WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A big new public health insurance program envisioned by President Barack Obama is shaping up as one of the most contentious issues in his drive to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.

The White House and congressional Democrats have not given details of any proposal.

But even before a plan emerges, some Republicans and the insurance industry are expressing concern about any new public health insurance program. And conservative policy experts are trying to shape the debate by calling such a move a step toward "socialized medicine."

Obama aims to sign a bill this year making sweeping changes in the healthcare system, which is the world's most expensive even as 46 million Americans have no health insurance and the United States lags other nations in important health measures, such as life expectancy and infant mortality.

Most Americans -- about 170 million -- get private health coverage through an employer, although some buy their own private insurance. Others are eligible for public programs that offer coverage to the elderly and disabled (Medicare), the poor (Medicaid) and low-income children (State Children's Health Insurance Program).

But many go without coverage, paying instead out of their own pockets for care if they get sick, or trying to do without medical attention. A new public insurance program would be intended to offer coverage to those who currently do not have it or who want an alternative to private insurance.

Obama last year proposed "a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health coverage." It is part of an initiative to cut the number of uninsured while improving healthcare quality and controlling costs that are forecast to reach $2.5 trillion this year.

Leading congressional Democrats have embraced the idea but the specifics are still being worked out.

'TROJAN HORSE'

"There are, obviously, different ways of designing a public plan that would have different effects," White House budget director Peter Orszag told a Senate hearing this week.

Robert Moffit, a health policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, said he believes some proponents of a new public program see it as a first step toward a full government takeover of the healthcare system.

"It's a Trojan Horse for national health insurance where you basically rig the competition against private health insurance and you set up the economic incentives to encourage employers to dump people into the public plan," Moffit said.

Democrat Henry Waxman, who as chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee will play a major role in getting legislation through Congress, envisioned "a public plan like Medicare or some variation of it."

"This system will work better if there is a public plan available as an alternative to private coverage," Waxman told a meeting of the American Medical Association this week. "Don't let anyone tell you that what I'm interested in is socialized medicine. I tell you flatly that is definitely not the case."

Changes in the U.S. healthcare system have been difficult to get through Congress, such as when President Bill Clinton's efforts failed in 1993. Republicans including Representative Roy Blunt, a leading House Republican voice on health care policy, have signaled that any new public insurance program will draw particular scrutiny.

Robert Zirkelbach of America's Health Insurance Plans said the insurance industry group has "serious concerns" about the impact of a new public program on private insurers. "We think it would be almost impossible to create a level playing field," he said.

An analysis by the Lewin Group, a healthcare policy consulting firm, predicts a migration of people out of private insurance if a new public plan is created.

If all businesses and individuals are able to get health insurance through the program, the plan could end up enrolling 130.5 million people, including 118.5 million people who currently have private insurance, according to the Lewin Group's analysis.

If only small businesses and individuals could use the program, up to 31.8 million people could leave private insurers for the public plan. Under that scenario, the public program could have enrollment of 42.7 million people, the Lewin Group said.

(Editing by Maggie Fox)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Clinton told CNN in an interview there was now a greater consensus for change and fewer obstacles that could block President Barack Obama from getting a major reform plan through Congress.

"We have a simpler, clearer path to the future than we did when I was there," Clinton said.

"Now you've got the small business community wanting something new. The physicians were divided last time. They're united in believing we need reform," Clinton added. "And a number of the health insurance companies have said they are willing to move toward universal coverage."

The former president also said there was less risk of a Senate filibuster that could scuttle healthcare reform.

Clinton's plan to enact comprehensive healthcare reform was spearheaded by his wife, Hillary Clinton, now Obama's secretary of state. The effort failed amid heavy opposition from insurance and drug companies and from conservatives who painted it as socialized medicine.

Obama formally launched a drive for healthcare reform last week, saying the costly and inefficient system was dragging down the U.S. economy, now mired in a deep recession. In his budget plan, Obama proposed setting aside $634 billion to help pay for the overhaul over the next 10 years.

U.S. healthcare costs have grown to $2.5 trillion annually and the ranks of the uninsured have swollen to 46 million people. The United States consistently ranks lower than other rich countries in preventing and treating many diseases such as diabetes.

Political and public momentum for an overhaul has grown in recent years. A 2008 Harris Interactive poll found more than 80 percent of Americans thought the U.S. health system needed fundamental change or a complete overhaul.

(Editing by Peter Cooney)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said he had invited officials from the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and all the bank regulators to the hearing.

"I'm not morphing into Joe McCarthy, but I am going to have them tell me what they need for criminal prosecutions and the civil recovery of funds," Frank told a conference of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

McCarthy was a Republican senator in the 1950s who notoriously accused people of being Communists during the Cold War. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

ZURICH (Reuters) - Black-listed tax havens Andorra and Liechtenstein on Thursday relaxed their strict bank secrecy rules in the face of a global crackdown that looks set to force top offshore center Switzerland to open up.

The moves come as finance ministers from the G20 group of developed and emerging countries prepare to meet in Britain from Friday ahead of a summit in London on April 2 that is expected to seek ways to fight offshore tax evasion.

Other offshore centers, whose banking industries have thrived under the blanket of privacy laws to attract foreign wealth, have also made concessions in recent weeks, as the financial crisis prompts cash-strapped western governments to be more aggressive against tax evaders.

The tiny Alpine principality of Liechtenstein said on Thursday it would comply with international tax and data sharing standards set up by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), by-passing neighboring Switzerland in the quest for more tax transparency.

"I'm quite sure Switzerland will take similar steps in the near future," Crown Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein said.

Andorra, a bank secrecy stronghold nestled between France and Spain, said also on Thursday that it was planning to relax bank secrecy to be removed from an OECD blacklist. It planned to pass a law to this end by November.

The OECD list includes Liechtenstein, Andorra and Monaco, but France and Germany want others added.

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON SWITZERLAND

Switzerland, the world's biggest offshore banking center with estimated assets under management of about $2 trillion, is under pressure from a U.S. tax fraud investigation into services offered by UBS to wealthy U.S. clients.

The country is mulling a revision of its banking secrecy laws. It has set up a committee of experts to come forward with proposals on more international tax cooperation in view of the G20 meeting and will discuss the topic at a meeting on Friday.

Asked about the Liechtenstein move, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told Swiss television on Thursday the government was working on a review of bank secrecy rules and expected to present its ideas "shortly".

France and Germany, two G20 members, last week proposed new steps against non-cooperative tax centres and called for a revised set of criteria to draw up a new list to determine whether Switzerland should be added to the list.

A 2008 report by the OECD lists Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Panama, Singapore and others as states where it deems bank secrecy rules undesirable. Estimates suggest more than $11 trillion may be stored in tax havens.

Any move by Switzerland will be watched closely by other financial centres and by the $7 trillion wealth management industry, which has been operating out of the many offshore centers spread around the world.

Liechtenstein, whose banks have suffered big withdrawals since Germany launched a probe last year into 1,000 citizens suspected of dodging tax by parking money there, said its move could serve as an example to other nations under pressure.

"As the current recession requires huge stimulus packages from governments, pressure against tax-haven countries and banking secrecy is increasing," said Nicolas Michellod, an analyst at Celent, a research and consulting firm.

"This is not a surprise that small countries like Liechtenstein are the first to be under siege," he said.

Other offshore centers have already taken steps to improve tax co-operation.

The island of Jersey signed an agreement with Britain early this week aimed at fighting tax evasion.

Belgium, one of three European Union countries that still retain bank secrecy, has said it will move to automatic exchange of tax information.

Austria, another bank secrecy hub, will not go as far as Belgium but has indicated it is willing to seek ways to offer more tax cooperation.

Luxembourg is still defending its banking secrecy but met Austria and Switzerland recently to seek ways to address the current international debate on tax.

($1=1.158 Swiss Franc)

(Additional reporting by Sam Cage; Writing by Emma Thomasson)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

"The way things are going, there's a lot of things that may be happening in the United States," Buffett told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

"The odds favor" a domestic deal for Berkshire, he said, even though he added: "I could get a call tomorrow about some company in the UK or Germany."

"I'm open for business, but it's got to be the best business in town," Buffett said.

"I wanted a possible kicker." he said on Berkshire's investments on Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N), while adding he did not know if Berkshire would make money by exercising the warrants in either company.

"I think the odds are reasonably good we do them. Maybe we'll do it on one and not the other, but in the end I was satisfied with the preferred I was getting," Buffett said.

Berkshire was awarded warrants to by Goldman shares at $115 per share as part of a September 23 deal. On October 1 the company was awarded options to buy GE common stock at $22.25 per share.

Goldman shares closed at $92.39 on Wednesday while GE shares closed at $8.49.

Buffett expressed his confidence on GE and its Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt.

"They've got the earnings power to work things through," Buffett said. Immelt is "a terrific manager that has a business that has lots of tough sledding ahead."

GE shares slumped last week on worries that its finance arm GE Capital does not have adequate reserves to cope with an expected rise in delinquencies on its loans.

(Reporting by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri in Bangalore; editing by Simon Jessop)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced that Willis will become a new tenant of Sears Tower, and under an agreement with the building’s owners, the Chicago icon and tallest building in the Western Hemisphere will be renamed Willis Tower.

Willis plans to consolidate five area offices and move nearly 500 Associates into Willis Tower, initially occupying more than 140,000 square feet on multiple floors. Willis said its move to the new space, at $14.50 per square foot, will result in significant real estate cost savings, and that there is no additional cost to the company associated with renaming the building.

“Having our name associated with Chicago’s most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago’s importance as a major financial hub and international business center,” said Joseph J. Plumeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Willis Group Holdings. “We are delighted to be making this bold move and firmly establishing our leading presence in one of the nation’s biggest insurance markets, and it will be wonderful for all our Associates to work under one roof.”

The building, first opened in 1973, is recognized worldwide as a center for business, and an architectural signature of Chicago’s skyline. “We are proud to add the Willis name to the tower, and welcome the company and its 500 Associates to this premier Chicago address,” said John Huston, Executive Vice President of American Landmark Properties, Ltd., part of the real estate investment group that owns the building. “This key new tenant underscores the importance of the building as a destination for successful businesses.” www.willis.com

HARTFORD, Conn., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The General Liability line of insurance has produced industry-wide combined ratios below 100 percent for the past two years, but this profitable underwriting performance is unlikely to continue, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting.

"We project that the next couple of years will see a moderating in General Liability premium reduction, gradually leading to a modest increase by 2010," said Mark Jablonowski, analyst at Conning Research & Consulting. "However, losses and expenses are forecast to grow more quickly, with a resulting rise in combined ratios reaching 107 percent by 2010. In the longer run, the future of the General Liability insurance market will play itself out between the cumulative effects of small to moderate losses and the rising prospect of mega-risks."

The Conning Research study, "General Liability: Staying Relevant (and Profitable) in the New World of Risk," identifies the issues facing the market and a number of considerations and actions that insurers should address to respond.

"History has shown us a cyclical increase in General Liability losses in periods following recessions. At the same time, longer term secular trends point to an increase in both smaller claims and larger mega risks. Meeting the challenges to profitability requires a variety of considerations on the part of insurers," said Stephan Christiansen, director of insurance research at Conning. "Foremost is the ability to monitor trends in costs--particularly losses--and demand. Longer term, the best prospects for General Liability insurers may come from expanding the model of specialization in risk that has already proven to be a successful differentiator among companies."

"General Liability: Staying Relevant (and Profitable) in the New World of Risk" is available for purchase from Conning Research & Consulting by calling (888) 707-1177 or by visiting the company's web site at www.conningresearch.com.

BOSTON, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock today is launching a set of needs-based marketing and prospecting tools to help financial representatives reach out to consumers and grow their long-term care insurance business. Included are new brochures, new direct mail tools such as letters and postcards, as well as seminar materials. The company has also created a training guide for financial representatives on the new materials and the markets they serve.

"The recent financial turbulence and corresponding loss of retirement savings has made it even more important for consumers to plan ahead for long-term care," said Laura Vail Wooster, vice president of marketing, John Hancock Long-Term Care Insurance. "Now, more than ever, long-term care insurance can be valuable in helping to protect individuals' nest eggs, so we've created these materials to help representatives reach out to prospects and start the conversation."

The new brochures contain updated statistics, new messaging along with a new design, and they educate consumers on long-term care, the importance of planning ahead, and the value of long-term care insurance. In addition, new target market prospecting tools including brochures, letters, postcards, advertisements and seminar tools are now available. The training guide provides the latest long-term care information, as well as tips and techniques for talking to clients about long-term care insurance.

"The new materials have been designed to accommodate the many selling styles of those who sell our long-term care insurance products -- whether they are specialists or financial planners who sell just one or two policies a year. We hope the materials will help them grow their long-term care insurance business," said Wooster.

The materials are available to download and/or order from www.jhltc.com for representatives in the 24 non-file states beginning March 16th. Additional state approvals of the materials are expected within the next few months.

Labor First is a national leader in the distribution and enrollment of worksite marketing programs to the labor marketplace, representing a diverse group of labor unions.

The acquisition of Labor First will expedite Synergistic’s market share in the national labor market.

The management team of Labor First will report to Steve Sarno, Senior Vice President of Labor Relations for Synergistic Healthcare.

For more information, contact Synergistic’s New Jersey headquarters:

Linwood Professional Building

505 W. Hamilton Ave Suite 105

Linwood, NJ  08221

(609) 788-8025

marketing@synergistichealthcare.com

Visit us on the web at www.synergistichealthcare.com

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges he orchestrated the biggest financial swindle in Wall Street history, cheating investors out of billions of dollars in a fraud whose magnitude shocked the public and drew demands for stricter regulations.

"I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done," the gray-haired 70-year-old Madoff said as he pleaded guilty to 11 criminal charges.

Madoff, the disgraced money manager and former Nasdaq stock market chairman, described a long-running scheme that he knew from the beginning was "criminal and wrong" but hoped would end shortly.

As he become more deeply engaged in the fraud, "I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come," he said in a Manhattan federal courthouse where victims of his Ponzi scheme were invited to speak.

Madoff's role in the scheme, which took in as much as $65 billion over two decades before the 2008 market meltdown, could land him in prison for the rest of his life.

Speaking for 10 minutes, Madoff said he was "grateful" for the opportunity to talk and "deeply sorry and ashamed" of his actions.

Madoff, who stood to the left of his lawyer, hands draped at his side, admitted to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and theft from an employee benefit plan.

His investors included hedge funds, banks, Jewish charities, the wealthy, and small individual investors in North and South America and Europe.

Presiding Judge Denny Chin is due to sentence Madoff at a later date.

(Writing by Paul Thomasch; Additional reporting by Caroline Humer and Edith Honan; Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Brian Moss)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

MILWAUKEE, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- When Northwestern Mutual asked people to let their worries go as part of an engaging interactive website, www.letyourworriesgo.com, more than 42,000 visitors to the site chose Health & Fitness as their top concern. Based on these votes, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation has decided to contribute $400,000 to Activate America(R), the YMCA's response to the nation's health crisis, which helps individuals and families adopt and maintain healthy habits and behaviors, and helps create and sustain healthier communities. The gift includes support for YMCA Healthy Kids(R) Day, a free, annual celebration and core component of Activate America.

"YMCA Healthy Kids Day is the nation's largest health day for kids and families focused on improving physical, emotional and spiritual well-being in a fun and motivating environment," said Jonathan Lever, national director of Activate America. "This contribution will go a long way to help teach kids and families across America about the healthy behaviors and practical lifestyle changes they can adopt to take better care of themselves and each other."

Let Your Worries Go is an integrated marketing and charitable campaign developed by Downtown Partners Chicago that gave visitors to the site an opportunity to select some of life's greatest concerns, choose a mode of transportation and watch as their worries were sent away. In total, visitors let nearly 300,000 worries go with a medieval catapult, rocket ship, submarine or hot air balloon over the nine-month campaign that ended December 31, 2008. Concerns were both societal and wealth management-related. Those visitors who had financial worries were provided the opportunity to contact one of the more than 7,000 Northwestern Mutual Financial Network representatives across the United States trained to help people achieve long-term financial security. The top three worries selected by the public included: health and fitness, natural disasters and wealth-accumulation, followed by education funding, illness, financial security, retirement planning, and hunger.

Northwestern Mutual Foundation is contributing a total of $1 million to four non-profit agencies that help alleviate these worries, based on the number of votes received for each. In addition to the YMCA gift, Habitat for Humanity is receiving $250,000 for New Orleans; Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R) is receiving $200,000; and Feeding America is receiving $150,000.

"During this time when every dollar counts, the Let Your Worries Go campaign is a great way for the Northwestern Mutual Foundation to make a meaningful impact across the country," said Deanna Tillisch, director - corporate affairs. "We're pleased to help address health and well-being concerns with a considerable grant to the YMCA, and provide support for disaster relief, cancer research and alleviating hunger."

WWW.LETYOURWORRIESGO.COM was recognized as "site of the day" on March 19 by Favourite Website Awards (FWA). It also received the Outstanding Web Site Award from the Web Marketing Association, The Viral Hall of Fame Award from Marketing Sherpa and the Best in Show Award from W3 Award Winner.

The Northwestern Mutual Foundation

The Northwestern Mutual Foundation has honored its mission -- inspiring human potential through lifelong learning and community commitment -- by granting support in three focus areas: Education, Health and Human Services, and Arts and Culture. The Foundation is the largest corporate giver in the state of Wisconsin, contributing $19 million nationally and locally in 2008. http://www.northwesternmutual.com

By Catherine Evans

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. insurer Liberty Mutual [LBRTLI.UL] has sold a larger-than-expected $225 million catastrophe bond, the third such transaction this year, investors said on Thursday.

The three-year deal, issued via special purpose vehicle Mystic Re II, was placed privately with institutional investors. It takes year-to-date supply in the sector to $575 million.

Some $2.7 billion of catastrophe bonds were issued in 2008 but new sales halted for six months after the failure of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in September exposed an unexpected vulnerability to credit risk in such instruments.

Increased from a planned $200 million, the new bond transfers some of Liberty's Mutual's potential losses from U.S. hurricanes and earthquakes to capital markets investors. The firm is the sixth-largest U.S. property and casualty insurer.

Arranged and structured by Goldman Sachs and Swiss Re, the bond pays a coupon of 12 percent over three-month Libor. The deal is expected to settle on Friday.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's assigned a BB rating to Mystic Re II's Series 2009-1 notes last month [ID:nLR025927].

Goldman Sachs is total return swap (TRS) counterparty for the deal, contracted to ensure the underlying collateral is sufficient to meet scheduled interest and principal repayments or pay out to Liberty Mutual if a catastrophe occurs.

The bond will be triggered by insured losses from an event of more than $50 billion, as measured by industry group PCS.

Like recent transactions by French reinsurer Scor (SCOR.PA) and U.S. property and casualty insurer Chubb Corp (CB.N), the deal's terms include strict investment rules for the collateral backing the bonds.

Investors have demanded higher standards of collateral management after four catastrophe bonds effectively guaranteed by Lehman were downgraded after its collapse by S&P, which cited shortfalls in their collateral accounts.

One of the bonds, issued by Allstate-sponsored (ALL.N) special purpose vehicle Willow Re, is now in default, while Ajax Re, sponsored by Bermuda-based insurer Aspen, is expected to default on an interest payment later this month [ID:nL5052139].

MORE ISSUANCE SEEN

Insurers have used catastrophe bonds since the 1990s to manage their exposure to natural disasters by transferring potential losses to investors, who receive a high interest rate but risk losing their principal if a catastrophe occurs.

Issuance is expected to increase this year as sharply rising prices for retrocession -- the passing on of reinsurance risks to other reinsurers -- make the market more attractive to potential sponsors.

The cost of reinsuring peak risks such as windstorms rose at the important Jan. 1 renewals and is expected to climb again ahead of the U.S. hurricane season, which begins on June 1. Wilhelm Keller, chief executive officer at Hannover Re (HNRGn.DE), the world's fourth-biggest reinsurer, said on Wednesday he hoped to push through price increases of 25-30 percent in its U.S. storm business [ID:nWEA1827].

Warren Buffett has also said he expects his insurance and investment giant Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N)(BRKb.N) to write less catastrophe insurance this year [ID:nN09351566]. (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) (For additional news on the insurance-linked securities market, go to here )

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

By Megan Davies and Walden Siew

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity company Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world's wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.

"Between 40 and 45 percent of the world's wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half," Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. "This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime."

But the U.S. government is committed to the preservation of financial institutions, he said, and will do whatever it takes to restart the economy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to unfreeze credit markets through a new program that will combine public and private capital in a fund that would buy bank toxic assets of up to $1 trillion.

"In all likelihood, that will have the private sector buy troubled assets to clean the banks out in terms of providing leverage ... so that we can get more money back into the banking system," Schwarzman said.

He expects the private sector to end up making "some good money doing that," but added there were complex issues on how to price toxic assets.

He put part of the blame for the financial crisis to credit rating agencies.

"What's pretty clear is that, if you were looking for one culprit out of the many, many, many culprits, you have to point your finger at the rating agencies," he said.

Rating companies have been the focus of intense criticism for their role in granting top "AAA" ratings for complex bonds that later plummeted in value, resulting in subsequent rating cuts, in many cases to junk status.

"Once you bought into ... the Triple A paper and it turned out to be paper that was in many situations going to end up defaulting, then you really had the makings of a global problem," he said.

Schwarzman said problems were then exacerbated by mark-to- market accounting rules. Those rules ask banks and other financial institutions to price assets at a value related to how they would be sold in the open market.

Blackstone reported a quarterly loss in February after writing down the value of its portfolio and eliminated its fourth-quarter dividend.

Asked where was a good place to invest, Schwarzman said it made sense to buy cyclical names, which are less exposed to the economic cycles.

He said investors also may find value in debt products, including "senior layers of certain securitizations," where investors can see 15 percent to 20 percent returns, he said.

Geographically, he said there were "pockets of strength" in China, which is committed to getting to an 8 percent growth level, and in India, where the economy is slowing but banks are in good shape.

(Editing by Andre Grenon)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

“Acquiring WASTEPAC’s expertise in this highly-specialized niche market gives ISG added coverage lines to offer to its over 4000 retail clients nationwide. It will greatly complement the lines we already provide our customers,” said ISG CEO Bruce Harrell.

Many insurers are starting to realize that once a property enters a state of foreclosure, the potential for losses can increase, due to vandalism, water damage, arson, etc.  Insurers who are able to identify policies that are in the foreclosure process will be able to take proactive steps to minimize losses by:

•           Requesting a property inspection

•           Determining occupancy status (occupied, vacant)

•           Revising coverage

•           Increasing premiums

•           Issuing a cancellation or non-renewal notice

“Due to the current economic conditions, foreclosures will continue to be a problem in 2009 and beyond,” explains Dan Munson, Founder, RiskMeter Online.  “With unemployment figures rising, home values depreciating, fewer people qualifying for refinancing and more mortgages underwater, homeowners are either walking away or finding it tougher to make their mortgage payments.  Insurers who can identify policies in the early stages of the foreclosure process, will at least be able to take proactive steps to minimize any losses,” says Munson.  www.RiskMeter.com

Dr. Woo has analyzed the susceptibility of terrorist conspiracies to interception; using advanced mathematical formulae he has shown quantitatively the crucial importance of reducing the number of sympathizers to terrorist causes through the ‘hearts and minds campaign’.  “With the new administration being committed to progressing this specific agenda, the future prospects for homeland security are promising, provided that vigilance is maintained,” he commented. “Essential to this is border security.”

Dr. Woo will demonstrate the value to the U.S. of the new enhanced security requirements for those travelling under the visa waiver program.  With Pakistan being a violent epicenter of Islamist militancy, as shown by recent attacks in Islamabad and Lahore, Pakistanis with European passports are now subject to heightened U.S. vigilance.

“Countering terrorism with mathematics is not just the preserve of cryptographers deciphering secret encoded communications,” said Dr. Woo, the chief architect of the RMS® U.S. Terrorism Risk Model.  “Other mathematical experts are involved and, using techniques such as game theory, will be advancing our understanding behind terrorist activities at this conference.”

For more information about the 5th Conference on Mathematical Methods in Counterterrorism, visit: http://www.rit.edu/cos/math/cmmc/conferences/2008/

·         Find qualified buyers. Consider competitors, complimentary companies, and financial buyers.

·         Keep your customers. Even if your customers are buying less, they should still be buying some. Your ability to show customer retention will go far in completing an acquisition. Remind the buyer that when the market comes back, business recovery is quicker if your customers are still in place.

·         Position yourself for growth. Detail how you are positioning your business for growth. Perhaps the economy afforded you the opportunity to get a piece of equipment for a 50% discount. Sure, this hit your cash flow, but the upside is great: You are better positioned for growth. Another example: Maybe you were forced to lay off some employees, but you then restructured or streamlined your business process flow (the way you do things) to be more efficient. You are now positioned for greater profitability in the future, because you now have a company that’s doing more with fewer people.

·         Turn operational tasks into profit centers. Look at each step in your operational flow to determine if any step can be turned into a profit center. This will demonstrate the true potential of your business by allowing you to grow horizontally. This is every buyer’s dream.

·         Step into their shoes. Why would they want to buy your business? How are they going to benefit from the acquisition? Will they use your customers, your suppliers, your database, your distribution channels, your brokers? Understanding this will put you on better footing as you negotiate the deal.

·         Be flexible on payout structure. Instead of all cash, be more open to stock; companies traditionally will pay a little more if they can use stock as currency. Or consider an earn-out over time to warrant the sell price you covet. Earn-outs most likely would result in your keeping practical control of the decision making, which might allow you to protect your employees.

·         Be positive. A seasoned buyer can smell desperation a mile away and will use it as leverage against you. Even if you are truly desperate, fight the urge to reveal.

·         Be visual. Prepare simple but visually appealing charts, graphs, and diagrams that will communicate all the positive attributes of your business in simple terms. For example, prepare bar graphs showing year over year increases in customers, profit, locations, or database size to help the buyer quickly digest the good assests.

·         Brand, brand, and brand. Write down all your processes, products, and services—which are most likely proprietary as they have evolved over the years—and come up with a name or acronym for each. Naming or branding these allows you to better communicate their value.

·         Downplay your role. Fight the urge to self promote; it might kill the deal. Your ability to sell a “business” rather than “you” will prove much more effective. You can always negotiate an employment contract for yourself as a separate deal and at a much higher level if you have demonstrated the ability to build a team.

·         Do your homework. Find out as much as you can about potential buyers. If they are a public company there will be volumes of information on past purchases filed with the SEC. If it’s a small or private company, visit their website and talk to a couple of their customers.

·         Present a solid business model. A business model demonstrates specifically how—and in how many ways—your business makes money and maximizes profits.

·         Be ready. Get your business ready to sell. Create a business marketing piece communicating all of the positive attributes of your business. Also prepare financial statements for the past 3 years, and projections for the current year and the next 3 years

Selina Meere | Associate Director of Publicity | Workman Publishing

225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014-4381 | P: 212-614-7505 | F: 212-475-5074

U.S. application activity was up +1.0% in February year-over-year, all ages combined. Application volumes for people ages 45-59 and ages 60+ grew by +3.9% and +14.9% respectively, year-over-year while ages 0-44 were off -2.9% in February. Application activity is off -1.6% all ages combined year-to-date.

Canadian application activity increased +1.6% in February year-over-year all ages combined. By age grouping, Canadian application activity mirrored that of the U.S. Application volumes for people ages 45-59 and ages 60+ grew by +6.2% and +12.5% respectively, year-over-year while ages 0-44 were off -2.0% in February. February activity was up +29.2% over prior January, demonstrating growth over the 19-20% characteristic for this time period. Year-to-date, application activity is off -2.3% all ages combined. www.mib.com/lifeindex

Madoff pleads guilty to fraud, says "deeply sorry". Accused swindler Bernard Madoff (bottom) enters the Manhattan federal court house in New York March 12, 2009. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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Obama signs big spending bill despite earmarks. U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (L) during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington March 11, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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World's richest not so rich, Gates regains top spot. Microsoft founder Bill Gates speaks during a news conference at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 30, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
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Sarkozy says France will rejoin NATO command. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy announces in Paris that France would rejoin NATO's integrated military command, March 11, 2009, more than 40 years after his predecessor Charles de Gaulle pulled out of the alliance's inner circle. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
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Man with grudge kills 10 in Alabama shooting spree. Investigators work at one scene of a shooting spree in downtown Samson, Alabama, March 10, 2009. REUTERS/Mark Wallheiser
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Britain's Prince Charles shakes hands with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as Charles's wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Brazil's first lady Marisa Leticia (R) look on before a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia March 11, 2009. REUTERS/Roberto Jayme (BRAZIL POLITICS ROYALS)

Skyscrapers loom over a flagpole carrying the Canadian flag in the financial district in Toronto, March 11, 2009. Canada's economy will contract more sharply this year than the government has predicted due to its reliance on international trade and its high exposure to commodity prices, two reports said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Palin's daughter Bristol splits from fiance: report. Levi Johnston talks with his girlfriend Bristol Palin in the VIP box on the floor of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 3, 2008. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
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Archeologists find rare Maya panels in Guatemala. Archeologist Richard Hansen explains the detail on one of two newly discovered Mayan panels in the northern Guatemalan Peten jungle March 7, 2009. REUTERS/Eduardo González SCSPR/Handout
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A polar bear shakes his body to remove water at the St. Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St. Felicien, March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

Hostesses pose for pictures on Tiananmen Square during the closing ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing March 12, 2009. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

A bear lies on an artificial stone in a zoo in Warsaw March 9, 2009. Bears in the zoo in the Polish capital do not hibernate in winter. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

A boy marches together with a military brass band during Lithuania's independence restoration celebrations in Vilnius March 11, 2009. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. senators introduced legislation on Tuesday to create a Financial Product Safety Commission, which would crack down on predatory or deceptive financial practices.

Democratic Senators Dick Durbin from Illinois and Charles Schumer from New York said U.S. regulators had failed to adequately protect consumers when trying to monitor the safety and soundness of financial firms.

"This will be a new regulator that will focus like a laser on financial products and financial products alone," Schumer said at a news conference. "The Federal Reserve was supposed to do this, but they were asleep at the switch."

Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts also sponsored the legislation, and House Democrats expect to introduce a similar bill next week.

The lawmakers said the commission would have rule-making authority and would coordinate enforcement with the other federal and state regulators. The commission will not take away powers from any of the existing agencies, they said.

The commission will be responsible for identifying practices that undermine sound markets and will educate consumers on the responsible use of financial products and services.

Elizabeth Warren, the head of a congressionally appointed oversight panel for the government's financial bailout, conceived the idea of the commission.

She said the global economic crisis could have been averted if proper safeguards had prevented excessively risky financial products from proliferating around the world.

"Consumer financial products were at the front end of the destabilization of the American economic system," Warren said at the news conference. "When you have good safety standards, you have a floor, and competition is then consumer-friendly competition." (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Broad, a former director and shareholder of AIG who joined other investors last year to hatch a plan to reclaim the insurer from federal ownership, said he has thrown in the towel.

American International Group Inc, once the world's biggest insurer, had to be bailed out by the U.S. government last September after losses on bad mortgage bets. In exchange, taxpayers got roughly 80 percent ownership, heavily diluting the stake of shareholders.

"If you look at what has happened, I think it is too late," said Broad, in an interview late on Monday.

"There were all these additional costs" from the federal bailout, which initially carried a heavy interest burden, said Broad. And, "a lot of good people left, and they were trying to sell units," irking customers who did not like the uncertainty, he added.

AIG last week reported a record $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss, and received new assistance from the U.S. government after a plan to sell assets to repay debts foundered.

The U.S. said it will keep pumping cash into AIG as needed because of the threat to trading partners from a collapse. It has already put up to $180 billion at AIG's disposal.

AIG ran into a cash crunch after market declines and rating downgrades required it to post large amounts of collateral to counterparties of credit default swaps written by a financial products unit.

Broad said the government's bailout of AIG had been "on the harshest of terms," and at the worst possible time -- in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

"I think the situation if it occurred today would have been met with a different answer," said Broad.

AIG, under the terms of its initial government rescue, had to pay 8.5 percentage points above the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate on the government loan, equal to more than 11 percent, plus other fees. Terms have been eased since.

A better approach, suggested Broad, would have been to offer government guarantees on toxic assets held by AIG, akin to what was done in the later rescue of Citigroup.

Broad and other shareholders including fund manager Shelby Davis of Davis Selected Advisors LP, money managers Dodge & Cox, Legg Mason, and the New York state common fund, last year sought unsuccessfully to convince the government to allow private investors to reclaim ownership of AIG.

The conversation was 'why don't you give us a chance to raise common equity, and if we do that you please give us the (government) equity back'," said Broad.

Broad said he no longer was investing in insurance, and had more or less put AIG out of mind. "I don't have any hope (for AIG), not now," he said.

SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Broad and business partner Donald Kaufman sold SunAmerica, a life and retirement business they had built into a Fortune 500 company, to AIG in 1999.

Broad, now 75, joined AIG's board and acquired significant stock in the $18 billion sale. While he donated his AIG shares to his philanthropic foundation, which has long since sold them, Broad said he lost the value of stock options that he had held off exercising, when AIG crumbled.

The Bronx, New York-born Broad, who describes his early economic circumstances as "lower middle-class," told Reuters he would have considered buying back SunAmerica, where he still knows many employees, were he younger.

He retired from corporate life a decade ago and now devotes himself to his foundation, which invests in education, the arts, and scientific research. He and Kaufman were also the founders of U.S. homebuilder KB Home.

(Editing by Anshuman Daga)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

By Joseph A. Giannone - Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The $173 billion government rescue of American International Group Inc (AIG.N) is stoking resentment among investors who see it as a backdoor taxpayer bailout of Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and other banks.

Six months after the U.S. government stepped in save an insurance giant overwhelmed by derivative losses, AIG continues to bleed red ink. Its stock and bond holders have been crushed, but one group has suffered almost no damage: banks that bought credit protection from AIG Financial Products.

Regulatory filings show that since the Federal Reserve announced its rescue of AIG on September 15, about $50 billion of government money has passed through the company to banks.

"Treasury is providing a massive wealth transfer from taxpayers to Goldman Sachs and other parties, and it's something that absolutely should be investigated," said Eric Hovde, chief executive of Hovde Capital Advisors, where he manages financial services-focused hedge funds.

Once the world's largest and most powerful insurance company, AIG for more than a decade aggressively insured credit and mortgage exposure for banks around the world. At its peak, AIG was backstopping a $2 trillion derivatives trading business.

That business proved its undoing as credit markets broke down in 2007, leaving AIG on the hook for huge losses. At the year-end, it had $302 billion of outstanding credit default swaps, which are contracts that insure against debt default.

Filings show that in the final months of 2008, as it unwound its money-losing credit derivative portfolio, AIG purchased from banks $46.1 billion of assets underlying swaps. With government financing, it paid $20.1 billion cash and surrendered $25.9 billion of collateral -- a 99.8 percent recovery rate.

BETTER DEAL

On the September weekend that investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK) collapsed, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve arranged an unprecedented insurance company bailout: $85 billion in loans for AIG in exchange for an 80 percent stake in the company.

The Treasury and the Fed worried that an AIG collapse could further drag down world financial markets. As markets continued to deteriorate and AIG's derivative losses mounted, Uncle Sam extended ever-more-lenient rescue packages.

The bailout has stirred resentment not just in the U.S. Congress but on Wall Street, where investors speculate that Goldman and its connections helped it get a better deal.

"The whole point of the bailout is to save Goldman Sachs," said Christopher Whalen, head of financial advisory services for Institutional Risk Analytics. "The whole thing is so rancid and so hideous."

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment on the AIG bailout or how much of the government funds it has received.

Goldman CFO David Viniar in September and in December told investors the firm had no material losses from AIG. The bank says its AIG exposure was either collateralized or hedged.

Last week, AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy told investors "the vast majority" of taxpayer funds "passed through AIG to other financial institutions" as it unwound transactions.

During a hearing in Washington last week, legislators demanded the Federal Reserve identify the financial firms that received money from AIG. Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn refused.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported on Saturday that more than $50 billion of payments went to counterparty banks between September and December. Goldman and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) were the largest trading parties, each receiving about $6 billion, the newspaper said.

Goldman has been singled out for criticism amid reports that CEO Lloyd Blankfein attended the September 15 meeting that negotiated the government's initial rescue of AIG. Then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who left Goldman in 2006 as CEO, played a lead role in the negotiations.

The chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which hosted the meeting and invited Goldman officials to attend, is former Goldman head Steve Friedman.

Officials from Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) were also in attendance, but Blankfein was the only bank chief there, people familiar with the meeting said.

BANKRUPTCY BETTER?

The results, investors say, have been poor. With no end in sight for the losses, some investors argue that taxpayers would be better off letting AIG go bankrupt.

"AIG should be put through bankruptcy and the federal government should stop funding of all these losses," Hovde said. "I'm opposed to seeing parties that should be taking some financial consequences walking away free and clear off the taxpayer's back."

Seacliff Capital LLC President James Ellman, who manages a financial services hedge fund, said the government could take over the AIG derivatives portfolio. While that would wipe out stockholders and generate losses, the government could then sell off AIG's healthy insurance businesses to investors.

That may be preferable to the government's latest bailout, announced last Monday, which effectively cut the interest and dividend payments AIG must make to the government. The cost to taxpayers is about a billion dollars a year.

"We have the Fed chairman saying he's angry with AIG and yet he consistently rewrites the bailout to make it worse for us and better for a party which is increasingly in a weaker bargaining position," said Ellman.

Whalen, who once ran foreign exchange trading at the New York Fed, concurred that markets would be better served by forcing AIG into liquidation and following the model set by Lehman.

Unlike Bear Stearns and AIG, Lehman was not rescued and filed for bankruptcy on September 16. While many analysts say this event sparked last year's market freefall, the bank's toxic assets are being sold off while healthy businesses found new homes.

Keeping sick patients like Citigroup (C.N) and AIG on life support, investors say, only increases risks for taxpayers.

"Every time the government tries to save us, they make the problem worse," Whalen said. "We should just get on with it, resolve AIG now and get them into a restructuring. If we don't, we will muddle through this crisis for a decade."

(Editing by John Wallace)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied strongly on Tuesday after Citigroup (C.N) said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and a key lawmaker said he expects the reinstatement of a rule that hinders bets a stock will fall.

Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit also stated in a memo to staff of the beleaguered bank he was confident about its capital strength.

Adding to the positive tone, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, said he is hopeful the Securities and Exchange Commission would reimpose the "uptick" rule in about a month.

The rule slows the pace of short selling and could help calm volatile markets.

"What really got the market going was the Vikram Pandit memo from this morning," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

"Any little hint of good news and this market was going to take off."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 296.53 points, or 4.53 percent, to 6,843.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 35.06 points, or 5.18 percent, to 711.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC climbed 73.72 points, or 5.81 percent, to 1,342.36.

The last time the S&P and Nasdaq rose this much was after the U.S. government decided to rescue Citigroup for the first time in late November, when it agreed to pump $20 billion of new capital into the bank to avert a collapse which could have crippled the world's financial system.

Shares of Citigroup, in which the government more recently took a large common equity stake to help shore it up, jumped more than 36 percent to $1.43. Citi's stock has fallen about 79 percent year to date.

Rep. Frank also echoed earlier comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who called for "improvements" in mark-to-market regulations, rather than suspending them. Many have attributed these accounting rules for increasing losses and writedowns on bank balance sheets.

Other bank shares rallied, with Bank of America (BAC.N) up more than 26 percent to $4.74 and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) up nearly 15 percent to $11.45. The broad KBW Bank index .BKX jumped almost 13 percent.

JPMorgan (JPM.N) was among top performers on the Dow with nearly a 19 percent jump to $18.86. All 30 Dow components were in positive territory.

The advance in financial shares marks a turnaround in investor sentiment after the sector has been hammered recently as banks' credit losses swelled.

Other standouts included technology shares, with a jump in bellwethers like Apple Inc (AAPL.O) halting a three-day sell-off in the sector. The iPhone maker was the biggest boost to the Nasdaq 100, up 6.5 percent at $88.52. Microsoft (MSFT.O) gained 7.5 percent to $16.28 while Qualcomm (QCOM.O) added 6.3 percent to $35.08.

According to Reuters data, the benchmark S&P 500 went into Tuesday's session at its most oversold condition in five months, when measured by its 50-day relative strength index.

(Editing by James Dalgleish)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

"Few doubt the importance of consumer spending to the U.S. economy and its multiplier effect on the global economy, but what is underappreciated is the role of credit-card availability in that spending," Whitney wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

She said though credit was extended "too freely over the past 15 years" and rationalization of lending is unavoidable, what needs to be avoided was "taking credit away from people who have the ability to pay their bills."

Whitney said available lines were reduced by nearly $500 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, and she estimates over $2 trillion of credit-card lines will be cut within 2009, and $2.7 trillion by the end of 2010.

"Inevitably, credit lines will continue to be reduced across the system, but the velocity at which it is already occurring and will continue to occur will result in unintended consequences for consumer confidence, spending and the overall economy," Whitney said.

Currently, there is roughly $5 trillion in credit-card lines outstanding in the U.S., and a little more than $800 billion is currently drawn upon, she said.

"Lenders, regulators and politicians need to show thoughtful leadership now on this issue in order to derail what I believe will be at least a 57 percent contraction in credit-card lines," she said.

Over the past 20 years, Americans have also grown to use their credit card as a cash-flow management tool, she said adding that 90 percent of credit-card users revolve a balance at least once a year, and over 45 percent of credit-card users revolve every month.

Whitney said the five lenders which dominate two thirds of the credit-card market need to work together to protect one another and preserve credit lines to able paying borrowers by setting consortium guidelines on credit.

(Reporting by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri in Bangalore)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that the world economy will likely contract this year in a "Great Recession" and African leaders said the financial crisis could undo hard-won social-economic gains.

"The IMF expects global growth to slow below zero this year, the worst performance in most of our lifetimes," IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told African political and financial leaders in the Tanzanian capital.

"Continued deleveraging by world financial institutions, combined with a collapse in consumer and business confidence is depressing domestic demand across the globe, while world trade is falling at an alarming rate and commodity prices have tumbled," Strauss-Kahn added.

As advanced countries focus on problems in their own economies, Strauss-Kahn called on the international community not to forget Africa, where regional growth is expected to slow sharply to 3 percent this year, half the rate of the past five years.

That forecast may "even be too optimistic", he said.

"Even though the crisis has been slow in reaching Africa's shores, we all know it is coming and its impact will be severe," he said. "We must ensure that the voices of the poor are heard. We must ensure that Africa is not left out," he added.

The IMF chief warned that millions of people in Africa will be thrown back into poverty by the crisis, while fragile political systems will be tested.

"This is not only about protecting economic growth and household incomes - it is also about containing the threat of civil unrest, perhaps even war. It is about people and their futures," he added.

He said the combined impact of economic and financial shocks on Africa's growth will be severe. Financial flows are becoming more scarce, trade financing even scarcer and more expensive and foreign investment in Africa's stock and bond markets has fallen, he added.

Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete said the crisis posed the biggest threat to the region in recent history.

"So far, Africa's voice on this unnerving situation has been muted as witnessed in different global initiatives and processes, which have emerged to respond to the crisis," he told the 300 delegates at the conference.

He said a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders in London on April 2 was an opportunity to send a clear message to the world on Africa's concerns about the crisis.

The big challenge going forward he said was how to maintain and sustain the gains in economic stability in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said Africa was facing "the equivalent of a tsumani" and the threat comes as the region was just getting into its stride, attracting more private-sector investment, lowering its debts and building stronger democracies.

He said Africa needed immediate financial support and any reversal of aid promises by rich donor nations would be a breach of trust at a time when the world needs to unite.

Still, he said Africa could not sit back and feel sorry for itself over a crisis that was not of its own making.

"For our agenda to be credible, Africa must live up to its own commitments," he said, adding that countries should abide by the rule of law, transparency and accountability.

"Insisting that partners keep their promises, if we don't keep ours, won't work," he added.

Annan said as G20 developing and developed countries prepare to meet, it should be aware that while it has considerable influence it does not speak for the whole world.

"Whatever they come up with, it will require a certain legitimacy to make the rules for the world and that will have to be done either through the IMF or the United Nations," he said.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, editing by Stephen Nisbet)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Moody's is expected on Tuesday to publish a list detailing 283 such companies, called "The Bottom Rung," which it will update monthly, according to a story published on the newspaper's website on Monday.

About 45 percent of companies on the list will default on debt in the next year, Moody's says, which could include anything from filing for bankruptcy to missing debt payments.

Companies in the U.S. car industry, retail chains, media and casino gambling dominate the list, and energy firms, airlines and restaurant chains appear often, the newspaper said.

The story quoted a Kodak spokesman as saying that speculation of this kind was "irresponsible" and added that the company "is financially solid."

A Unisys spokesman was not immediately available.

(Reporting by Franklin Paul; Editing by Jan Dahinten)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

The firm's investment bankers in Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, earned revenue of about $50 million through late December, while piling up at least $100 million in expenses, most of them compensation-related, one person familiar with the results told the paper.

Merrill could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank demanded on Monday that Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) provide more details on $6.9 billion in bonuses paid in 2008, including $3.6 billion at Merrill Lynch & Co.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore, editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday said leaders from the Group of 20 rich and developing economies should agree early next month on principles to guide nations as they revamp financial rules to prevent future crises.

Finance ministers from the G20 meet this weekend in London to lay the groundwork for an April 2 leaders summit where regulatory reform is expected to feature prominently.

"It's asking too much for a meeting like that to come out with detailed proposals in many different areas," Bernanke told the Council on Foreign Relations. "The better goal for a meeting of leaders would be, as much as possible, to establish some principles that would guide reforms around the world."

Officials hope that by revamping regulation they can erect stronger bulwarks against the kind of financial turmoil that has throttled global markets.

"In particular, we need to work together effectively to make sure that we have solutions for our banking systems that are not mutually inconsistent or create problems across jurisdictions," Bernanke said.

He said the United States should move to a system in which one regulator is charged with overseeing the soundness of the entire financial system. Currently, various agencies are responsible for ensuring the health of specific institutions.

"We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components," Bernanke said.

FED NEEDS A ROLE

U.S. lawmakers will hold hearings this month on this issue. Some members of Congress have said the Fed should take on the systemic risk role. Others are concerned that it would distract the central bank from its traditional monetary policy focus.

Bernanke did not firmly lay claim to the role of systemic risk overseer. "The extent to which this new responsibility might be a good match for the Federal Reserve depends a great deal on precisely how the Congress defines the role," he said.

"It seems to me that we should keep our minds open on these questions ... Identifying and addressing systemic risks would seem to require the involvement of the Federal Reserve in some capacity, even if not in the lead role," he said.

Bernanke said evidence suggests existing bank capital standards and accounting rules "have made the financial sector excessively procyclical" by encouraging banks to go too far on easing credit in booms and tightening it in downturns.

He urged review of bank capital standards so that "capital is allowed to serve its intended role as a buffer -- one built up during good times and drawn down during bad times in a manner consistent with safety and soundness."

Bernanke strongly endorsed the concept of current mark-to-market accounting rules, which require banks to value assets they hold at the price they might fetch in the market, but said improvements could be made.

In particular, he said authorities could provide guidance on how to value assets when markets are illiquid. Banks have taken huge losses as they have written down hard-to-trade assets under the current rules, choking off fresh lending.

"Further review of accounting standards governing valuation and loss provisioning would be useful, and might result in modifications to the accounting rules that reduce their procyclical effects without compromising the goals of disclosure and transparency."

In addition he urged consideration of further steps "to reduce the possible procyclical effects of deposit insurance costs" on banks.

A rise in bank failures has led the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to ask banks to replenish the deposit insurance fund, further straining bank capital, although it has tried to ease the burden on them by extending the timeframe to do this.

(Additional reporting by Emily Kaiser and Alister Bull; Editing by James Dalgleish)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

WASHINGTON & NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Gallup, Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) are pleased to announce publication of one of the most powerful tools ever created for measuring and evaluating America’s relative health, well-being and prosperity. Based on comprehensive data derived from the landmark Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (WBI), the AHIP State and Congressional District Reports will provide measurements, both composite and in-depth, of health and well-being in all 50 states and 435 congressional districts, as well as the District of Columbia.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is the definitive barometer of quality of life in America, drawing data from 1,000 surveys per day, seven days per week to measure how Americans are faring physically, emotionally, socially and economically at any given point in time. The WBI is the largest effort ever undertaken to measure America’s comprehensive well-being, encompassing more than 423,000 interviews since its January 2008 launch. It is an invaluable tool for government policy-makers, community leaders, media agencies, employers, health plans and health care providers.

The AHIP State and Congressional District Reports provide a deeper look into the specific needs of communities across the country. These reports include an overall composite score for each state and congressional district, as well as sub-index scores in six domains: Life Evaluation, Emotional Health, Physical Health, Healthy Behavior, Work Environment and Basic Access. Unlike other surveys, the WBI measures the comprehensive well-being of individuals across the full spectrum of their lives and activities, both nationally and locally, revealing surprising variations among regions and demographic groups. States or congressional districts with high overall rankings can score low on specific domains like Work Environment or Emotional Health. Conversely, low-ranking states or districts may score high on Emotional Health but low on Basic Access.

Some highlights of the new reports include:

Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming, Colorado and Minnesota top the state rankings

California’s 14th Congressional District, located between San Francisco and San Jose, is highest among congressional districts

The Congressional District reports will be issued annually by district and bi-annually by state. Complete ranking data and ongoing analysis will be provided through AHIP’s proprietary HiWire Website, www.ahiphiwire.org, and through the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index Website, www.well-beingindex.com. 

“These data are a national wake-up call to re-orient our system toward preventive care, wellness and chronic care management,” said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. “As members of Congress focus on health care reform, these data will serve as an important resource to gauge the true health and well-being of their constituents. This project will shine a light on often overlooked issues affecting the American people, including disparities in access to care and barriers to healthy lifestyles.”

Beyond medical condition and access to health care coverage and services, the Index questions respondents about their economic, professional, emotional and social circumstances. With Index data, it’s possible to quantify and establish a correlation between the places where people work and the communities in which they live and their well-being. Over the next quarter century, the Index will generate more than nine million individual responses. Changes in condition can be tracked over time, and the introduction of both controlled and uncontrolled variables considered. Discrete populations can also be ranked one against another for a stratified view of their relative well-being.

“The Index is about more than measurement,” said Ben R. Leedle, Healthways Chief Executive Officer. “Future progress in health care and health care insurance reform is going to require all of us to rethink the definition of what health really means. There’s more to well-being than a person’s physical state, and the scientific information we see in the rankings, and throughout the WBI as a whole, reveals a clear and compelling need to dramatically shift our approach to one of prevention and policies that emphasize long-term well-being in every community.”

“Health care costs will break our economic system in the next ten years and the only solution lies within significantly lowering the total per person costs. There are no other solutions," said Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup. "Beginning today, we must hold every leader, whether elected or appointed, accountable because the only true solution lies within ‘requiring’ dramatic, measurable improvement of American’s physical and mental well-being at city and state levels and most importantly at the congressional district level."

For additional information, go to www.well-beingindex.com. 

By Rachelle Younglai and Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The possible return of the "uptick" restriction on short-sellers of shares and the prospect of changes in an accounting rule that has forced banks to take billions of dollars in writedowns, sent U.S. shares higher on Tuesday.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he supported the mark-to-market accounting goal of making financial balance sheets as transparent as possible but thought there was room for improvement.

"It's one of the things that tends at times to increase the severity of ups and downs in the financial system and the economy," he said in response to an audience question following a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Barney Frank, who chairs the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, predicted changes to mark-to-market given Bernanke's comments and said he hoped the uptick rule would soon be reinstated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"I've spoken to Chair (Mary) Schapiro of the SEC. I am hopeful the uptick rule will be restored within a month," Frank told reporters.

U.S. shares were up about 5 percent as financial stocks got a boost from the regulatory developments and Citigroup (C.N) said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009.

The SEC later confirmed it would consider reviving the uptick rule.

"The Commission may conduct a public meeting as early as next month to consider whether to formally propose reinstatement of the uptick rule, or consider other measures related to short sales," said SEC spokesman John Nester.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said he backed the SEC reinstating the uptick rule "I wish they'd do it quickly," the Connecticut Democrat told reporters.

The uptick rule, adopted after the 1929 stock market crash, allowed short sales only when the last sale price was higher than the previous price. The SEC abolished the rule in 2007, after concluding that advances in trading strategies rendered it ineffective.

Short-selling is often blamed for precipitous declines in certain stocks but short-sellers defend their role, saying they prevent shares from becoming overvalued.

The SEC adopted emergency restrictions on short-selling last year but the measures were judged by some market watchers to have been largely ineffective.

Short-sellers borrow stocks they expect will fall in price in the hope of repaying the loans for less and pocketing the difference.

REGULATORY REFORM

Bernanke also said leaders from the Group of 20 rich and developing economies should agree early next month on principles to guide nations as they revamp financial rules to prevent future crises.

Finance ministers from the G20 meet this weekend in London to lay the groundwork for an April 2 leaders summit where regulatory reform is expected to feature prominently.

"It's asking too much for a meeting like that to come out with detailed proposals in many different areas," Bernanke said.

Bernanke's remarks come two days before a U.S. House Financial Services subcommittee is scheduled to meet to consider possible changes to the mark-to-market rule.

Business groups have been pleading with the SEC and the Financial Accounting Standards Board to suspend or amend the rule so banks can account for hard-to-value assets more favorably amid distressed markets. The banking industry says the rule is undermining the federal government's $700 billion program to stabilize the financial industry.

But the SEC, which oversees and enforces accounting policy, is "not planning a suspension," of mark-to-market, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The source was not authorized to speak on the matter and requested anonymity.

The SEC declined to comment.

GUIDANCE NEEDED

Bernanke emphasized that he was opposed suspending mark-to-market accounting, but "given what is going on in the world, we should look to identify the weak points of mark-to-market and try and make some improvements on a more expeditious basis."

"We need to do a lot more to provide guidance to the financial institutions and to the investors about what are reasonable ways to address valuation of assets that are being traded or if traded at all in highly illiquid, fire-sale type markets," Bernanke added.

Congress does not have the power to make outright changes in accounting rules. The SEC and the Financial Accounting Standards Board have said they are working on more guidance to help banks determine values of assets in illiquid markets.

Thursday's hearing, to be chaired by Pennsylvania Democrat Paul Kanjorski, will try to find "fair-minded, incremental and achievable fixes" to the mark-to-market accounting rule, the lawmaker said last week.

But the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Richard Shelby of Alabama, said he opposed easing the mark-to-market rule.

"Accounting rules should be designed to ensure that a firm's disclosures reflect economic reality, however ugly that reality may be," Shelby said at a committee hearing on investor protection issues.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Small and mid-sized businesses in Florida now have access to Simply Unum, a new approach to employee benefits that can help control costs, simplify administration and offer flexible benefits choice.

“Unum (NYSE:UNM) has a long history of serving Florida, and our sales and service professionals in Tampa are excited to be able to offer Simply Unum in the state,” said Tony Romano, Unum’s Senior Market Manager in Tampa.

Created specifically for employers with fewer than 500 employees, Simply Unum provides a base of group disability and life insurance coupled with voluntary benefits. With more than 28,000 product combinations possible, an employer can offer benefit options that best meet the specific needs of their workforce at a price that doesn’t strain the bottom line. And Simply Unum operates on a single technology platform, creating one path from benefit package design to quoting to enrollment to ongoing billing and administration.

The advantages of simple, online benefits administration and faster turnaround for policy booklets helped sell the first Simply Unum case in Florida on the first day it was available in the state.

“The administrative ease of Simply Unum has created a lot of buzz,” said Bryan Shannon, the sales representative in Unum’s Tampa office who sold the first case of Simply Unum in Florida. “It is great to be able to offer a solution that takes some of the administrative burden off of Human Resources.”

Across the benefits industry, the needs of small to mid-size companies are driving a focus on flexible benefits choices, said Dave Mosher, Unum’s Senior Market Manager in Fort Lauderdale.

“Simply Unum offers these choices in a package that provides effective education to employees, keeps plan administration simple and costs contained,” he said.

Simply Unum also offers employee education, enrollment and service in Spanish to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce.

Unum provides benefits to more than 425,000 employees in Florida, including more than 130,000 educators and schools administrators; 56,000 health care professionals; and 22,000 legal professionals.

A commitment to responsive local service, benefits industry expertise and strong relationships drives Unum’s philosophy, Romano said.

“Unum has 50 professionals who live and work in Florida to serve benefits brokers across the state,” he said.

Simply Unum launched in states across the country beginning in April 2008 after a highly successful pilot phase in target markets. Now, more than 2,500 lines of coverage have been sold through Simply Unum nationwide, and the benefits solution is available in 46 states.

“It has never been more important for benefits providers to offer innovative products that can help employers make the most of their budgets while giving their employees access to benefits that can help protect them from the unexpected,” Romano said. “At Unum, we’re proud to be able to offer that, along with a strong commitment to local service in the communities we call home.”

For more information about Simply Unum, visit www.unum.com/simplyunum. 

About Unum

Unum (www.unum.com) is one of the leading providers of employee benefits products and services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Through its subsidiaries, Unum Group provided nearly $6 billion in total benefits to customers in 2008.

"We're pleased to have Infinity Insurance as part of our lineup in California," reports Sam Belden, Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Insurance.com. "They extend our group of companies to 15 nationally, joining well-known brands like The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Safeco, and Travelers Insurance.”

Infinity Insurance is one of the largest specialty writers of car insurance in the United States. The brand is best known for bringing affordable auto insurance and service innovations to consumers in underserved markets . A.M. Best ranks Infinity 4th on a recent list of top 15 insurance stocks.

Greg Fasking, AVP National Marketing for Infinity, expressed the company’s excitement over the relationship citing that, “Savvy auto insurance shoppers, who compare offers online, over the phone, or by working with experienced independent insurance agents, regularly choose Infinity. Insurance.com brings a new level of accessibility to our products.”

"We strongly believe that when insurance companies compete, consumers get the best rates, often saving hundreds of dollars on their auto insurance," stated Belden. "By adding Infinity Insurance to our offering, we are reaffirming that commitment to consumers."  www.InfinityAuto.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- In these uncertain financial times, knowledge is your best policy -- especially when it comes to insurance. According to a new survey commissioned by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), a vast majority of Americans believe they are smart about insurance, but a deeper look at the issue tells a different story. If you, too, believe you have a high "Insurance IQ," see if you can answer these three basic questions:

Does auto insurance automatically cover a rental car?

Can you own a house without homeowners insurance?

In general, how much life insurance is recommended in relation to your annual salary?

If you answered, no, yes and 5-7 times your annual salary, you bested the majority of 1,000 American adults who got them wrong in a 10-question quiz designed to test the nation's Insurance IQ. Indeed, on average, Americans flunked the test with only a 40 percent score -- a solid "F" by most U.S. educational grading standards.

This apparent lack of knowledge contrasts sharply with confidence levels expressed by survey respondents. Before taking the IIQ, nearly 60 percent said they feel "very confident" when making insurance decisions overall, with only 15 percent voicing any insecurity about their decision-making abilities.

In Today's Economy, Consumers Need to Understand Their Insurance Coverage

With rising joblessness and falling home prices, Americans need to make sure they understand what their insurance policies cover. By making careful, informed decisions about their insurance, consumers can save money and ensure long-term protection for themselves and their loved ones.

"Now, more than ever, consumers need to be mindful of the impact their insurance decisions can have on their financial future," said NAIC Chief Executive Officer Terri Vaughan. "By arming themselves with the facts -- and improving their Insurance IQ -- consumers can make sure they are adequately protected, without paying more than they should for that coverage."

Among the NAIC's key findings:

Health: Less than half of those surveyed (49 percent) know that if they leave their job and choose the federal Consolidated Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) to continue their health benefits, they must pay the full cost of coverage. However, 58 percent are aware that health insurance will not cover their living expenses if they became disabled and cannot perform their job.

Home: Just one in five respondents (19 percent) realizes that the requirement for private mortgage insurance (PMI) on a newly purchased home depends on the size of the down payment and lender; almost 30 percent think PMI is required by law. Less than 50 percent of people surveyed realize they can legally own a home without homeowners insurance (although lenders will not allow it).

Life: Only 14 percent of respondents correctly know that the amount of life insurance typically recommended for individuals is 5-7 times your annual salary; 29 percent believe 2-4 times an annual salary is the recommended amount; and nearly 40 percent simply say they have no idea.

Auto: Less than two-thirds of Americans (62 percent) are aware of the top three factors that impact the cost of auto insurance coverage (i.e., accident history, vehicle safety features, geography). And, only four in 10 respondents (41 percent) know that auto insurance does not automatically cover a rental car.

How to Improve Your Insurance IQ

Here are four useful tips to help Americans better understand their insurance policies:

1. Get Savvy.

Before shopping for a policy, learn as much as you can about insurance. The NAIC's award-winning "Insure U" consumer-education Web site (www.insureUonline.org) is an unbiased, expert resource to help you understand the types of insurance available, the factors that affect price and the insurance options for your personal situation.

2. Shop Around; Do Your Homework.

After learning the insurance basics, get premium quotes from several companies for the amount of coverage you require. The NAIC survey found that although many Americans rely on personal experience and recommendations from family and friends when making insurance decisions, nearly 90 percent do not gather information from other, more reliable sources of information -- such as their state insurance department. State insurance regulators offer several online tools to assist consumers with the insurance-buying process. The NAIC's Consumer Information Source https://eapps.naic.org/cis) provides fundamental facts about insurance companies, including complaint ratios, licensing details and key financial data.

3. Before Committing: Stop. Call. Confirm.

If you are unsure about an insurer or agent you are working with

1) Stop before signing any paperwork or writing a check; 2) Call your state insurance department (easily reached by phone); and 3) Confirm the company or agent is legitimate and licensed to do business in your state. Visit www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm to link directly to your state insurance department's Web site.

4. Review Your Policy.

Do not wait until you need to file a claim before evaluating the scope of your coverage. The Insurance IQ study found that 60 percent of respondents do not periodically review their policy -- that is, they wait until they are filing a claim or renewing their coverage. Twenty-five percent admit rarely or never looking at their policies. By understanding your policies, you can be prepared for any situation and, potentially, save money by avoiding unnecessary costs.

Here is one other important element to remember: Throughout the year, you may encounter changes in employment, salary, geographic location and/or family dynamics. These factors affect your insurance options and the amount of coverage you need. Any time your life situation changes, be sure to review your insurance coverage and make any necessary adjustments.

Want to see how your insurance knowledge stacks up against the rest of America? Go to www.insureUonline.org and take the Insurance IQ quiz to see how savvy you are.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 10, 2009 — The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) today announced that the Big “I” Virtual University will be presenting a two-part webinar on Certificates of Insurance on March 19 and April 16 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

“The independent agency system has been plagued by unreasonable and too often onerous requests for certificates of insurance and related documentation and it’s getting out of control,” says Madelyn Flannagan, Big “I” vice president for education and research. “Owners, general contractors, lenders, and landlords are making demands that agents and insurers simply cannot comply with—legally or practically. The key to preventing many of the risks is in continuing education, such as the Virtual University webinars.”

The purpose of this webinar is to provide a comprehensive review of certificate of insurance issues. While the focus of this program is on certificates and evidences of insurance, it also addresses critical peripheral issues such as contractual risk transfer and additional insureds.

“Although they obviously serve an important function, certificates of insurance typically generate little or no revenue but create significant costs for agencies,” says Bill Wilson, CPCU, ARM, Big “I” associate vice president and Virtual University director.

Webinar is short for “web based seminar.”  Instead of meeting in a conference room, the training takes place via the internet with the visual portion on the screen and the audio through the computer or phone. For more information, visit the Virtual University website:  http://www.iiaba.net/vu.  www.independentagent.com

PEARL RIVER, NY - March 10, 2009 - ACORD announced the creation of a new designation program for standards implementers and the opening of enrollment for its first examination. The designation is called the ACE, for ACORD Certified Expert, and the program's goal is to create and maintain a large pool of experts who know, understand, and can implement ACORD standards to support the industry.

"The ACE designation program meets a specific industry need for ACORD Standards implementation experts," said Beth Grossman, assistant vice president, Education & Training, ACORD, who is spearheading this effort. "Organizations from insurers to solution providers will be able to more easily find the resources they need."

An ACE-certification will mean that an individual has received a consistent training, passed the exams required for the designation, and is up to date on the latest ACORD standards and versions through continuing education. Organizations that wish to implement ACORD standards may increase their confidence level in staff knowledge by working with an ACE-certified resource.

Those interested in learning more about the ACE can email Beth Grossman at bgrossman@acord.org or contact ACORD Member Services at memberservices@acord.org and ask to be added to the mailing list.  http://www.acord.org

AUSTIN, Texas, March 10 – Combined Agents of America, LLC (CAA), announced its landmark expansion outside of Texas and into the broader south central region of the country with two new members, Ed Berrong Insurance Agency based in Oklahoma and Bridges Group, Inc. Insurance based in Kansas, at its quarterly meeting February 24-26, 2009 in Bastrop, Texas.  Texas-based CAA is a managing general agency (MGA) committed to strengthening the independent insurance agency system across the country through profitable growth and exceptional service for its member agencies. www.combinedagents.com

McCain, still center stage in U.S., battles big spending. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) arrives to the Kennedy Center for Senator Ted Kennedy's birthday celebration in Washington March 8, 2009. REUTERS/Molly Riley
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Dalai Lama to demand Tibet autonomy, mourn past. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama holds a prayer book during at a temple in the northern Indian hill town of Mcleodgunj March 9, 2009. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli
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Brown says killings will not stop N.Irish progress. Northern Ireland Secretary, Shaun Woodward, speaks to journalists outside Massereene army base after two British soldiers were shot dead and four other people wounded in a shooting on Saturday, in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland March 8, 2009. Gunmen killed two British soldiers and wounded four other people at an army base in Northern Ireland but political leaders said on Sunday the attack would not derail the peace process. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton
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U.S. public transit 2008 ridership highest in 52 years. A morning commuter walks out of the subway in New York's Times Square March 2, 2009. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth leaves Westminster Abbey after attending the annual Commonwealth Day Observance in London March 9, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird (BRITAIN ROYALS)

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L), Haitian singer Wyclef Jean (C) and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visit a school in the neighborhood of Cite Soleil March 9, 2009. Ban arrived in Haiti on Monday along with Clinton on a brief visit to work on an "action plan" to tackle the grinding poverty in the Caribbean state. REUTERS/ Eduardo Munoz (HAITI POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT)

Malaysia's King Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin (R) and Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn attend a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Military Airport in Bangkok March 9, 2009. King Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin is on a four-day visit to Thailand. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS ROYALS)

Britain's Prince Charles (L) speaks to Chile's President Michelle Bachelet during a state dinner at the La Moneda Presidential Palace in Santiago March 9, 2009. Prince Charles is in Chile on an official visit. REUTERS/La Moneda/Handout (CHILE POLITICS ROYALS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

A military delegate reads a China Daily newspaper ahead of the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing March 9, 2009. REUTERS/David Gray

A girl walks over burning coal as part of the Dammaduwa festival celebrations in Anawatuna village, some 160 km (99 miles) south of Colombo, March 8, 2009. The festival is celebrated in Anawatuna once a year in March through the night till morning and is believed to give good fortune and prosperity to the village as well as to keep the evil spirits away. REUTERS/Nir Elias

Crufts Best in Show reserve Donny the Standard Poodle licks handler Mike Gadsby in Birmingham, March 8, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Ballet dancers from the Croatian National Theatre perform during a dress rehearsal of "La Bayadere" in the city of Split March 10, 2009. The play is directed by Valentina Ganibalova and will premiere on March 13. REUTERS/Matko Biljak (CROATIA ENTERTAINMENT)

A Barbie doll is seen inside the FAO Schwartz toy store in New York, March 9, 2009. Barbie, the iconic doll that has claimed countless hours of girls' lives in a make-believe world that mirrored real life glamour, high-fashion and fabulous careers, is turning 50. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT ANNIVERSARY)