Car-Buying Incentive Encourages Fuel Efficiency
Wed ,30/12/2009Professional Safety, Aug 2009
Anew buyer incentive program, Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), has been implemented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. CARS is designed to help consumers pay for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles when they trade in a less-fuel-efficient car or truck.
Under CARS, buyers may receive up to $4,500 toward the purchase or lease of a new car or truck that meets the necessary criteria. For passenger automobiles, the car to be traded must be drivable, have a fuel economy rating of 18 mpg or less, and be registered and insured for the full year prior to the trade in
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US Big 3 trouble hits Indian auto parts makers [India Business]
Tue ,29/12/20090 Comments | Times of India, The, Dec 24, 2008 | by Doval, Pankaj
NEW DELHI: Financial woes of the US Big 3 automakers are spelling troubles for Indian auto component exporters. While commercial banks are not willing to provide credit for meeting orders given by cash-strapped General Motors, Chrysler and Ford, credit risk insurance companies like ECGC are also not ready to provide cover for such supplies as they fear defaults, component makers said.
It is estimated that around 50 component makers from India supply directly to the three auto companies or their Tier 1 suppliers and the annual shipments are close to $1 billion. “It is a very difficult situation for exporters to the north American market. Not only banks are reluctant to provide credit, risk insurance companies are also not very forthcoming in supporting such deals,” Vishnu Mathur, executive director of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), told TOI.
For component makers, a credit crunch could delay committed orders, leading not only to stiff penalties but also loss of face and business. This, they fear, will also blunt the competitive edge of Indian manufacturers with the US car companies, who are among the biggest component buyers globally.
Ashok Taneja, past president of ACMA, said these manufacturers need support to tide over the current situation. “ECGC is not giving cover for shipments to the three troubled US auto companies, especially in case of new customers
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Home Security For Rural Homes
Sun ,27/12/2009Although many people associate home invasions with urban or suburban homes, you may also fall victim to a burglar if you live in a rural environment. In fact, rural homes are often more vulnerable to such attacks because there is a reduced chance of any neighbors catching the criminals in the act. Often, rural homes lack adequate security measures, making them attractive targets for burglars and other criminals. One of the downsides of living in a rural area is that you are often further from police stations and other people who could help you in case of an emergency. The distance between neighbors and towns means that you will need to be completely responsible for your own security. Although there are many rewards for trading the grind of city life for a secluded and simplified lifestyle, it does require you to think about your family’s security in new ways.
If you live in a rural home, be sure to take adequate security precautions so that you are able to stop any potential attack. Always lock your doors and windows when you leave, even if there is no one else around for miles. Lock up everything on your property, even large farm equipment and tools. Otherwise, you’re not only leaving these items susceptible to theft, but you also run the risk of your own tools being used to break into your home. Consider investing in better locks to make it harder for someone to break in. Regular door and window alarms, although very loud, may not be enough to scare away burglars who know there is no one else around to hear them. Unlike urban environments, where a loud beeping alarm may be enough of a deterrent to stop criminals from entering, many criminals will realize that your home is not well protected when an audible alarm is the only security measure you have.
Motion-activated cameras and lights make a particularly good choice for protecting the exterior of rural homes. If the light or camera turns on, you can stay inside the home to watch the activity through the camera. Not only should you make sure that the exterior of your home is well lit, with secure doors and windows, but you should also arm yourself with devices that enable you to fight back against would-be burglars. A one-pound canister of pepper spray by the door, for example, enables you to incapacitate unwelcome visitors. Delayed law enforcement response in rural areas means that it may be necessary for you to protect your family while waiting for the police to arrive.
No matter the environment in which you live, now is the time to take your own security seriously
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Entrepreneur Expert Carl Schramm to Attend Obama Jobs Summit
Wed ,23/12/20090 Comments | U.S. Newswire, Dec 2, 2009
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Kelly Rohrs, Edelman, 1-212-819-4852, kelly.rohrs@edelman.com; or Barbara Pruitt, Kauffman Foundation, 1- 816-932-1288, bpruitt@kauffman.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, has been invited by President Barack Obama to participate in the White House forum on jobs and economic growth on Thursday, December 3.
An economist, author and former entrepreneur, Schramm is one of the country’s leading experts on entrepreneurship and the conditions necessary to drive economic recovery. He will join about 130 business leaders, economists and CEOs from across the United States to identify ways the government can stimulate job growth.
“With unemployment at 10.2 percent, Washington needs to create an environment where entrepreneurs and new companies can thrive and create the jobs that our country desperately needs. Young firms drive economic growth and will be the solution to economic recovery,” Schramm said
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New dining options are rolling out at the Lipstick Building
Fri ,18/12/2009Real Estate Weekly, Dec 2, 2009
The Lipstick Building at 885 Third Avenue is adding to its iconic status with Wolfgang’s Steakhouse taking 5,000 s/f in the restaurant space.
The famous eatery signed a 15-year lease, and will open early next month, facing East 54th Street. Operated by restaurateur Wolfgang Zwiener, Wolfgang’s Steakhouse is renowned for its phenomenal Porterhouse steaks and upscale service.
The Lipstick Building is Wolfgang’s third New York City location and fifth nationwide.
As part of its new restaurant amenities, the Lipstick Building also signed Sprig to a long-term, 2,500 s/f restaurant lease.
A high-end companion restaurant of Berkeley, California-based Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Sprig serves gourmet hot and cold meals, pastries and coffee. It will open in the first quarter of 2010.
“Wolfgang’s Steakhouse is a destination restaurant and a significant amenity for tenants of the Lipstick Building,” said Haim Revah, chairman, Metropolitan Real Estate Investors LLC, which owns 885 Third Avenue.
“Bringing in a restaurant of such class and quality only enhances the Lipstick Building’s status as one of the most recognizable and sought-after locations in New York City.”
The space is being built out by James Galvin, of ACC Construction.
World-renowned architect Philip Johnson designed the 636,000 s/f Lipstick Building, with its distinctive elliptical shape.
The building is also a draw for office tenants, anchored by international law firm Latham & Watkins.
Program gives dealers 2nd shot at service contract sales.(Finance & insurance)
Fri ,18/12/2009Automotive News, December, 2007 by Geist, Laura Clark
Byline: Laura Clark Geist
MileOne Automotive used to take little notice when factory warranties expired for its new-vehicle customers. That inattention cost the private dealership group potential sales of extended warranties, the company says.
This year, MileOne teamed up with Carchex on a new program that markets extended warranties to customers who didn’t buy service contracts with their new cars and trucks. Carchex, in suburban Baltimore, provides vehicle warranties and inspections
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The Hartford Teams With GreenRoad To Help Improve Driving Safety
Fri ,18/12/2009Business Wire, Dec 17, 2009
Strategic relationship aims to help insurance customers reduce
driving risk and lower vehicle operating costs
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., has teamed with GreenRoad,
a global pioneer in improving driving behavior, in a two-year
non-exclusive strategic alliance. The alliance between GreenRoad and
Hartford Ventures will focus on opportunities to use GreenRoads
products and technology-based service to help The Hartfords insurance
customers improve driver safety and lower their overall vehicle
operating costs.
The Hartford is committed to an open innovation model of working
together with strategic external partners to develop and bring to market
creative solutions that meet the unique needs of our customers, said
Jacqueline LeSage Krause, vice president of innovation and corporate
venture capital at The Hartford. “Were pleased to be working with
GreenRoad as part of this effort.
Through its Hartford Ventures division, The Hartford identifies and
teams with leading private companies with expertise in areas of key
strategic importance to the insurance industry. GreenRoad helps
commercial fleets, insurers and consumers measure, improve and sustain
safe and fuel-efficient driving behavior through the use of in-vehicle
feedback, coaching, web-based reporting and risk analysis tools. These
tools empower drivers to make immediate changes to their vehicle
operating behavior.
We are pleased to be working with The Hartford, a leading insurance
carrier that shares our commitment to driving safety, said Eric
Shishko, senior vice president of GreenRoads global insurance
businesses. Through this strategic alliance, GreenRoad and The Hartford
will define how GreenRoads technology can be used to address the
specific needs of The Hartford, its customers and the insurance industry
overall.
About GreenRoad
GreenRoad is the pioneer and worlds leading provider of a comprehensive
service to improve driving behavior. GreenRoad helps commercial fleets,
insurers and consumers measure, improve and sustain safe and
fuel-efficient driving behavior. The service integrates real-time,
in-vehicle feedback, coaching, reporting and risk analysis tools to
empower drivers to improve immediately. GreenRoads service is
cost-effective, automated and fully scalable. Customers typically reduce
crashes by up to 50 percent and cut fuel usage and emissions by up to 10
percent. The company is headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif., with
sales offices throughout the U.S. and UK and an R&D; Center in Israel.
Investors include Benchmark Capital, Virgin Green Fund, Amadeus,
Balderton Capital and DAG Ventures. For more information, visit www.greenroad.com.
About Hartford Ventures
Hartford Ventures is the venture capital division of the Hartford Fire
Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hartford Financial
Services Group, Inc. Through its relationships, experience and support,
Hartford Ventures seeks to accelerate the growth of early stage
companies. As the only known dedicated corporate venture capital group
in the insurance sector, Hartford Ventures provides its portfolio
companies and co-investors with unique insights into the insurance
industry. Hartford Ventures serves as a relationship liaison between its
portfolio companies and internal Hartford businesses, providing top
level access to potential customers, partners and external investors.
For more information, visit www.thehartford.com/ventures.
About The Hartford
Celebrating nearly 200 years, The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) is an
insurance-based financial services company that serves households,
businesses and employees by helping to protect their assets and income
from risks, and by managing wealth and retirement needs
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American Families Can Stay Together and Keep Current Dental Plan Under Senate Approach to Essential Health Benefits
Fri ,18/12/2009Market Wire, November, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid’s health
reform bill fulfills the promise that more than 132 million Americans with
family dental coverage can keep their current dental plan without
disrupting established dentist-patient relationships, according to the
National Association of Dental Plans.
The Senate bill, as released earlier this week, includes language offered
by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Blanche Lincoln (AR) that was adopted
with unanimous, bipartisan support by the Senate Finance Committee. As a
result, the bill takes a laudable step toward preserving the best aspects
of how dental benefits are offered today, while also extending them to
millions of uninsured children
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People: Roman Polanski to be released from prison Friday
Fri ,18/12/20090 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Dec 2, 2009 | by Tony Hicks
Roman Polanski will get out of jail Friday on $4.5 million bail.
Swiss justice officials announced Wednesday that the director can move to his Gstaad chalet at 1 p.m. on Friday, where he’ll remain on home confinement.
No, we illiterates at People Central can’t even try to pronounce “Gstaad” without seriously damaging ourselves.
A court will eventually rule whether Polanski should be extradited to Los Angeles to face sentencing for having illegal sex with a 13-year-old more than three decades ago.
Swiss justice officials repeatedly had denied his bail requests, saying he was a flight risk. Wherever they got that idea remains a mystery.
Under the terms of the bail, Polanski, 76, will have his phone calls monitored as well. Gstaad, a village of 2,500 with mountain views, has long been known as a celebrity hangout, having been home to Elizabeth Taylor, Roger Moore and David Niven, among others.
‘FAMILY TIES’ MOM COMES OUT: Meredith Baxter, who played mother Elyse Keaton on the 1980s TV series “Family Ties,” has revealed that she is a lesbian.
“I am a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition of that fact,” the 62-year-old actress said in an interview Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show.
Baxter said she has been in a relationship with her girlfriend, a general contractor, for four years.
“Some people are saying, were you living a lie? And, you know, the truth is, not at all. This has only been in the past seven years,” she said.
So, wait she’s only been living a lie for seven years? Or she wasn’t living a lie? This kind of thing gets confusing.
Baxter has been married three times, including to David Birney, her co-star on the ’70s TV series “Bridget Loves Bernie.” She is the mother of five children. Baxter said she is “extraordinarily happy” and the support from her family and friends was immediate and unqualified.
PLEASE JUST STOP: The “Twilight” saga was supposed to end after three films. But Summit Entertainment may release not one but two movies based on the fourth novel in the series.
This, of course, would be a decision based on artistic integrity and would have nothing to do with the scillions of dollars each one of these films make.
The film company is considering turning “Breaking Dawn” into a two-part finale to the movie series, Variety reports. Of course, there are complications to such a move. First off, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote the first three movies’ scripts, hasn’t begun writing. Second, director Chris Weitz, who filmed “New Moon” (part two of the series) has said he wants to quit the movie business after finishing a pet project, “The Gardener.”
You know, if he made that “The Dreamy Teen Vampire Garndener” and he’d make more money to retire with.
Another unknown is getting actors Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and the rest to come back on board — and paying them suitably staggering salaries.
LITTLE RICHARD OUT OF HOSPITAL: Little Richard is out of the hospital following hip surgery, recovering at his home near Nashville and promising to perform again.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who’ll be 77 Saturday, told the Associated Press he plans to work hard to complete his recovery so he “can get back on the road as soon as possible.” He says when he returns to the stage next year, he’ll “be shouting ‘Shut Up’ and rocking like the old days.”
Old people are so cute when they say “shut up.”
Little Richard said Tuesday that he could feel the prayers of his fans and is thankful they care enough about him “to take time to pray.” Yes, apparently people pray for Little Richard’s hip.
A family friend had said the rock icon was in pain before the surgery last week but continued his rigorous performing schedule. TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, Dec. 3, the 337th day of 2009. There are 28 days left in the year. — 1818: Illinois was admitted as the 21st state. — 1828: Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States by the Electoral College. — 1967: Surgeons in Cape Town, South Africa led by Dr
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AARP backs Demos in Senate health care fight
Wed ,16/12/20090 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Dec 3, 2009 | by David Espo Associated Press
WASHINGTON — With a Senate showdown looming, the politically potent AARP rode to the rescue of Democrats on Wednesday, supporting $460 billion in Medicare cuts to help pay for landmark health care legislation.
As Republicans pressed to restore the cuts, AARP said Democrats merely were recommending elimination of waste and inefficiency within the giant health care program for seniors.
“Most importantly, the legislation does not reduce any guaranteed Medicare benefits,” A. Barry Rand, the AARP’s CEO, said in a letter to senators.
Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain, said seniors would lose some of their add-on benefits that are part of coverage under private insurance Medicare. “Above all, we must not use Medicare as a piggy bank” to pay for other programs, the Arizona Republican said.
Democrats, sensitive to the charges, rallied behind an alternative proposal by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., saying the bill would cause no reduction in guaranteed Medicare benefits.
A vote was expected Thursday on the issue, one of two that have dominated early debate on health care legislation that President Barack Obama has urged Congress to enact.
Women’s health care was the other. The two parties maneuvered for political advantage on that issue, as well, each backing a promise to provide new no-cost preventive procedures such as mammograms.
Republicans hastily rewrote theirs after an initial estimate from the Congressional Budget Office put the cost at $30 billion over a decade — a significant requirement on the insurance industry from a political party that has criticized Democrats for seeking a government takeover of health care.
Overall, the legislation is designed to extend health care to millions who now lack it, prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and generally slow the rate of growth in medical spending overall.
Most Americans would be required to carry insurance. While employers would not be obliged to provide it, big companies would face penalties if they did not and their workers received federal subsidies to help defray their personal insurance costs.
At its core, the bill would create new marketplaces, called exchanges, where consumers could shop for insurance that met government guidelines. The bill includes hundreds of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to help lower and middle-income individuals and families afford insurance.
The House passed its version of health care legislation last month, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has vowed to clear a bill through his chamber by Christmas.
The early pace of debate has been exceedingly slow, and Democrats accused Republicans during the day of stalling.
“There’s a lot of talk that if we have to be here until Christmas, we’ll be here until Christmas,” Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said after a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting.
That seems unlikely.
Democrats command 60 seats, enough to end any delaying tactics if they are united. So far, they are not, and while debate unfolds on the Senate floor, Reid is working behind the scenes to resolve a small number of controversial issues.
Chief among them is a call by liberals for the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry. The legislation on the floor permits that, subject to approval from individual states. But an unknown number of moderate and conservative Democrats have demanded changes as the price for their support on the legislation.
AARP has played an influential role all year on health care, working with the Obama administration as well as Democratic leaders to help pass legislation.
The organization’s Web site claims more than 40 million members in all 50 states, and describes AARP as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50 and over improve the quality of their lives.”
Polls have shown the group enjoys a high degree of trust among seniors, a group that tends to vote in disproportionately high numbers, particularly in midterm elections. As a result, its endorsement is prized by both political parties.
When Republicans held power in Congress, AARP’s decision to support a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare was a turning point in the drive to pass legislation.
Democrats were furious at the time. But now, in power, they have worked closely with the organization, and the political lines are reversed.
“Shame on AARP,” McCain said earlier in the week as he pressed his case to restore the cuts Democrats wrote into their legislation
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