I was a young boy of thirteen. I had two pen pals, one in Alaska, the other in Manchester, England. I unexcited stamps, and was fascinated with every new four-cent commemorative that was issued. I was sending and receiving my first adolescent letters of love. As a Scout, I had a subscription to “Boy’s Life” magazine. My parents received “LIFE” every week.

But aside from the real (as opposed to e) mail and the magazines, and the few but regularly received envelopes with the little glassine windows that would occasionally set off a screaming match between my parents, there was NOTHING else! Once in a while, a package would be left on the front step. Sometimes, days would pass with no mail at all.

But that was then………

We are now besieged by daily deliveries of useless material that is collectively referred to as “Junk Mail.” Ironically, this incredible explosion of the bulk-mail business just might be the cause of the United States Postal Service’s eventual demise.

Most customers of the United States Post Office deeply resent this onslaught. The sorters and especially the carriers who walk a route are overwhelmed with the extra weight.

Every day, in homes and at every US Post Office in the country, most customers go to their mail boxes and retrieve a thick handful of mail which has to be carefully (lest some important letter or check be buried in the pages of some real estate ad) sorted into two piles… the “real” and the “junk.” The junk, which usually constitutes the majority, is then quickly (if at all) skimmed through before being deposited in the nearest wastebasket.

At the Post offices, this results in multiple, extra-large plastic garbage bags crammed to capacity with layer upon layer of the same bulk-mailed material: Pizza restaurant discounts; weekly supermarket specials; “Free” Internet access CDs; life, health and automobile insurance ads from every agency in the country; postcards with the faces of missing children; ten-pages of Wal-Mart ads; magazine sweepstakes and all sorts of other gimmicks and scams. Items very cleverly disguised as genuine U.S; Postal Express Mail Packages inquire of the recipient’s immediate attention. Seemingly authentic Western _Union-type telegrams acquire personalized “Congratulations for being chosen as one of five semi-finalists in our Ten Million Dollar give-away!”

The worst offenders are the credit card companies who deliberately target those with low credit ratings. The envelopes routinely have the words “You’ve Been Pre-Approved” printed on the outside along with the promise of 0% interest for at least one year. The unsuspecting (all too often the elderly), or the desperate neck-deep-in-debt consumers who plan the offer a away to finally consolidate the bills and get out of debt, drag the envelope open and either ignoring or failing to comprehend the many pages of fine print, go directly to the line that says, “sign here,” thereby missing the part stating in exquisite legalize that if one is late in paying any of one’s other bills, even the phone bill, the initial 0% will magically jump to as high as 27%. Another victim gets hopelessly trapped.

The costs incurred by the Post Office for processing this material, from its sorting through its delivery and right down to its ultimate bagging and removal as waste, are passed on to the customer in the form of higher postage fees. The price of a first-class stamp is swiftly approaching forty cents. Today, one can select a generic “US Postage” price that does not have a particular value printed on it, allowing for the steadily rising cost of mailing a letter.

The beautifully engraved three and four-cent commemoratives of my youth have long been replaced by an extensive variety of colorful stamps bearing the images of objective about everything from flowers to cartoon characters and celebrity portraits. These stamps are aggressively marketed by the Post Office as “collectibles,” that often come with special descriptive booklets. A few years ago, the P.O. actually polled the nation as to whether the “Old” Elvis or the “New” Elvis should adorn a proposed stamp.

It costs practically nothing to send an email. Consequently (and sadly), the hand-written letter has become a rarity. For package delivery, the Post Office is now forced to compete with FED-EX and the UPS Stores. Every day, an increasing number of business transactions of all kinds, from purchasing to billing, are done on-line, instantaneously and inexpensively.

Because of the higher prices for postage that can be attributed to the rising amount of junk mail and the public’s growing disgust with that mail and with what the Post office has become, some day soon, the United States Postal Service will be nothing more than a purveyor of “collectible” stamps and postal money orders, and the sole distributor of the all but ignored bulk mailings.

Not long after that, when all of the insidious Junk Mail has finally spammed its way completely into cyberspace, the USPS will simply cease to exist.

What Allstate and the entire media failed to do was analyze the data sitting before them. Since Allstate now used the new, revised zodiac calendar which includes a new 13^th effect, “Ophiuchus,” the number of days within each zodiac sign also changed. Scorpio, for instance, now only has six days, while Virgo has 45 days.

What Allstate did was select the aggregate Number of Driver Accidents whose birth dates fall on each zodiac sign and then made claims that the best drivers (or those with the fewest accidents) are the ones with the fewest accidents within their zodiac dates, and so on down the zodiac list.

According to the PR Newswire – Allstate release, it stated that: “Over the past year, Virgos were nearly 700 percent more likely to be in a car accident when compared to the determined and aware Scorpio, the best drivers in the study. Perhaps a Virgo's shy, perfectionist nature leads to overly cautious and insecure driving habits. By inequity, Scorpios were only involved in 1.5 percent of all accidents in 2010.”

From this data, Allstate extrapolated all sorts of incorrect information about their clients.

If Allstate had looked more carefully at their possess data they would have found that they needed to divide the Number of Driver Accidents by the number of days in the new zodiac calendar to arrive at an “apples-to-apples” comparison.

The photo shown here is my re-calculation of how their data should have looked by including the number of days in each zodiac sign.

When re-calculated like this, Aries comes out on top and Cancer on the bottom, but most importantly the contrast between the “safest drivers and the worst” is a mere 17.8 percent, not the 700 percent Allstate claims between the two extremes in their report.

The ACCIDENTS PER DAY in each sign is relatively end to one another and, in statistical terms, the difference is so nominal as to be irrelevant.

This mess-up has several bottom-lines:

1. According to a Fox News report of a national poll conducted by Belief Dynamics Corporation shows about 25 percent of Americans believe in astrology. That's about 4 million Allstate customers. What's next for Allstate? Comparing Jewish drivers to Christians, or blacks to whites? Allstate is a publicly owned company and has a moral obligation to be sensitive to reports it issues. Why cause unnecessary wretchedness to their clients and others?

2. And when Allstate does deny reports they should have another set of “clean, new eyes” examine the report for accuracy. Many Virgos are probably upset with the narrate, as well they should be. According to Allstate Insurance. “Virgos, known to be critical, meticulous and reserved, are also more likely to earn into a car accident.” This is just plain stupid analysis on the part of Allstate. Their PR person ought to be fired for crap like this, and their CEO held accountable.

3. Two days after their original “zodiac” press release, Allstate issued a damage control press release: “Allstate Corrects Misperceptions Zodiac Press Release May Have Created,” in which they clarify that being born under a certain zodiac effect, has “no role” in how they execrable their coverage. Apparently, Allstate thinks their customers will leave them thinking they are a greater risk to be insured because of their zodiac sign and their premiums will increase. Allstate unexcited had not figured out that their zodiac numbers were totally out of whack. Interestingly enough, the original zodiac press release has been removed from the Allstate website.

4. The media should learn a lesson in this too. While most media outlets, i.e. TV and radio stations, newspapers and Internet news services gather the bulk of their news via press releases distributed by independent third-party content providers, it should tranquil be up to the respective news station to screen information more carefully. Fair, there is a lot of news out there, but each situation only runs for each broadcast only a handful of news items and they should have an obligation to viewers and readers that the news going out has been vetted…that is the cornerstone of good journalism. However, most media now have disclaimers on their websites, saying in so many words they are not responsible for “information contained on their websites.” This is lawyer crap and is just moving us closer to a closed society…bad Soros and his dream of an open society.

Unbiased this week, another news myth broke here in Florida about a piano which mysteriously appeared on a sand bar off Miami. At first the local TV stations broke the news that a husband and wife photo team had placed the piano there for a world-wide photo shoot of pianos located in unfamiliar places. We only found out a week later that a group of teenagers placed the piano there as a prank. Fair of the story: If we cannot score accurate news from our professional media sources, then who?

In researching this report, I found many interesting facts about astrology which in fact has changed my sign.

The zodiac calendar starts on the spring equinox in March in the northern hemisphere, and in September in the southern hemisphere. All my life I opinion I was a Libra, but, being born in Australia, I now find I am an Aries, and with Ophiuchus muddling up the celestial waters, I have no idea what sign I am any longer.

And since I was born at 8 a.m. local time in Australia on Oct. 10, it was still Oct. 9 in the States…so do I celebrate my staunch birthday on the 9^th or the 10^th? Being Australian, I celebrate both days with lots of drinking and partying, but this should have legal implications too since I live in the States now. I'll check into this and get back to you.

In the meantime, in our new Internet age, when you see a news story, all free people who aspire to stay that way should read, study and part their wisdom . We are all the eyes, ears, and analysts of our new information age…it appears it is up to people reading the news to effect clear it is correct and accurate.

Peace

Sources:
PR Newswire, What Does Your Zodiac Sign Say About Your Driving? , Allstate Press Release.
Fox News Polls, More Believe In God Than In Heaven, By Dana Blanton.
Allstate Newsroom, Allstate Corrects Misperceptions Zodiac Press Release May Have Created, Laura Strykowski, Allstate.
Valleynewslive.com, Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.
Soros, Open Society Foundations, About the Open Society George Soros.

The first step is to educate yourself about what is and is not covered under your policy. You will probably need support in deciphering some terminology, and the group has a section on Homeowner’s Insurance to encourage clarify. They also recomment content on insulttoinjury.org, a non-profit. Numerous other consumer information sites exist, and spending a little time researching on such sites is the first step, according to the consumer’s groups.

Another important step to take is to hire your own appraisers, contractors, or others that will give a firm dollar figure to the amount of damage you sustained. There is a difference between a bid and an estimate. Bids, specifically a not-to-exceed bid, is what you want to submit to the insurance company. Estimates are flexible numbers that could fluctuate and be disputed.

The group goes on to make several other points regarding filing claims with home insurance companies. Some of the valuable points follow:

1. If the dollar amount of your policy turns out to be too low to cover your losses, the insurance company may be forced to pay a higher amount. In this case it must be shown that the company sold you an inadequete policy in order to keep your premiums coarse enough to be competitive. Major insurance companies, including Allstate, were fined millions of dollars for under-insuring homeowners in order to increase sales after the Oakland Firestorm in 1991.

2. Remember that the insurance adjuster works for the insurance company, and often draws bonuses for saving the company money. This reinforces the need to hire your own appraisers (an adjuser is essentially an appraiser for the insurance company).

3. If you believe that the company has handled your claim in bad faith, you have the right to sue for your claim as well as all attorney fees, court costs, and associated losses. This could be a point of leverage when dealing with insurance companies.

The full list of 10 tips can be found at the group’s website, as well as a helpful free glossary and directory of related websites. Some of the site’s resources require a little membership fee, and while membership may be useful to streamline your research, you can always check with the station insurance commission and related web sites as sources of information instead.

Source:

InsuranceConsumers.com, Consumers Group Cautions Firestorm Victims, PR Newswire

Making it all the map to senior state around here does have its perks and certain insurance discounts are only a small bit of the good stuff that is to be in store. When I mention twilight here I don’t mean the dreamy attractive brooding vampires from the movies either. I mean those golden few years where you are supposed be able to rest easy and lift your time getting somewhere instead of rushing around like a maniac all the time.

It is surprising to me having impartial turned fifty that I actually had to go and ask our insurance agent to give me any available senior discounts they offer. It is not like they do not know my age! In fact, they probably know more about me than most of my friends and family combined. So make a point of asking your agent to gather you tuned in to every senior discount option they offer. If you are not delighted with these results then contact other insurance agencies and start shopping around. Once you have the agents attention ask them to help you with the following things.

First see if they offer a pleasure driver rate as this can do a senior money on their insurance since they are typically not driving nearly as worthy as when they commuted to work every day of the week. This one change could save you ten to fifteen percent on your premiums.

Another item to consider is to ask if they can relieve set you up with an AARP or AAA safe driver course which once completed successfully they should be able to offer you another form of safe driver discount. It is common knowledge that folks between the ages of 50 and 70 are reportedly some of the safest drivers on the road.

Since you are officially a safer driver than most and to present it you finished your safe driver course it may be time to raise your deductible so that your monthly premiums are lowered. This is worth the risk if you have a good driving relate and can put away the deductible amount you may need ahead of time. Of course paying the deductible later negates some of the savings you accrued but that is always going to be the same risk no matter how worthy you pay per month.

One really fast plot to save on your insurance cost is to pay your annual premium amount in full at the beginning of the term. This can score you a ample cost reduction on your premiums if you can afford to plunge the cash in one big lump payment.

Getting what the insurance business calls “Multi-Line” insurance is another great way for seniors to save on their insurance bills. What you need to do is find an insurance company that covers cars and homes and combine these policies. many of us have one for each and this is not cost effective.

You could downsize your sedan and go with something smaller that is less costly to insure and is perhaps gets even better fuel mileage saving you more money per year as well. If possible you could judge selling the car and going with public transportation or ride one of the newer motor scooters that are more like motorcycles than scooters. One is even a three wheeled unit that is really safe from a company called Piaggio.

All things considered seniors are wise to consult with a few different agents to see that they are getting the best deals possible since most of us will be on a fixed income at some point in our twilight years we may as well be frugal on things like our insurance premiums.

As a person ages they drive less so it stands to reason if you haven’t had any accidents your rates tend to lower. However, for income reasons it is still best to comparison shop for the best insurance quotes when it comes to any type of insurance, especially auto. The first thing to remember is nobody can be turned away for car insurance because of their age. However, if they let their license lapse, they may be required to take an exam before they are able to acquire their license renewed.

It is important to get insurance quotes from several different companies before deciding on your auto insurance choice.

Taking a driving course or purchasing a car with additional safety features can save money on your insurance rates.

There are several auto insurance companies that specialize in insurance for seniors such as AARP and AAA.

Sometimes employers or church groups may offer a group insurance rate that will save money on auto insurance policies.

Sometimes local insurance agents can offer lower rates than other auto insurance companies, it is always good to recognize at several different avenues to find the best policy quotes.

Many seniors are driving automobiles that they have had for many years and sometimes the deductible on a certain car many cost more than the car is worth. To find the best senior rate you may need to choose a higher deductible for your automobile.

Your insurance rates are adjusted according to your zip code. If you gain two homes and spend the same amount of time in each home, you will need to choose to list the car insurance in the zip code that will give you the best rate.

Most seniors never want to give up driving, however sometimes due to health reasons it may become necessary to give up driving. People sometimes continue paying for car insurance policies even after they never drive anymore due to health reasons for fear they may need to drive someday. The cost far outweighs the succor and if you do have to drive one day, you probably wouldn’t be able to due to medical reasons, so let the insurance and car go. Use senior taxicabs, family members or friends. The money you save by no longer having a car will easily pay for your trips here and there to the store and doctor appointments.

Some good insurance companies that offer good rates to seniors are AARP, Progressive, Allstate, Farm Bureau, Geico and State Farm.

Make sure you accumulate all the quotes you can and philosophize them what you can pay, sometimes as with Progressive they can work around your priceline. Geico has a senior discount program and many other insurances do as well.

References for this article include: www.nscddconline.com/geicosenior/
www.insurancefinder.com/autoinsurance/seniorauto.html
seniorautoinsurance.org/
seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Discounts/2007/7-06-28-SenCitCanFind.htm

Getting quotes for auto insurance is an easy process. With just a few clicks on the computer or toll-free telephone calls, anyone can salvage a list that compares auto insurance by services and rates. For senior citizens, who often are on fixed incomes, this can be a very cost-effective exercise, possibly saving them hundreds of dollars during an insured period.

Finding Comparable Rates

Buying auto insurance is like any other important, long-term buy. The key is to take time to research and shop for the best deal with reliable auto insurance companies.

The following is a sample of insurance companies and insurance brokers offering auto insurance quotes on the Internet. Many have specific marketing programs targeting senior citizens.

AARP: www.aarp.thehartford.com.
AARP is an advocacy organization for seniors that promotes the interests of people over 50 years old. They offer auto insurance to members through The Hartford.

Allstate: www.allstate.com.
Allstate is a well known insurance company. Quotes can be gathered at the above website or local agents can be found in the telephone book and are available to assist in preparing a free quote.

Farmers Insurance Group: http://www.farmersinsurance.com.
Online or in person, a Farmers insurance agent can review auto insurance coverage, help identify potential gaps, and include any qualifying Farmers Auto insurance discounts.

Progressive Insurance: www.progressive.com.
Progressive will provide a quote for their company along with comparables of other auto insurance companies for easy comparisons.

Geico Insurance: www.geico.com.
This company can be accessed online or at one of their many offices. It is easy to get a quote; they offer flexible payment options and competitive rates.

Costco: www.costco.com.
Costco offers membership insurance through Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance.

Autoinsure: www.autoinsure.org.
Autoinsure has a page with helpful insurance information for senior citizens. They can provide quotes from all the major auto insurance companies.

Esurance: www.esurance.com.
A rising star among insurance companies that capture pride in stating: “Esurance doesn’t just offer pleasant insurance coverage, we also believe in educating consumers.” Their online quote process is easy to navigate.

US Insurance: www.usinsuranceonline.com
They will provide multiple auto insurance quotes tailored to specific needs within minutes of filling out their simple short form. It’s easy then to compare them side by side to find the best prices and coverage.

Car Insurance Rates: www.carinsurancerates.com
Their network of companies and brokers offer a variety of car insurances: Farmers, Allstate, AIG, Nationwide, AARP, Safeco Insurance, Liberty Mutual, MetLife and Mercury.

Every insurance rate: www.everyinsurancerate.com
EveryInsuranceCompany.com is a handy Internet directory to fetch local insurance companies, insurance quotes and discount insurance rates.

Quote Scout: www.quotescout.com.
This website will provide quotes from a long list of auto insurance companies – literally from “A” to “Z”.

Insurance.com: http://www.insurance.com.
Insurance.com works directly with 15 highly rated car insurance companies in 46 states: 21st Century, Electric Insurance, Esurance Auto Insurance, The Hartford, Infinity, Liberty Mutual, Meritplan Insurance, MetLife Auto Insurance, Newport Insurance, Permanent General Assurance Corporation (The General), Progressive, QBE Insurance, Safeco, Travelers Insurance, and Unitrin Allege.

Keeping Auto Insurance Rates Down

There are ways that senior citizens can catch responsibility to control their auto insurance rates. Here are a few suggestions.

According to seniorjournal.com, most of the major auto insurance agencies provide a 5% – 10% discount to drivers beginning at the ages of 50 or 55. However, as a group, drivers 75 and older have one of the highest rates of fatal daytime accidents. Because of this, it’s important that senior drivers stay proactive and keen in keeping their driving skills interesting.

Many states offer an auto insurance discount for mature drivers if a person meets a given age criteria and has taken an approved mature driver safety course. Local colleges and senior centers are good resources to learn about the classes. AARP has local and on-line access to the course. Costco offers its members an online drivers’ safety training course through FirstNet: www.firstnetlearning.com.

Another way to keep auto insurance rates down is to drive a low-profile car, one that as part of a group has a lower rate due to minimum repair costs, considered safer and less likely to be stolen. Check the Highway Loss Data Institute, www.iihs.org, for the latest related data.

Interrogate current auto insurance needs and requirements. Changing to higher deductibles or dropping collision or comprehensive coverage for older cars may make sense.

Always ask about discounts when purchasing or renewing auto insurance.

And finally, the best long-term advice: Always drive defensively, stay alert and follow the driving laws. Maintaining a respectable driving portray is the best arrangement to keep auto insurance rates down.

They are even more vexed by the preposterous notion that some highly paid strangers sitting in Manhattan’s high rise offices were surreptitiously able to make telephonic contracts worth billions with accomplices hiding in offshore money laundering havens – all guaranteed on the humble mortgage payments of a few hundreds they were making to their neighborhood banks.

As if that ignominy is not enough, now their money is to be feeble to compensate for such speculative misadventures of not only American investment banks but of whoever bought into those dubious schemes from beyond the oceans too.

No wonder the European Central Bank’s (ECB) chief Trichet wants the American Congress to pass the bailout bill “for the sake of the U.S. and for the sake of global finance.” But, he also rules out a European bailout plan on the excuse that Europe doesn’t have a central budget. Then, what is the job of the organization ECB he is heading? The truth is that Germany and France are torpedoing a 300 bln euro plan suggested by other members of EU.

Economic Data:

Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Manufacturing Index for September – fell by 6.4 to 43.5 from 49.9, the lowest in seven years. The consensus was for 49.5. ISM prices paid excluding crude oil fell by 23.5 to 53.5 against a consensus figure of 73. The first reading shows that manufacturing activity is contracting. The second indicates that people have made a inspiring cut back in spending on purchases, though some may claim it shows inflation is disappearing! However, if prices were easing, people should be buying more.

The ADP employment index of private sector jobs for September – showed a loss of 8000 jobs in the private non-farm sector against the forecast of 60,000-job loss. It was 37,000 in August. Unfortunately, ADPs figures usually are far off the trace compared to government employment report on non-farm payrolls data to be announced on Friday.

Challenger Jobless Report – at the same time, announced 95,094 layoffs during that period.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s (Department of Commerce) Construction Spending for August – stood unchanged at $1,072 billion against a forecast figure of 0.5%. That shows a halt, even if temporary, in the relentless slide witnessed throughout 2008.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey – showed a 23% topple last week. The refinance index also fell 34.7%. The Conventional Purchase Index decreased 9.7 percent while the Government Capture Index decreased 14.1 percent. This entire shortfall, despite interests on 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreasing week by week!

Senate’s deliberations on the bailout:

Senate voted on its version of the $700 bln view this evening. Salient clauses include:
*provisions for an increase in the FDIC’s deposit insurance limit to $250,000 from the present $100,000
*tax breaks for businesses and especially to alternative energy ventures
*Removal of $30 bln limit on FDIC enabling it to borrow an unlimited funds from the Treasury
*authorized the Treasury Secretary to buy bad assets of companies to clean up their yarn books
*requires government agencies to make modifications to troubled mortgages.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for their concurrence, expected by Friday.

SEC ban on short sales is likely to be extended to October 18, beyond the novel expiration on October 2.

Weekly EIA petroleum reserves report – Crude oil inventories were up by 4.28 mln barrels far exceeding the forecast of 2.75 mln. Gasoline reserves increased by 901,000 against a consensus shortfall of -2.05 mln.

Oil retreated by -$2.11 (-2.10%) to $98.53

Gold rose by $6.50 (0.74%) to $887.30

CBOE Volatility impartial made it to 39.81, terrified of the 40 mark by 0.42.

Uncertainty over stocks back in the air, investors again made a beeline for Treasury securities.

Market indices

Dow went UP by -19.59 (-0.18%) to 10831.07
S&P 500 UP by -3.68 (-0.32%) to 1161.06
Nasdaq UP by -22.48 (-1.09%) to 2069.40

NYSE

Daily Volume: 1.29 bln
A/D Ratio: 1591 stocks advanced against 1614 declined
52-week Hi/Lo: 10 stocks scaled new Highs while 191 slid recent Lows

NASDAQ

Daily Volume: 1.91 bln
A/D Ratio: 1068 stocks advanced against 1820 declined
52-week Hi/Lo: 7 stocks achieved novel Highs while 153 dipped to modern Lows

The first half of the trading session saw the market falling due to uncertainty surrounding the bailout legislation and the negative economic data. Then came the news on GE in quick succession and pepped the market up disappointing manufacturing reading and news that Warren Buffett is making another major investment.

Trading in GE was temporarily halted as the news of their $12 bln in a public offering started coming in. Then came the encouraging news of Warren Buffet’s purchase of $3 bln worth of 10% preferred stock. His holding company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) also have rights to $3 bln in 5-year warrants to purchase GE at $22.25 per allotment.

Then the market heard the “Oracle’s prophesies” on GE’s superior prospects. This was added to by the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s who re-affirmed GE’s credit rating of AAA.

That was the shot in the arm the market needed. GE was languishing recently due to liabilities from the debts of GE Capital.

Calm blue chip IBM (IBM) fell by more than 6% based on rumors of the company issuing further reduced guidance on its earnings.

President Bush finally favorite the $25 bln loan package for automobile manufacturers for meeting the new fuel economy standards. Now the ball passes to the Energy Department to work out the rules and regulations to be presented to the Congress sometimes next year for approval.

Monthly sales of car-makers are declining:

Lexus -37%
Ford -35%
Toyota -32%
Hyundai -25%
Honda -24%
GM -16%

ImClone (IMCL) finally revealed the name of its mysterious bidder. It is Eli Lilly with a $6+ bln offer on ImClone @$70 per share.

JNJ won their $1.2 bln patent infringement cases against Boston Scientific (BSX) and Medtronic (MDT).

Marathon Oil (MRO) is disposing off its 50% stake in Pilot Travel Centers.

Xstrata (XSRAF) is ending its $9 bln bid on Lonmin Plc (LNMI.Y).

Chicago’s Midway airport is to be leased to a private consortium led by Citigroup (C) for a 99-year period .

When most businesses are looking for ways to downsize, consumer retailer Kohl’s Corporation (KSS) is opening 47 new stores in addition to the 31 already opened this year.

Company results:

Wolverine World Wide could bring out 15% increased earnings.

Micron Technology (MU) earnings were disappointing.

Analyst’s ratings:

Company stocks upgraded include:

Allied Capital Corp (ALD), CA Inc (CA), Children’s Plot Retail (PLCE), eHealth Inc (EHTH), Energy Solutions Inc (ES),
F5 Networks Inc (FFIV), Force Protection Inc(FRPT) and Informatica Corp (INFA).

Downgraded stocks are:

Brown Shoe Inc (BWS), California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI), Coleman Cable Inc (CCIX), Community Health System (CYH),
CSG Systems International (CSGS), Mortons Restaurant (MRT), Network Engines Inc (NENG), RC2 Corporation (RCRC),
Reliant Energy Inc (RRI), RLI Corp (RLI), Ruth’S Hospitality Group (RUTH), Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC), Tupperware Corp (TUP),
Universal Health Services (UHS) and Xyratex Ltd (XRTX).

Fortunately for the banks and their customers, the 28-day repo funding by the government is showing its beneficial effect:
The interbank overnight loan rate has fallen to 3.79% and is holding. Availability of more funds has loosened the credit situation a bit.

Pointers to the future:

* The U.S. national debt broke through the $10 tln mark today.

* Unemployment is expected to touch 7% by the middle of next year, unless the next administration can work magic or miracles.

The best diagram to score cheap auto insurance online is the internet. It allows you to be able to catch quotes for lots of different companies. Some of the biggest auto insurance companies allow you to compare rates with other companies, which give you an advance. Many companies provide discounts online that would not be offered at there location. It is good to pick advantage of any possible discounts available. The internet makes it possible for you to get a fast quote and check many different companies. It allowed me to find a very cheap price which I feel I would not have found if it was not for the internet.

When looking for cheap auto insurance you want to drive safely this is important. If you have a good driving record, getting the best auto insurance quote is easy. Auto Insurance companies are very nervous to insure people who have a bad driving picture. Most people will notice if you have a poor driving record your auto insurance can nearly double or even triple. Many people who have a bad driving record will acquire themselves wanting to lie about it in order to accumulate cheap auto insurance. It is always good to drive as safely as possible if you want to get a good cheap auto insurance quote.

If you really want to get cheap auto insurance then installing safety features in your car is a smart idea. Almost every auto insurance company will agree that this will cause less accidents and will stop more claims in the future. The anti theft feature is a good thing to install on your vehicle. It prevents theft and keeps your car from someone stealing it and that way you do not need to file an insurance claim. If you shop around you can find many ways to keep your vehicle safe and you will find that this will also lower your auto insurance payments and help you save money. A lot of people don’t realize that this is a tremendous savings and can easy save them a lot of money each year by just adding safety features to there car.

Finding cheap auto insurance can be a tough challenge but by following these simple steps, you can easily save hundreds every year on your auto insurance. The next time you feel that you are spending a lot of money on auto insurance go online and shop around, drive safely and add a safety system to your vehicle.

Well I can train you that this is not exactly true. I spent about 2 hours online one day checking all the websites for quotes. When I went to Esurance I found that my insurance would raise about $400.00 every six months through them. AIG was even worse, it took me over 30 minutes to even catch my quote and I am sure you figured out already the quote was upwards of $500.00 more than I already pay.

Interestingly I am a married woman age 57 ½ and I have a clean driving portray. My husband also has a clean record. So why I ask myself were our quotes so high. Not because of our credit rating as it is 769, which not to brag but this is a good rating. When I challenged these companies regarding the cost of my quote. I was told, it was because they included my adult children in the quote. Why I ask, because they employ my home address as their absorb. Now my children do not live in the house they employ our address as their permanent address of record. So when they run a check to quote your insurance in Oregon, they hasten the records of all residents at your address. Even if those people do not reside in the home nor drive your automobile.

No problem with this as I was just testing the waters. We are privileged to carry Geico because my husband is a government employee so we are have our policies through them. They are not the lowest I am sure of that, no accident forgiveness like Allstate. But as my mother use to say, “if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be upright.” I must assume there is a pick up to the entire accident forgiveness and the check they location will come to you for no accidents every 6 months or year.

So in the end I decided it is better to stay with my little lizard friend, I think he is so cute anyway.

Two Types

There are two ways to obtain insurance, either through an accurate agent or online. More ancient companies such as State Farm, American Family, and Allstate generally have individual agents who service your business and handle your policy exclusively. Companies like Geico and Progressive are more technology based companies that obtain and service your business online or over the phone only, with no direct agent. While both are perfectly acceptable ways of obtaining insurance there are some great differences between the two.

Traditional – Single Agent

Traditionally, if you wanted to purchase an auto insurance policy you would call your family agent and spot up an appointment to come into the office. The benefit to sticking with this type of insurance agency is that you do receive more personalized service. You earn to know your agent, meet with him or her face to face to discuss your needs, and have one specific person to call with any questions or concerns you may have regarding changes to your policy.

While this is definitely helpful in some instances, there are also downfalls. Because agents charge commissions from the proper insurance companies, this is reflected in your payment amount through higher premiums. Also, many people feel that having a squawk agent would be an advantage if you are involved in an accident as your agent will objective handle the entire process. This is not true. Agents are in the business of selling and servicing policies, not claims. Most companies defer their handling of auto accident claims to adjusters who often work in the corporate office.

Online at By Phone

The newest way of handling your insurance is through the internet or by calling a toll-free phone number. With this type of insurance company, you do not have one specific contact but can contact the corporation directly which usually means not talking to the same person twice. Because a lot of these companies run on a call-center environment, they do not have the same operating costs as those with individual agents do. This dissimilarity is often reflected by lower insurance premium rates.

Best of Both Worlds

The little known fact about choosing between an online company or an individual agent is that sometimes you can have the best of both worlds. Some companies, (like Geico) have personal offices in many major metropolitan offices where you can actually go and talk to an agent versus handling everything online. Because they have fewer offices, the effect on your rates is still very low. But, by having only a few small offices, these companies can peaceful offer the personalized service most policyholders want.

My Opinion As A Seasoned Insurance Sales Agent/Claims Adjuster

My personal take, as a former claims professional and insurance agent? Go for the savings. Insurance rates go in cycles, but by sticking to a website or 800-number company the amount you will save far outweights speaking to a different person every time. After all, how often do you really talk to your agent? Most companies provide claims service at a corporate level, which means your agent most likely will not handle any accidents you have anyhow.

As always, I advice everyone to check their insurance rates three months before each six month renewal to try to get the best deal. Some years certain companies are the best, other years they are not. But it never hurts to check, and with the invention of internet quoting it is even easier and less time consuming.