FDIC unveils plan to modify mortgages Reuters
Reuters - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Friday unveiled plans to modify about 2.2 million home mortgage loans. Highlights:
2008-11-14 09:29:10How safety first culture takes risk out of adventure sports
The idea is to test the body and mind against the harshest of conditions, to give everything in the attempt to cross the finishing line but also to have the guts to call it a day when the going gets too tough. However, at a time when adventure sports are booming, enthusiasts say they face an even tougher test of their resolve - over-regulation, bureaucracy and public suspicion. It emerged this week that the venerable 280-mile North Sea yacht race from Scotland to Norway had been cancelled because not enough crews could afford the safety certificates. Fell-running clubs, which have never been busier, are taking a long look at how they organise their events after the outcry over the Lake District Original Mountain Marathon that went ahead in awful weather a fortnight ago. The North Sea race between Macduff in north-east Scotland and Stavanger in Norway was introduced 25 years ago to give experienced coastal and fjord sailors a chance to race in difficult ocean conditions. The organiser, Tony Brown, said safety was paramount but crews were now balking at paying up to £200 for an international offshore safety certificate. Only 10 crews entered this summer. Brown said: "Twenty years ago all you needed was insurance and away you went." This weekend hundreds of fell runners will line up in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and north Wales to compete in races rejoicing in names such as the Shepherds' Skyline, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, and the Leg It Around Lathkill in the Peak District. The Fell Runners Association boasts 6,000 members and the number is rising, but its secretary, Alan Brentnall, said there was concern that after the ill-fated Original Mountain Marathon health and safety officials would be taking a closer look at the sport and that landowners might hesitate to give permission for races. "That would be worrying," he said.Richard Asquith, a fell runner and author of the admired book on the sport Feet in the Clouds, said organisers were under pressure to tone down their events to fit the "risk assessment culture". He added: "The whole onus of society is on safety first. Who would be an organiser"Martin Stone, who runs a marathon called the LAMM in the Scottish Highlands, said: "It's so important for people who are so regimented in everyday life to have a way of escaping. We've got to fight the regulation and the dumbing down." The premise of events such as the Lakeland race is that competitors, not the organisers, assess the conditions and decide if they should go ahead. David Munn, 39, who has taken part in 19 Original Mountain Marathons, said competitors did not expect someone else to take responsibility for their actions. "This is a hugely refreshing view in a world where everything always seems to have to be someone else's fault," he said. The charge levelled at the competitors that they are a burden on the emergency services, including the voluntary mountain rescue service, are roundly rejected. Mike Park, who took part in the race and is also team leader of Cockermouth Mountain Rescue, said that mountain marathon runners were almost always better prepared than normal hikers. Mike Parsons, the organiser of the Lakeside marathon, pointed out that out of the 1,427 people who entered only 14 were injured, none seriously.But some events have already changed. Youngsters who compete in the army-organised Ten Tors expedition on Dartmoor in Devon every summer can carry mobile phones for an emergency after the death of a 14-year-old girl while training for the challenge. The event spokesman David Harris said: "Ten Tors is all about risk, but acceptable risk." Other sports are feeling the pressure. Sand yacht enthusiasts have found it harder to stage events since a woman was killed after being hit by a sand yacht while walking on a beach in Lancashire. Families who went canoeing on the River Wye in south Wales this summer found hire companies on tenterhooks about health and safety after the death of a nine-year-old girl. Caving bodies, gliding clubs, even rollerskating groups have reported that they have struggled to cope with increased insurance premiums. Ian Anderson, chairman of the International Coasteering Association - whose bag is climbing, scrambling and leaping around sea cliffs - said some landowners saw enthusiasts as irresponsible risk-takers. "Is it going to get to the point where we have to wear a helmet to walk to the shops" he asked. Julian Brazier MP, the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on adventure and recreation in society, called for Britain to follow the example of the US and Australia and make it harder for organisers of sport and leisure pursuits to be sued. He said: "Society needs to accept that accidents happen without it always being someone's fault."Case studyAnne Jago, retired teacher, 64, veteran of 30 mountain marathonsIt's not just a physical challenge, it's a mental challenge as well. It can be very hard. You go up and up. Your lungs are bursting, your calves are burning but you don't give up. When I finish the event I'm glowing with pride because you've tested your self-sufficiency in the wild - and I am very proud of beating men who are a lot younger than me. It's really all about self-reliance. You are away from civilisation and you are self-sufficient in the wilderness. You've got everything you need in your rucksack. I had an accident one year. I fell forward on slippery rock. I was slightly concussed, there was blood everywhere. What was amazing was that immediately there were people all around. I was wrapped in a space blanket. I was given Ibuprofen and jelly babies. I didn't want to retire so I carried on. It's so important. There's so many people who would rather I just drove to the shopping centre and home. But it's such a healthy pastime. You have to keep your weight down and do all the things the government wants you to do. I feel much more in danger when I'm driving down the motorway. If one car goes everyone goes.I'm determined to go on and on as long as I can. At the end of an event I always think I can do another one.guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
2008-11-08 02:26:40Sephora Friends & Family Wishlist!
By now I’m sure you’ve heard that Sephora’s 20% off Friends & Family Event...
2008-11-07 06:48:15Improving brand recall
By Jharna SurA curly-haired youngster crossing a road looks in awe at an impressive looking bike that is speeding past. The guy on the bike passes a man on a rather ordinary looking two-wheeler but with a pretty girl riding pillion. As he gazes wistfully at the couple, the camera pans on a lady and her two children. The images tell the story of heightening desire and at the end of it all comes the tagline, "Khwaishyon ke bina zindagi kya, karo zyaada ka irada." What’s life without desire. Wish for more.Max New York Life Insurance’s brand new campaign that is being beamed on all major TV channels has broken away from the clutter to appeal to the human instinct. As Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison World, explains, "An advertising copy must appeal to the five senses and the reason for this is simple. Consumers can hear or see what the product being advertised can do for them, but they can’t experience it first hand."Tanya Goyal of Dentsu Marcom echoes, "Advertising copy should be relevant and touch a chord. It has to be the differentiator." Advertising icon Ram Ray clarifies how copywriting can create a sensory user experience. "You’ll get beautiful flowers at Blooms and More Florists." Compare this with "Fill your home with the fresh aroma and vibrant colours of a floral arrangement from Blooms and More Florists." No prizes for guessing which one would appeal to the consumer more. Sanjay Thapar, Director, Ogilvy India, observes, "Reduce the copy clutter by delivering only the best messages that create the most compelling sensory experiences for the target audience."An example can be cited of clothing retailer French Connection UK that employed a unique strategy to improve sales. It initiated a marketing campaign to differentiate itself by shocking its audiences. Print ads as well as clothing with the controversial "FCUK" logo distinguished the brand as powerful and rebellious and caused a significant jump in sales and profits in the first year. Clearly, such an approach is not suitable for every company. But there are other ways to improve brand recall as well, says Goyal. "Remember the "sar utha ke jiyo" slogan of HDFC Life Insurance It brought the relevance of the timely investment in an insurance plan to the fore and is quite different from the regular number crunching morbid insurance advertisements," she says.Says Ambi M.G.Parameswaran ED and CEO, Mumbai, Ulka, says, "You appeal to the senses by using one of the nine universal emotions. Normally in advertising we don’t use the more serious emotions, like sorrow and pathos." Once the basic copy is finalised it is left to the copywriter to make the idea memorable.Sensory effects, especially colours, also influence the memory. A 2001 study by Nickolova and Quilici proved that high colour saturation led to improved memory recall when compared to low colour saturation or neutral hues. For example, "hot" colours, like bright reds, oranges and yellows, have been shown to stimulate mood and appetite — and are thus used by almost all fast food chains.We are also attracted to colours that are tied to past sensory experiences — an effect known as colour recognition, which usually occurs without our conscious knowledge. This is the primary reason that a brand must be visually consistent. Coca-Cola is an obvious example — the Coca-Cola red is instantly recognised all over the world.The author is a well-known industry watcherÂÂ
2008-11-06 09:14:33Treasury Considers Backing Mortgages
The federal government may start guaranteeing home mortgages to persuade lenders to ease the monthly financial burden on struggling homeowners, Federal Deposit Insurance...
2008-11-05 00:46:35Treasury, FDIC Plan Government Guarantee For Home Mortgages AHN
AHN - The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are close to reaching an agreement to establishment a $500 billion fund to serve as guarantee for troubled home mortgages...
2008-10-30 06:45:15Brooke Insurance agencies find potential buyers
New Brooke Ltd. LLC . Its principals are Lysle Davidson of Johnson City, Kan., and Terry Nelson of Long Island, Kan. The sale would include all Brooke Insurance...
2008-10-28 19:08:16Pension Perk For Women Workers
Thousands of women who gave up work to stay at home and look after their children are to get the chance to play catch-up with their National Insurance...
2008-10-27 15:00:00LIC starts selling policies to non-Indians in Bahrain
BUS2Business/BusinessLIC starts selling policies to non-Indians in BahrainDubai, Oct 27 IANS Life Insurance Corp of India LIC International has for the first time started selling policies to non-Indians in Bahrain, where it posted a growth of 46 percent in the first nine months of this year, as compared to the corresponding period last year."While so far almost all of our 72,000 customers have been Indians, we being an Indian company, but now we have started to sell our schemes to others," LIC chairman T.S. Vijayan said during the course of the company's 61st board meeting in that Gulf nation.Bahrain is home to around 290,000 expatriate Indians.Vijayan told the Gulf Daily News newspaper that after securing government approval, LIC has sold its custom-made policies to around 100 Bahrainis so far.Stating that Bahrain has been in the forefront of LIC's international operations, he said: "In the next few months, we expect to see this figure of 100 Bahrainis rise dramatically since we are a company which give the highest bonus on such policies."He added the company has declared the highest bonus in the Gulf region at $26 per $1,000 sum assured.The company paid around $19 million in claims to 3,328 policyholders last year.According to LIC chief, the ongoing global financial crisis has not affected the insurance sector so far."The industry will be affected if and when people start losing jobs and facing huge salary cuts. That has not happened in a big way so far," Vijayan said.--Indo-Asian News Serviceab/ank/dg271 Words*27101254
2008-10-27 03:03:09Home, life insurance is not 'wealth'
The strategic portfolio should be tinkered with only once in two or three years. Ideally, the trading part should not be more than 5-10 per cent of your total portfolio.
2008-10-26 11:49:47
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