U.S. financial regulators propose flood insurance changes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators proposed requiring lenders to accept private flood insurance on Friday as part of rules needed to implement a 2012 law that revamps a federal flood insurance program.

The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act called for changes to a government-run program that allowed many homeowners to buy subsidized flood insurance, after lawmakers decided the program's costs had become unsustainable.

Five agencies, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Farm Credit Administration, issued proposals to implement portions of the law.

They called for lenders to put in escrow all flood insurance payments and fees for loans secured by residential real estate and said lenders could charge for force-placed insurance if borrowers let their own flood insurance lapse.

Flood insurance has been a thorny problem for U.S. officials. Private insurance companies often do not offer it, so the federal program, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, allowed homeowners to buy government-backed insurance if their communities adopted floodplain management ordinances and set minimum construction standards.

The 2012 law, which was passed before "superstorm" Sandy devastated much of the U.S. east coast, attempted to cut the program's costs by making changes to flood insurance, flood hazard mapping and the floodplain management.

Some lawmakers since have said the changes could unfairly cause flood insurance premiums to spike.

The financial regulators said their proposals apply only to the portions of the law that fall under their jurisdiction. The proposal will be available for public comment until December 10.

(Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by L Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-financial-regulators-propose-flood-insurance-changes-171758997--finance.html
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BART labor talks continue as planned strike looms

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Bay Area Rapid Transit managers and union leaders returned to the bargaining table Sunday in hopes of heading off a strike that would create traffic nightmares for San Francisco area commuters for the second time in a month.

Representatives from BART management and the agency's two largest employee unions negotiated for about 14 hours Saturday and resumed bargaining Sunday morning as a midnight deadline loomed.

Big differences remain on key issues including wages, pensions, worker safety and health care costs, but the parties expressed some optimism that an agreement could be reached to avert a strike planned for Monday.

"The parties made some important but incremental moves yesterday, and I hope to get to a deal," Josie Mooney, chief negotiator for the Service Employees International Union 1021, said Sunday before heading into negotiations. "If the parties work very hard, then it's certainly possible in the amount of time we have left."

"There was definitely movement from both sides," BART chief negotiator Thomas Hock said as he left negotiations late Saturday night. "Hopefully, if we keep moving, we will get to a proposal that both sides can agree to."

BART's two largest unions issued a 72-hour notice Thursday that employees would walk off the job if they didn't reach agreement on a new contract by midnight Sunday.

Bay Area agencies are preparing ways to get commuters to work if there's a strike, but officials say there's no way to make up for the BART system, which carries about 400,000 riders a day.

"BART really is the backbone of the transit network. No other transit agency has the ability to absorb BART's capacity if there's a disruption," said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

If there's a BART strike, transit agencies are planning to add bus and ferry service, keep carpool lanes open all day and even give away coffee gift cards to encourage drivers to pick up riders. They're also encouraging workers to avoid peak traffic hours or telecommute if possible.

When BART workers shut down train service for four days in early July, roadways were packed and commuters waited in long lines for buses and ferries. The unions agreed to call off that strike and extend their contracts until Sunday while negotiations continued.

A strike this week could lead to more gridlock than last month's strike, which came around the Fourth of July holiday when many workers were on vacation.

Bay Area and state officials have been pressuring BART managers and union leaders to reach an agreement this weekend, saying a strike would create financial hardship for working families and hurt the region's economy.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bart-labor-talks-continue-planned-strike-looms-165001996.html

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Verizon Wireless lowers the bar with 500MB Share Everything plan

Ah, the wonderful world of wireless carriers. You can almost guarantee that if one makes a move, the others will soon follow. We're still hoping that AT&T and Verizon will succumb to peer pressure and resume offering unlimited data plans, but until that day comes, you can look forward to lots of fine tuning of their tiered share plans. The latest move comes from Verizon, which has introduced its lowest cost offering yet: a 500MB shared plan that runs $40 per month. This rings in at $10 less than its 1GB shared data plan, but when combined with a single smartphone, you're looking at paying $80 per month for unlimited talk, text and 500MB of data that's subject to overage fees. Compare this to AT&T, which just announced a 300MB share plan that costs $70 once bundled with a smartphone. Either way, this presents a cheaper option for some, but it won't be fun keeping such a close eye on the meager data allotment.

Update: This article previously drew a comparison that was based on the price of a feature phone at Verizon, which costs $30 per month. We've updated the article to reflect Verizon's $40 monthly charge for smartphones.

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Verizon

Comments

Via: @VZWNews (Twitter), WSJ

Source: Verizon Wireless

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/werROwuL8m0/

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Common Science Standards Ignite Debate at Kentucky Public Hearing

The Next Generation Science Standards sparked intense debate at a public hearing last week of the Kentucky state board of education, with opponents using highly charged language to criticize them, according to the Courier-Journal newspaper of Louisville. The main lines of critique were aimed at how the standards handle the issues of evolution and climate change. Among the fiery adjectives leveled? "Fascist" and "atheistic."

Meanwhile, supporters said the education changes are critical to help Kentucky keep educational pace with other states and allow students to be amply prepared for college and careers, the newspaper said.

The state board of education appears to agree with the supporters, since it voted unanimously in early June to adopt the standards. However, state officials have cautioned that the recent vote is not the final word. Beyond the public hearing, the standards also are subject to review by legislative committees, which could lead to changes to the standards before they are finally adopted. And as I reported recently, the chairman of the education committee in the Kentucky House of Representatives is no fan of the new standards. In fact, he penned a sharp critique that was published in the Courier-Journal, focused primarily on evolution and climate change.

I should note, by the way, that Kentucky's current science standards include a strong emphasis on teaching students about evolution. Here's one excerpt:

In a quick scan, I found only a passing reference in the existing state standards, however, to climate change.

Kentucky is one of the 26 lead state partners that helped craft the Next Generation Science Standards in collaboration with several national organizations. All the lead states have agreed to give serious consideration to adoption. So far, beyond Kentucky, four states have stepped forward to adopt the standards: Rhode Island, Kansas, Maryland, and Vermont.

This month, the Delaware education agency will hold a series of public hearings to discuss the standards.

In Florida, where state officials have previously signaled strong interest in adopting the standards (though it's not a lead state), the verdict is out. For one, last month, the vice chairman of the state board of education seemed to signal his skepticism with the common science standards, citing a recent review by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and argued that the state should look elsewhere for guidance.

"The long-awaited Next Generation standards also received a C, which is a surprising disappointment," said board member John Padget during a board meeting in June. "Sometime soon, within the next two years, Florida has to raise its science standards. ... When the time is right, I will advocate for the adoption of either California's or D.C.'s standards, or a combination of the two. This approach will save time, money, and energy, and we won't be reinventing the wheel." (Both California and the District of Columbia were given an 'A' grade by Fordham.)

It's worth noting, however, that by the time Florida might adopt the California standards, those standards probably won't be in place anymore in California. That's because California also is one of the lead states that helped to develop the standards. It's expected to vote on them later this year. Although they may well face some opposition, early signs suggest they will likely win adoption.

Back to Florida, one other matter that could complicate things is the political bombshell that dropped today when state Commissioner Tony Bennett announced his resignation. The action comes following a series of news stories about steps Bennett took while Indiana's K-12 chief last year to boost the grade of a charter school run by a political donor by tweaking the state's A-F accountability system.

Source: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/08/common_science_standards_ignite_debate.html

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Estee Lauder eyes buoyant cosmetics demand in Africa

JOHANNESBURG: Estee Lauder plans to expand its presence in sub-Saharan Africa by rolling out its $1 billion brands, Clinique and MAC, to tap into strong demand for luxury cosmetics among the region's middle class, a company executive said on Wednesday.

The high-end cosmetics company will introduce Clinique, its second biggest brand with sales over $1 billion, in Nigeria this year and in Mozambique in the near future, Sue Fox, Estee Lauder's managing director for sub-Saharan Africa, told Reuters in an interview.

It launched MAC makeup in Nigeria's largest city Lagos in February after being "inundated" with requests and will be opening another store there within weeks, Fox said.

"There's massive interest from the consumers there in international brands," she said. "We're very excited about the potential of MAC in Nigeria. That's led us to pursue a strategy with MAC that will ensure that we're able to bring the brand to consumers in other markets."

The company has earmarked a second new market for MAC, its third biggest brand, this year and another two or three in 2014, adding to new partner stores in Botswana and Zambia.

It is also about to enter Cote d'Ivoire for the first time with fragrances, currently its biggest category in Africa. Estee Lauder's partners in designer fragrances include Tom Ford, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd and Coach Inc.

Fox said Estee Lauder views sub-Saharan Africa as "a long-term build," citing its youthful population, brisk economic growth and urbanisation. The region, with the exception of South Africa, is its newest market.

"The potential of Africa, we believe, is extremely positive and we wouldn't be entering unless we believe that there was long term sustainable growth," she said.

"Our target consumer is the emerging middle class, the established middle class and that affluent African consumer who's probably extremely well travelled and very brand savvy."

However, the main hurdle to the company's growth in Africa is the lack of retail infrastructure outside South Africa.

"We would probably be going a lot faster if there was the availability of retail space," Fox said. "The concept of department stores doesn't really exist outside of South Africa. I think there are great opportunities for retailers and for mall developers in sub-Saharan Africa. Brands want to be there."

Estee Lauder is focusing on cities with the biggest growth potential, said Fox, and has identified key locations such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt in Nigeria, as well as the capitals of Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/estee-lauder-eyes-buoyant-cosmetics-demand-in-africa/articleshow/21516976.cms

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Internationalize Your Internet Address - Here's Why & How ...

In this article, [I will explain why you should seriously consider internationalizing your domain name,] teach you some basic terms so that you can understand how to choose the jurisdiction of your domain name (as well as make sure that your personal or business information is not leaked out into the public domain) [and tell you how to do it. Read on!]

So writes Kyle Gonzales in edited excerpts from his original article* as posted on internationalman.com under the title How to Safely Internationalize your Domain Name.

[The following article is presented by? Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com and www.munKNEE.com and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (sample here ? register here) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (?) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.]

Gonzales goes on to say in further edited (and in some cases paraphrased) excerpts:

Purchasing the domain name for your international internet business is an important step, one which will help support your brand and identify your business to your customers. Much attention is paid to the first part of the domain name, because it is generally assumed that the domain name will end in .com.

This is a terrible mistake.

The bad news: Where you register your domain name may land you in jail. The US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency has used the fact that a US-based company acts as the administrator for all .com domains to claim jurisdiction over all websites ending in .com, regardless of where the actual website is located.

The good news: In the same manner in which you can internationalize your business incorporation or your financial accounts, you can also internationalize your domain names ? and it?s easy. Just choose a domain name that resides in a non-US jurisdiction by picking a different ending component, or TLD, for your domain name. For example, choosing to use a domain name that ends in .co instead of .com offshores the jurisdiction for your domain name from the United States to Colombia.

Let?s?start with explanations about?some basic terms:

TLD ? Top-Level Domain

A TLD is the part of the domain at the end of the domain name. .com, .net, .org, .co, .ca, and .jp are all examples of TLDs. Each TLD is managed by an organization, whether it?s a government or commercial entity. There are two main types of TLDs that most people will use and purchase for their own use, generic TLDs and country code TLDs.

gTLD ? Generic Top-Level Domain

This is the type of TLD that most people are familiar with. Examples of gTLDs are .com, .net, .org, and .biz. The two most common gTLDs, .com and .net, are managed by Verisign, a US-based company and thus fall under US jurisdiction.

Not all gTLDs are managed by US entities, however. Afilias, an Irish limited company based in Dublin, operates the registries for the .info, .asia, and .mobi gTLDs. Though you need to be careful. Afilias bought RegistryPro, the registrar for the .pro gTLD, but left the jurisdiction for the registry in the US.

ccTLD ? Country Code Top-Level Domain

This is a TLD which has been assigned to a country. There is one ccTLD for every country in the world. ccTLDs are usually maintained by a company or organization which is located within that country. There are a few exceptions. For example, the registries for .tv (Tuvalu) and .cc (Cocos Islands) are managed by companies owned by Verisign. Anyone using a .tv or .cc domain for their website has put their website under the jurisdiction of the US government. A list of all ccTLDs can be found here.

Domain Privacy

Under normal circumstances, when you register a domain name, they ask for:

1. full name
2. organization or business
3. address
4. phone number
5. email address

This information is essentially public record, and is easily accessible by anyone. By adding domain privacy, this information is placed in ?escrow? and is no longer part of the public record. Unfortunately, not every TLD registry supports domain privacy. This is important for you to check when you choose your domain.

Domain privacy is also marketed using the terms ?WHOIS Privacy,? ?Contact Privacy,? ?Protected Registration,? ?WHOISGuard,? or ?Private Registration.?

The Best Jurisdictions for Your Domain Name

For people who are looking to purchase a domain name for their international business, I recommend using the following ccTLDs. They have a number of favorable traits in common:

• All of these ccTLDs are administered by registrars located in the country the ccTLD is assigned to.

• Any person or organization can register a domain name using these ccTLDs.

• Any domain name registered using one of these ccTLDs can enable domain privacy.

• Registration and transfers for domains using one of these ccTLDs is as quick and easy as it is for a .com domain name.

• Domain names using these ccTLDs are not immediately associated with the countries they are tied to, giving you a lot of flexibility in naming.

Colombia (.co)

The .co ccTLD is administered by .CO Internet S.A.S., a Colombian company located in Bogota. .co Internet has been very aggressive in marketing the .co ccTLD. The .co ccTLD is attractive based on its similarity to .com. Think about using ?example.co? instead of ?example.com? when purchasing your domain.

Montenegro (.me)

The .me ccTLD is administered by doMEn, d.o.o., a Montenegrin company based in Podgorica. doMEn has also been aggressive in marketing their ccTLD. You can get creative with your naming here. An example: using ?atruestoryabout.me? instead of ?atruestoryaboutme.com?. This site can help you get some ideas: Words ending in ?me.?

Belize (.bz)

The .bz ccTLD is administered by University Management Ltd., a Belizean company based in Belize City. University Management Ltd. has tried to increase awareness and use of the .bz ccTLD by people worldwide, often based on its similarity to the .biz gTLD. An example: using ?kingofgold.bz? instead of ?kingofgold.biz.?

Why not Switzerland (.ch)?

Switzerland is a great place to plant many different internationalization flags. But registering domain names is not one of them. The reason is that the Swiss ccTLD registrar, Switch, does not allow for domain privacy. If you register a .ch domain, your contact information becomes publicly available. Japan Registry Services, the Japanese ccTLD registrar for .jp also has this limitation.

Be Creative and Diversify

Now that you have the knowledge, go have some fun with your domain name search. Be creative and different, while getting your domain outside of the U.S. and EU jurisdictions.

With a little work you can get a more interesting domain name for your web presence while adding another layer of international diversification.

[Editor?s Note: The author?s views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.]

*http://www.internationalman.com/78-global-perspectives/977-how-to-safely-internationalize-your-domain-name?(? Casey Research, LLC; Sign-up here to get the free?IM Communiqu? delivered to your inbox; Kyle Gonzales? firm,?JumpShip Services, offers ?multi-flagged? and offshore internet solutions that offer enhanced security, privacy, and peace of mind for your digital communications.)

Related Articles:

1. Internationalize Your Internet Setup to Prevent NSA from Spying on Your Personal & Business Information ? Here?s How

2 Comments

The overreach of the ?War on Terror? and heavy-handed copyright laws lend the cover for any US agency to monitor and control your Internet activity. These, and myriad other laws, mean that your personal/business website can be seized at the drop of a hat under the flimsiest of pretexts. Fortunately, it is relatively easy and cheap to move your digital presence across borders where it can dwell in friendlier jurisdictions. Read More ?

Source: http://www.munknee.com/internationalize-your-internet-address-heres-why-how/

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What if the Emerging Markets Aren?t?

A laborer is seen working in a textile factory in Huaibei, in north China's Anhui province on July 24, 2013. China's manufacturing activity contracted to a 11-month low in July.

Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images

During the last few years, a lot of hype has been heaped on the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). With their large populations and rapid growth, these countries, so the argument goes, will soon become some of the largest economies in the world?and, in the case of China, the largest of all by as early as 2020. But the BRICS, as well as many other emerging-market economies?have recently experienced a sharp economic slowdown. So, is the honeymoon over?

Brazil?s GDP grew by only 1 percent last year, and may not grow by more than 2 percent this year, with its potential growth barely above 3 percent. Russia?s economy may grow by barely 2 percent this year, with potential growth also at around 3 percent, despite oil prices being around $100 a barrel. India had a couple of years of strong growth recently (11.2 percent in 2010 and 7.7 percent in 2011) but slowed to 4 percent in 2012. China?s economy grew by 10 percent per year for the last three decades, but slowed to 7.8 percent last year and risks a hard landing. And South Africa grew by only 2.5 percent last year and may not grow faster than 2 percent this year.

Many other previously fast-growing emerging-market economies?for example, Turkey, Argentina, Poland, Hungary, and many in Central and Eastern Europe?are experiencing a similar slowdown. So, what is ailing the BRICS and other emerging markets?

First, most emerging-market economies were overheating in 2010-2011, with growth above potential and inflation rising and exceeding targets. Many of them thus tightened monetary policy in 2011, with consequences for growth in 2012 that have carried over into this year.

Second, the idea that emerging-market economies could fully decouple from economic weakness in advanced economies was far-fetched: recession in the eurozone, near-recession in the United Kingdom and Japan in 2011-2012, and slow economic growth in the United States were always likely to affect emerging-market performance negatively?via trade, financial links, and investor confidence. For example, the ongoing eurozone downturn has hurt Turkey and emerging-market economies in Central and Eastern Europe, owing to trade links.

Third, most BRICS and a few other emerging markets have moved toward a variant of state capitalism. This implies a slowdown in reforms that increase the private sector?s productivity and economic share, together with a greater economic role for state-owned enterprises (and for state-owned banks in the allocation of credit and savings), as well as resource nationalism, trade protectionism, import-substitution industrialization policies, and imposition of capital controls.

This approach may have worked at earlier stages of development and when the global financial crisis caused private spending to fall; but it is now distorting economic activity and depressing potential growth. Indeed, China?s slowdown reflects an economic model that is, as former Premier Wen Jiabao put it, ?unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable,? and that now is adversely affecting growth in emerging Asia and in commodity-exporting emerging markets from Asia to Latin America and Africa. The risk that China will experience a hard landing in the next two years may further hurt many emerging economies.

Fourth, the commodity super-cycle that helped Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and many other commodity-exporting emerging markets may be over. Indeed, a boom would be difficult to sustain, given China?s slowdown, higher investment in energy-saving technologies, less emphasis on capital- and resource-oriented growth models around the world, and the delayed increase in supply that high prices induced.

?The fifth, and most recent, factor is the U.S. Federal Reserve?s signals that it might end its policy of quantitative easing earlier than expected, and its hints of an eventual exit from zero interest rates, both of which have caused turbulence in emerging economies? financial markets. Even before the Fed?s signals, emerging-market equities and commodities had underperformed this year, owing to China?s slowdown. Since then, emerging-market currencies and fixed-income securities (government and corporate bonds) have taken a hit. The era of cheap or zero-interest money that led to a wall of liquidity chasing high yields and assets?equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities? in emerging markets is drawing to a close.

Finally, while many emerging-market economies tend to run current-account surpluses, a growing number of them?including Turkey, South Africa, Brazil, and India?are running deficits. And these deficits are now being financed in riskier ways: more debt than equity; more short-term debt than long-term debt; more foreign-currency debt than local-currency debt; and more financing from fickle cross-border interbank flows.

These countries share other weaknesses as well: excessive fiscal deficits, above-target inflation, and stability risk (reflected not only in the recent political turmoil in Brazil and Turkey, but also in South Africa?s labor strife and India?s political and electoral uncertainties). The need to finance the external deficit and to avoid excessive depreciation (and even higher inflation) calls for raising policy rates or keeping them on hold at high levels. But monetary tightening would weaken already-slow growth. Thus, emerging economies with large twin deficits and other macroeconomic fragilities may experience further downward pressure on their financial markets and growth rates.

These factors explain why growth in most BRICS and many other emerging markets has slowed sharply. Some factors are cyclical, but others?state capitalism, the risk of a hard landing in China, the end of the commodity super-cycle?are more structural. Thus, many emerging markets? growth rates in the next decade may be lower than in the last?as may the outsize returns that investors realized from these economies? financial assets (currencies, equities, bonds, and commodities).

Of course, some of the better-managed emerging-market economies will continue to experience rapid growth and asset outperformance. But many of the BRICS, along with some other emerging economies, may hit a thick wall, with growth and financial markets taking a serious beating.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/business/project_syndicate/2013/07/growth_slows_in_emerging_markets_like_brazil_china_turkey_and_argentina.html

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