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Oil and gas executives can secure the biggest pay packets if they are willing to work in Nigeria, according to a new study

Research released this week by recruiter The Curzon Partnership said that energy firms in the African nation were now paying the biggest country premiums to attract staff.

The news that expats demand more to live in Nigeria is perhaps unsurprising when it comes in the same month as the murder of a British expat in the north-west region of the country.

Chris McManus, a construction worker from Oldham, was killed after the British government attempted to stage a rescue mission for him and an Italian colleague who had been taken hostage by terrorists last May. According to the Foreign Office, at least 24 British nationals and 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta the countrys oil producing region since January 2007.

Some oil and gas executives and their families do perceive frontier markets like Nigeria as riskier than other markets and the high country premium reflects that, said Helen Di Mauro, a partner at The Curzon Partnership. Oil and gas companies recognise that the incentives have to be high because life as an expat in Nigeria is so different from countries with broader industries and higher standards of living.

The headhunter said these incentives were often worth as much as 45 per cent of a basic salary, and had pushed the going rate for those at general manager level up to 290,000 per annum in Nigeria.

But Jake Molloy, secretary of the Offshore Energy Branch of the union RMT, said the big bucks dont necessarily extend to those further down the oil and gas chain, such as those working on offshore rigs.

The average punter doesnt attract a significantly higher salary in Nigeria. There is obviously a supplement for the cost of travel and the location timings, because they have month-on-month-off working down there. They are compensated to some extent for that but its nothing major and in fact there are some cases where they are earning less, said Molloy.

But he said the risks are lower offshore. Senior (Xetra: 852271 - news) people would spend more of their time onshore so they are more vulnerable to being taken than those offshore, who are on installations that are small steel islands many kilometres away from the shoreline, which are therefore relatively secure.

He said the union advises oil workers to check Foreign Office advice before travelling to Nigeria, and to avoid smaller employers, which may not have the same ability to ensure the safety and security of staff as larger companies.

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Expats in Nigeria top for oil and gas pay

Lawmakers call for regulation of 'Wild West' loan industry Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News March 20, 2012 She was desperate to pay a handful of crucial bills, so she went online and researched digital loans.

She read about Internet payday loan companies and how they work but she found one that seemed better than the others.

In order to find out if I qualified I had to give them my bank account and social security number like you would for any loan, she told The Skanner News. There was my first stupid thing.

This Oregon resident -- who has requested anonymity because she hasnt yet told her family that a $400 loan turned into a $1,000 nightmare -- has helped touch off a national effort by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) to regulate the billion-dollar offshore payday lending industry.

Merkley and Akaka this month officially requested that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray take action against such payday lenders, who appear to be reaching right into unwary consumers bank accounts and siphoning out everything they can get.

Merkley brought the issue to the National Newspaper Publishers Association last week in Washington D.C., during Black Press Week.

Millions of Americans are affected by the abusive and deceptive payday lending practices across our country and over the Internet, Merkley says. While Oregon is lucky to have state legislation in place to stop the worse practices, there are still loopholes and offshore websites that are dragging Oregon families into black holes of debt.

We have to bring order to the Wild West of the lending market.

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Online Payday Lenders: Consumer Ripoffs by Offshore Corporations

20-03-2012 01:39 Actual Title - One Direction & Knife Party - What Makes Beauitful Friends Destroy You with Internet Lazers (DJ Haber Mashup)... This is my Ultimate mash up of Knife Parties Destroy Them With Lazers and Internet Friends with One Directions What makes You Beautiful. They sound Pretty Sweet Together and Well I Just Love it and Hopefully you guys do to, So Enjoy 🙂 Download Link - soundcloud.com DJ Haber's Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com Please: Like Favourite Subscribe Share

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One Direction

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Earnings on the Internet Gold Line International - Video

Just as we examine companies each week that may be rising past their fair value, we can also find companies potentially trading at bargain prices. While many investors would rather have nothing to do with companies tipping the scales at 52-week lows, I think it makes a lot of sense to determine whether the market has overreacted to the downside, just as we often do to the upside.

Here's a look at three fallen angels trading near their 52-week lows that could be worth buying.

Dial up this dividendDial-up Internet connections might be for the dinosaurs, and the days of high growth are long gone for United Online (Nasdaq: UNTD) , but that doesn't mean you should ignore the stock at these dirt cheap levels.

While revenue is more or less flat these days, United Online's strict cost controls keep profits moving slightly higher, which, in turn, keeps its dividend at very healthy levels. Currently yielding more than 8%, United Online could offer an investment payback in as little as nine years if it can keep that yield up! Former Internet service providing peer Earthlink (Nasdaq: ELNK) has taken to transforming itself into an IT company in order to save its petering revenue stream, leaving the low-cost ISP space almost exclusively to United Online. Clearly not the most exciting tech company by any means, United Online is trading at just 90% of book value and seven times forward earnings. I don't see the company getting much cheaper from here.

Foreign exchangeWho said students were the only thing you could exchange across continents? Telkom Indonesia (NYSE: TLK) is yet another foreign telecom that has wound up in the delectable dividend column.

The company is currently offering a dividend yield of 7.5% and has grown that yield by an annual rate north of 20% over the past decade. Foreign telecoms aren't going to knock your socks off with enormous growth rates, but their predictable levels of cash flow and lack of competition often make for a consistent dividend and slow but steady growth. Telkom Indonesia has grown revenue fourfold since 2001 and is valued at a reasonable 11 times next year's earnings. Relative to some domestic alternatives, this company offers a good balance of value and income, and it just might be a nice match for a conservatively run portfolio.

An ETF I can digOver the past couple of weeks it's become apparent to me just how inexpensive much of the gold sector has become. While I've had fun picking apart various gold miners that could be attractive plays, this week I'm going to suggest lumping them all together in the Global X Pure Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GGGG) .

Not only does gold provide a great hedge against inflation -- and, in recent years, against market downturns -- but the fund itself offers a reasonably low 0.59% annual management fee. Its largest holding is Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) , a company with rising short interest that I recently profiled as a solid income producer with expenses that are well under control and increasing output. I don't think you could go wrong with this basket in your portfolio.

Foolish roundupThis week's focus was on high-yielding dividends that could be had on the cheap and ways you can protect yourself from a toppy market and inflation. I'm so confident these three names will bounce off their lows that I'm going to make a CAPScall of outperform on each one.

In the meantime, consider adding these potential winners to your free and personalized watchlist and get your own personal copy of our special report, "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012," to see which company our chief investment officer has dubbed the "Costco of Latin America." Best of all, this report is completely free, so don't miss out!

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3 Stocks Near 52-Week Lows Worth Buying