named NS&I products, but there are some decent ones. There seems to be a broad consensus that the National Grid index-linked bond offers good value at the moment. First off it seems unlikely that the National Grid would go out of business, and at the same time the return is set to track the retail price index, plus an extra 1.25%.

Curveballs

When traditional investment vehicles are not delivering enough, it could be time to think about diversifying with some investments that are out of the ordinary.

The direction of property prices is far form being transparent. That said if you have reason to believe that you have spotted a bargain, and you have the liquidity, it could prove to be a good time to invest. Bare in mind factors like scarcity and future demand for property when assessing the investment potential of a property. Anecdotally rents are rising at the moment in many areas – so even buy-to-rent could be profitable if you don not have to put yourself in hock.

Of course there are also other investment vehicles that fall outside of the ordinary, but definitely require specialist knowledge. Some are even turning to classic cars as an investment, turning the money-pit reputation of auto mobile on their head.

Among the more mainstream alternative investment are art and wine. The important thing with these is the intrinsic value of the goods being invested in. Even if the investment does not pan out financially, you can of course still drink the wine and hang the art on the wall for you to enjoy. Of course hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, and the existence of experts offering dedicated advice to those looking for these kind of alternative investments is proof that many are taking these seriously as a proposition.

Some people have well and truly embraced environmentally friendly ways of life, but others are less convinced. Here we look at a good way of convincing the doubters, by illustrating how their businesses could save money by adopting environmentally friendly practices. There are a number of excelent ways that you can reduce your business energy costs. Consider whether you can implement these in your workplace.

Switch off unnecessary appliances

Switching off a computer and monitor when not required can cost as little as 30 per cent of the cost of leaving them on 24 hours a day.

Timers can be installed to turn off photocopiers and other equipment when not in use.

Take care to switch off lights when the last person leaves, and leave lights off in unoccupied areas. Also consider areas where lighting may not be required all day, for example close to large windows. Where lights may only be required for occasional short periods, such as in bathrooms, you can install motion sensors that switch the light on when someone enters.

Energy-saving bulbs can use up to two thirds less energy than conventional bulbs.

Reduce paper dependence

Think about any records held in paper form – is it feasible to store them on computer? You may well find that a paperless office is more efficient anyway: it will be less cluttered and it is less likely you will lose an important document.
Consider whether you can print double-sided, and thus use only half the paper you do now.

Recycle more

Just about any kind of paper can be recycled, including junk mail and envelopes. Place your recycling bins in prominent areas and ensure employees are aware of what can be recycled.

Insulate your premises

Keep doors and windows closed, especially when the heating or air conditioning is on. Use draught excluders, and consider installing loft insulation. Enquire about whether you may be entitled to any grants to insulate your premises.

Consider having double glazed windows. Around one fifth of the heat lost from a building can be through the windows, but double glazing can reduce the loss by half.

Control your heating

Turning the central heating down by one degree Celsius in winter can reduce your heating bill by as much as 8%. In the summer, substantial reductions can also be gained by increasing the temperature at which the air conditioning comes on.

Take care not to place furniture in front of radiators, as this will reduce their effectiveness. Also avoid placing cooling vents near hot office equipment such as computers and photocopiers, as then the cooling system will need to use more energy.

Consider areas of your premises where there may be less need for heating. These could be areas where people do not usually spend long periods, such as store rooms, corridors or bathrooms; or areas where physical work is carried out.

Use renewable energy

In the United Kingdom non-renewable energy used by businesses is taxed under the climate change levy, but renewable energy is not. Non-renewable energy bills can increase suddenly. With renewable energy you will not have this worry.

The Carbon Trust offers interest-free loans to businesses wishing to embrace renewable energy, and tax breaks under the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme for those investing in certain types of renewable energy equipment.

Most modern energy companies also offer a green tariff nowadays like this npower Juice tariff, a certified green energy tariff with electricity that is matched to 100% renewable sources.

Steps you could take to embrace renewable energy include:

Installing a wind turbine: Payback period – the time before you recoup the cost of converting to renewable energy via cost savings – could be as little as four years, but these require planning permission, and the wind is not guaranteed to blow all the time.

Installing solar panels: Can generate a large proportion of the energy you require. Solar energy can also be used to heat water as well as generate electricity. No planning permission is required for solar panels on a small scale, but again this is an intermittent technology as solar energy is not generated at night.