Monday, January 31, 2005

Metlife announced on 01/31/05 that they were going to acquire Travelers Life and Annuity from Citigroup. Travelers Life and Annuity is an insurance underwriter. MetLife is a large life insurance and annuities underwriter. MetLife will have to borrow a lot of money to pay for the company, so rating agencies like S&P warn that the AA credit rating of MetLife might be lowered. This would cause the interest rates at which all of MetLife’s debt must be repaid to increase.

Citigroup committed to continue distributing Travelers life insurance and annuities through its Smith Barney stock brokers, Primerica agents, and Citibank branches.

Citigroup was previously known as Travelers Insurance before it bought Citicorp. First the Property and Casualty business of Travelers was spun off, and now the life insurance division has been sold off. This is primarily because insurance underwriters get a lower price to earnings multiple from the stock market because of the cycles and uncertainty associated with the insurance business. Also, having an insurance underwriter and a bank together does not usually create “cross-sell” opportunities, because consumers and businesses almost always buy life insurance and annuities through brokers who have a duty to give them other options. Citigroup will continue to sell insurance through its brokers as before.


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Posted in Uncategorized

Choosing the Best Obgyn Doctors

by

SWilson

If you are pregnant and you still have not chosen an obgyn to assist you throughout your pregnancy, there are a few important things to keep in mind. In this article, we will share with you some tips on how to choose best obgyn doctor in your area. Women have different needs and wants with regards to their pregnancy. This decision should not be taken for granted. Choosing the best obgyn doctors is a very important aspect of your pregnancy. Your obgyn doctors will not only help ensure a healthy and safe pregnancy, they will also keep you at peace.

Hospital preference If you have your choice of hospital, the next thing that you need to do is find out about their list of doctors. Most women choose the hospital closest to their home for convenience when they go on labor. Some choose based on hospital reputation for great performance in labor and delivery or maybe an excellent NICU. Regardless of your reason, if you want to give birth at a specific hospital, you will need to bear with the limited selection of doctors that they have there so make sure that you choose one which suits your needs best.

Your doctor What exactly do you look for in a doctor? Do you want someone who can speak other languages? Do you want one who specializes in various fields? Do you want someone with modern views or would you rather go with one who upholds natural practices? Do you want one who has conducted medical researches? Keep these questions in mind and clearly answered before finally settling with one.

Know your limitations Before beginning the selection of choosing the best obgyn, you need to know your limitations. Factors like finding out if your insurance carrier covers your target doctors should be taken into consideration. To make this easier, you may request your insurance company to give you a list of all doctors covered by your policy.

Male or female Some women prefer a woman doctor while others opt for a male doctor. This is a personal preference. Just keep in mind that there are a few other more important factors which should be put on top of gender preference. The competence of the obgyn should be the priority, no matter what.

Medical research Obgyns who can present research works and those who use a state-of-the-art equipment prove that they are competent and credible. This gives patients the chance to benefit from the leading edge technology and even latest clinical trials which help ensure a much safer and healthier pregnancy. Feel free to call your clinic and ask if they are conducting research projects.

Do you want a sole practitioner or one with broad practice? Having a sole practitioner allows you to be consistent with exams and appointments; however, he or she may not be available when you deliver your baby. This will leave you with no other choice but to deliver birth with a different doctor. On the other hand, doctors who deal with large practices may be less personal. Sometimes, you see most of the doctors in the practice only once. If you doctor of choice is not available, it is most likely that you get a doctor whom you have already met.

Keep these tips in mind and choose only the best obgyn doctors for your pregnancy.

You can find helpful information about how to

obgyn doctors

and everything you need to know about

how to choose obgyn

at Aha! Baby.

Article Source:

Choosing the Best Obgyn Doctors}

Posted in Healthcare

Friday, September 23, 2022

Thursday, scientists at the University of California San Diego reported in the journal Science of the Total Environment that a type of polyurethane already used in biodegradable land-based products can also break down when immersed in seawater. This polyurethane is already used as a substitute for plastic in foams and shoes.

The research team performed their experiments at the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier and Experimental Aquarium. They cut the polyurethane into cubes similar in size and shape to those naturally formed by EVA plastics. They wrote that several types of marine bacteria and fungi stick to the polyurethane and break it down to its component chemicals, which they then consume for food. The polyurethane microbes had already made detectable progress when the scientists checked the samples after four weeks in the water.

“Improper disposal of plastic in the ocean breaks down into microplastics and has become an enormous environmental problem,” said study co-author Stephen Mayfield, director of the California Center for Algae Biotechnology. “We’ve shown that it’s absolutely possible to make high performance plastic products that also can degrade in the ocean.”

Humans deposit roughly 8 billion kg of plastic in the ocean each year, where it can be mistaken for food by marine organisms. Natural forces break the plastic into the small pieces that we call microplastic, while larger chunks forms near-islands, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. By mass, about half the patch is commercial fishing waste, such as discarded nets, but reducing the amount of post-consumer plastic in the ocean would still make a considerable dent in the planet’s plastic problem.

This type of polyurethane is can be used to make flip-flops and parts of other shoes, which make up a considerable portion of the world’s plastic waste.

[edit]

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Polyurethane_plastic_substitute_can_biodegrate_in_seawater,_say_scientists&oldid=4691752”
Posted in Uncategorized

Thursday, December 22, 2005

By a narrow vote late in the evening on December 21st, 2005 the US Senate blocked opening the nation’s oil reserve in National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska . This vote delivers a victory to environmentalists and denies the Bush administration their top energy priority. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) attached the drilling plan to a measure to fund ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the Senate late last night agreed to pass the defense bill, without the drilling provision.

Two key Republicans, Lincoln D Chafee (R-R.I.) and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), joined Democrats in opposing the drilling. Senator Lieberman (D-Conn) said yesterday that Stevens was to blame for holding up money for the military. By including the drilling measure in the defense spending bill, it was hoped to twist the senators’ arms into voting for both provisions together in the scramble to finish the important business before the Senate’s Christmas break.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=US_Senate_blocks_Alaska_refuge_drilling&oldid=4553930”
Posted in Uncategorized

Fireplace- Mastering Elegance and Beauty

by

Maniks Read

Now a day’s many people are installing a fireplace to their living room to add a spark of elegance to their home. A limestone fireplace decorates the house and visually transforms it. Limestone fireplaces looks very sophisticated and also cuts down the energy costs as it heats the room at a much faster rate and evenly. These limestone fireplaces add beauty to the theme of the rooms and houses.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq7nRrd9Bo0[/youtube]

Limestone and marble are very versatile stones and people prefer stone over other building material as it can be shaped as per our preferences to furnish the room. Carved and cut pieces of stone can give a vintage and appealing look to the design. Installing the best quality stone fireplace can add value to the home as it heats the room evenly. It’s the best way to heat the room and gives a majestic feel to the room. During winters, fireplaces give a soothing and warm ambience. Marble fireplaces are mostly preferred as it’s hard and can withstand the heat emitted by the fireplace. Marble fireplaces are excellent heat reflector and can resist extreme heat. It has a classy and luxurious appeal and provides a very relaxing and pleasing atmosphere in front of the fireplace. One can opt for sculpted, carved or machine fabricated marble fireplace according to his budget and the theme of the house. Multi-fuel stoves are shooting up as an alternate source of heat. Multi-fuel stoves are ruling the competitive market and becoming the new trend. Steel is the basic element used in a multi-fuel stove and it helps in retaining the heat for a long time even after the fire has gone out. The presence of steel and cast iron helps the stove to heat up quickly and retain the heat for a longer period of time. As electric and gas prices are coming up with every passing day, multi-fuel stoves portray a new range of utility and source of heat. There are some models that have attached chimneys for emission of excessive gas. Thus, fireplaces are the most sophisticated and impressive interior that can illuminate the room and give a classy edge to the home.

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Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Posted in Tattoo

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Studies done on germs and bacteria performed by researchers at the University of Florida show that a dirty kitchen sponge can be cleaned and “sterilized” by microwaving it for 2 minutes, but researchers warn to wet the sponge first.

“People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave,” said the professor who was in charge of the study that discovered the results, Gabriel Bitton.

“Basically what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes. The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilization,” added Bitton.

The sponges that researchers studied, were placed in “raw wastewater” and then put into a microwave to be “zapped,” according to Bitton. The wastewater was a “witch’s brew of fecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores, including Bacillus cereus spores,” said Bitton.

Researchers say that at least 99% of the bacteria, viruses, spores and parasites in kitchen spongees can be destroyed or “inactivated” by simply microwaving the wet sponge, on the highest power, for two minutes.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Study_says_to_clean_your_sponge,_microwave_it&oldid=440468”
Posted in Uncategorized

Saturday, January 31, 2009

One of the world’s largest media conglomerates Sony has announced that its net profits have plummeted by 95% in the months of October and December quarter. Sony also stated that its revenue fell too by 25%, from $31.64 billion to $23.78 billion.

Sony’s most popular products: TV, digital cameras, mobile phones, and computers were hit by the crisis with a loss of $175.9 million as sales drop. This is a big difference to Sony’s last year profit of $2.2 billion.

The Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda said, “From the second half of September last year, there has been a sudden deterioration in the economy, and with the effects of foreign exchange it has had severe consequences on our business.”

Analyst David Gibson stated that its TV’s sales really dragged them down this quarter.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Sony_net_profit_falls_by_95%25&oldid=4517206”
Posted in Uncategorized

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The 10.10 version of Ubuntu (codename Maverick Merkaat), a free operative system is to be released in the next few days. French Wikinews contributor Savant-fou (Baptiste) has interviewed Fabrice (fabrice_sp on Ubuntu), an Ubuntu’s MOTU (Master Of The Universe), member of the development team of the operative system.

Ubuntu is a computer operating system, based on Debian, which is created collaboratively by thousands of people. There are three official Ubuntu versions: Ubuntu Desktop Edition (for desktop and laptop PCs); Ubuntu Netbook Edition (for netbooks); and Ubuntu Server Edition (for use in servers).

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_interviews_Ubuntu_developer_Fabrice&oldid=4635184”
Posted in Uncategorized

Submitted by: Jhon Basta

The answer is to invest for economic events using Exchange Traded Funds

(ETF’ s).What do i mean by economic events?Examples would be the Dow

Jones Industrial Average going up or down, interest rates rising or falling,the oil

drilling boom in North Dakota and Texas,the US economy growing or shrinking,

US trillion dollar deficits ,etc,etc.These event and many more are easy to

ecognize.In 2014 the best investment return was on falling prices,an event

and trend that was easy to spot.What are these Exchange Traded Funds?Basically

it is the same as buying a mutual fund share. ETF’s are traded daily on the majo

exchanges and have the same liquidity as individual stocks.Exchange Traded

Funds made their debut around 1990 and held numerous individual stocks in

different industry segments such as energy and healthcare.By 2005 there were

enough Exchange Traded Funds available of different types to make investing fo

economic events feasible.Let’s give an Example, Suppose your brief review of

mortgage rates concludes that they will go up significant.Your next step would

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBnurt4XRrY[/youtube]

e to find an ETF that increased in value when interest rates rise.How?You could

“Google” “ETF for raising interest rates”.The result would be listing and

information about ETF’s but also information of what specific ETF’s increase in

value as interest rates rise.Next step.purchase the ETF shares.Another simple

example would be gold.Assume your review of the situation determined that the

price of gold would go down.Next step”Google” ” ETF for falling gold price”.

The result would be a description of various ETF’s that go up in value as the price

of gold drops.

AS you can see , this type of investing in economic events eliminates trying to

analyze which mutual fund or individual stock to purchase.No analysis of the

fundamentals, or technical analysis of price movements and chart patterns are

equired.

The only think missing now is risk management for the price movement of the

individual Exchange Traded Fund invested in.The solution is to follow the risk

management rules that i recommended and use:

The unbreakable rules that guarantee success with investing:

1)Review the price/value of your investment(s)twice a month.Look up the

price of the stock,mutual fund,ETF,etc.This rules allows you to see and

apply the rules of risk management,if necessary.

2)”Don’t lose money”.This is the cardinal rule espoused by world renowned

investor Warren Buffet,among others.While the rules is obvious,

people generally forget two things:

a) When you lose your principle, you are no longer able to invest.

) If you have 50% loss of principal , it takes a 100% gain to break even.

3)Control and minimize investment risk.You minimize investment risk by

applying the 10% trailing stop loss rule -always.When the investment

price/value drops 10% from the high point, sell no metter what.

Here is how the rule works.You bye Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) at $100 pe

share today. Two weeks from today it has declined to %89.50 per share.You sell

immediately because 10% of $100 is $10 and the ETF has declined $10.50.

On an ongoing basis the stop trails the price movement. Here is how it works:

Two manth ago you bought an Exchange Traded Fund for $100 per share. During

that two month’ time the share price went to $130. Today the price is $116.Sell

immediately.10% of $130 is $13, so when the ETF share went below $117 (10%

of $130 is $13) it is the signal to sell.As you can see, you now have locked in a

very acceptable profit.When you review your investment(s) twice a month,

sometimes no action is necessary.At other time you take a profit or prevent a loss.

That’s it.Simple and easy for the active investor as well as those non-technical

people who don’t have the desire to be active investors.

About the Author: Jhon Basta is the author of five financial
books including “Successful Investing for
Economic events.”
John Basta’s brief resume follows:
* Has practiced as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) greater than 20 years
*Has been the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at both small & mid-size companies
*Is a Real Estate Investor and has 35+ years of experience
*Is a Business Consultant
*Is a Precious Metals and Exchange Traded Fund Investor
*Is a Financial Author and Lecturer
*Is a licensed Real Estate Agent
Visit him at

successwithinvesting.com

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1931338&ca=Real+Estate

Posted in Workshop And Engineering Equipment

Monday, June 7, 2010

Access to search engine Google has been limited and most of Google’s online services cannot be accessed in Turkey. The access limitation happened due to the blocking of an IP set that belongs to Google. These IP addresses were shared between YouTube and other Google services.

The Turkish news site Hürriyet Daily News reports that Turkey’s Telecommunications Communication Presidency (TCP) (a government agency that manages Turkish ISPs) indefinitely shut off access to several Google services. The shut-off came after the banning of YouTube for alleged insults against Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. TCP released an official statement Friday, saying it had blocked access to some Google IP addresses “because of legal reasons”. Under Turkish law, it is an offence to “insult Turkishness.”

Softpedia states that the limited access to Google could be a result of the government trying to block specific DNS addresses that relate to Google, as part of its ongoing attempts to block YouTube. Since Google services share common software and IP addresses, the search engine itself suffers from access restrictions. Turkish citizens are concerned that this move of the governmental agency was another step towards a complete ban on Google, as exists in China.

Several Internet sites have been banned in Turkey in recent years, and although some of them were subsequently unbanned, most of them remain inaccessible. Engelli Web, a website listing banned sites reports that currently YouTube (since May 2008), Last.fm (since June 26, 2009), and Spanish newspaper El Mundo (since May 14, 2010) are among the banned sites in Turkey. MySpace and WordPress were also among banned sites for a period of time. Websites will be blocked following a court decision or if TCP decides to block on its behalf.

RetweetToday reports that Turkish citizens on Twitter have also reported access problems. Comments about the blockage are being shared using hashtags such as TurkeyCensorGoogle and TurkeyGoogleBan, as well as NoGoogleNoWeb.

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Posted in Uncategorized

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