PC maker Dell has seen a decline of 63% in its profits. The decline of almost two-thirds means that they made a net profit of $290m in the three months to 1 May down 63% from $784m a year ago. Although revenues at the firm fell 23% to $12.3bn the results were better than analysts had expected during the current recession. Dell has already cut costs because of falling sales by reducing its global workforce by more than 9,000 people over the past year. Although no further cuts have been announced Dell have said they are continuing cost reduction efforts. The results come a week after Hewlett Packard announced a quarterly profit decline of 17% and that it was cutting 2% per cent of its workforce, a total of 6,000 jobs.

This article is interesting it suggests that eating soup can help you lose weight. Apparently if you were to eat a meal of chicken of vegetables with a glass of water you would only feel full for a couple of hours but if you have the same meal blending the water with the food to make soup it fills you up for much longer. According to the article this is down to the fact that after you have eaten a meal the pyloric sphincter in your stomach holds back food so that digestive juices can work. Water passed through the sphincter to your intestines and therefore does not fill you up. However, when the water is mixed with food the mixture stays in the stomach making you feel fuller for longer. I quite like soup but I also like bread to dip in it which I think adds any extra calories that you might save by not snacking.

I was looking around at bedroom furniture and found some nice Bedroom Sets at spacify.com. In particular I quite liked this Sterling Park Regents bedroom suite (pictured left). It includes the bed, headboard and a one drawer nightstand and you can also purchase a 7 drawer dresser and mirror to match as an optional extra. The website offers free shipping to the US and also a quick ship option on items that are in stock. They also have a 100% price match guarantee so that if you find the same product somewhere else at a cheaper price they will refund the difference.

It appears that as the credit crunch starts to make an impact on people’s spending habits they are increasingly turning to hire purchase rather than buying goods. under a hire purchase scheme the customer pays a fee every month with the appliance remaining the property of the lender until the last payment has been made giving the lender extra security. This article reports a ten per cent rise in the value of goods brought on hire purchase in the last 12 months compared with the same period in the previous year.

If you are looking around for an unusual gift then you might want to have a look at these Crystal Singing Bowls. Imported from the Himalayas they are used for meditation music and healing. The importer Silver Sky Imports travels to the region several times a year and handpicks their selection of singing bowls from Tibet and Nepal. Each bowl is individually catalogued and includes a recorded sound file and individual pictures so you know you are receiving the product you are looking for. Their latest range also includes fountain singing bowls which cause water to spout like a fountain when your hands are rubbed on the handles.

According to this article a £3 sun lotion from Asda was among the best is a test carried out by Which? The low priced lotion offered a better defence than some other brands which cost three times as much. In the survey 14 products were tested, all of which claimed to offer a protection factor of 15. However, only five of the products actually met this standard. In fact the sun cream from Asda was found to offer a protection level of 24, more than was stated on the bottle. Some the creams which failed to make the standard were sold by Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Wilkinsons. It just goes to show you don’t always have to spend a lot of money to get a good product.

If you want to lose a bit of weight are not quite sure how to go about it, then you might want to check out The Truth About Abs. The program has been devised by a certified nutrition specialist and personal trainer and shows you how to tone up your body to get the shape that you want. It includes a range of exercises combined with diet and nutritional advice. If you are unsure about the programme then there is a 21 day trial programme available with nothing to pay straight away so you can try it first to see if it’s for you.

Next has recalled a range of men’s underwear after a complaints that it featured an image of Adolf Hitler. A customer had complained that the underwear featured an image that resembled Hitler saluting as planes flew overhead. Next have since investigated the claims and found that the image was actually from a cartoon inspired by a picture of Lenin. The range of underwear, however, will still be withdrawn from sale.

Recently more and more companies seem to be using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter for their promotions.  Some examples I have come across include Hotels Combined, laterooms and Eight Hotels. Both Laterooms and Hotels Combined use their Facebook page not only to promote themselves but also to promote other events and charities.  In addition Hotels Combined offer promotions such as donating $5 to the charity of your choice if you become a fan and $20 for blogging about them and have so far donated $3400 to charity. I’m not sure how effective a marketing strategy this is but it certainly looks like a good way to raise your companies profile.

If there is one thing that Monopoly has taught us its that a bank error in your favour is a good thing. Unfortunately in real life if you find several thousands of pounds in your account then you should tell the bank and give it back or you could be arrested. An Australian couple did just the opposite. On finding that they had received a payment of £4 million from the bank they simply disappeared. The bank has recovered some of the money but the couple still have around £3 million of it. An international search has now been launched for them.

Having just sold our house I have been looking around at some furniture ideas for our new home. I came across some really nice rustic furniture that I think will fit the room quite well. I like the fact that is individually handcrafted, for me it is much more appealing than something that you can buy from most high street furniture shops.

According to this article The budget hotel chain Travelodge is launching a 99p cream tea. For your 99p you can expect to receive a collection of teas, an extra large scone, a pot of Cornish clotted cream and a choice of strawberry of raspberry jam. Not bad at all for under a pound.