Government would look into ULIP ban issue: Ashok Chawla

NEW DELHI – Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla on Monday said the ministry would look into the orders of the two regulators Securities and Exchange Bank of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulator and Development Authority (IRDA) on equity linked products sold …. Source article  : Government would look into ULIP ban issue: Ashok Chawla.

Study: Airlines did a better job getting passengers and their bags to destinations in 2009

Airlines did a better job for passengers in 2009

WASHINGTON – Fewer passengers boarded planes last year, but those who did were generally treated better than in the past.
Planes were more likely to land on time and bags less likely to get lost in 2009, according to an annual analysis of airline quality by private researchers.
As … Original article on : Study: Airlines did a better job getting passengers and their bags to destinations in 2009.

PROMISES, PROMISES: Much challenged health care law mirrors Obama 2008 campaign promises

PROMISES, PROMISES: Health plan maps Obama pledges
WASHINGTON – The nation may be divided over the wisdom of President Barack Obama’s big new health care law, but it largely delivers on more than 30 specific promises he made as a candidate.
Americans basically got what the majority voted for when they elected Obama …. Source article  : PROMISES, PROMISES: Much challenged health care law mirrors Obama 2008 campaign promises.

Issue of Rs.10/- denomination banknotes with ‘M’ Inset letter in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series ??? 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs.10/- denomination banknotes with ‘M’ inset letter in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series – 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued … Read : Issue of Rs.10/- denomination banknotes with ‘M’ Inset letter in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series ??? 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor.

California loses dairy farms as Iowa, Texas, other states lure farmers with less regulation

States woo Calif. dairymen with less regulation

DES MOINES, Iowa – The number of California dairies has plummeted by more than 500 in the past decade as farmers move to states promising lower costs and simpler regulations.
Some are willing to leave California because high land costs often mean they can’t grow their own grain. Others complain …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : California loses dairy farms as Iowa, Texas, other states lure farmers with less regulation.

Oil rises above $85 in Asia as Greece bailout plan boosts euro

Oil rises to $85 as Europe offers Greece bailout

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose above $85 a barrel Monday in Asia after a massive loan offer to Greece by European countries helped weaken the dollar, making crude cheaper for investors holding euros.
Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 50 cents to $85.42 a barrel at midday …. Read the original article  : here.

AP survey: No quick rebound in pillars of Americans’ financial security _ home values and jobs

AP survey: Recovery to remain sluggish into 2011

WASHINGTON – The pillars of Americans’ financial security – jobs and home values – will stay shaky well into 2011, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists.
The findings of the new AP Economy Survey, released Monday, point to an economic recovery that will move slowly and … Read : AP survey: No quick rebound in pillars of Americans’ financial security _ home values and jobs.

With travel down, more air flights arrived on time in 2009, fewer bags lost, complaints drop

Study: Flying went smoother for passengers in 2009

WASHINGTON – Some things did go right for airline passengers last year: Planes were more likely to land on time and bags less likely to get lost.
As a result, passengers reported fewer complaints in 2009 even while cash-strapped airlines reduced flight schedules and charged for everything from bags …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Premium of less than a cent a week: Micro-insurance plans extend health care to Africa’s poor

Micro-insurance plans extend health care in Africa

KISAJU, Kenya – Kenyan student Shadrack Silipo had a heart operation five years ago, the sort of surgery that often bankrupts families in Africa.
Silipo’s parents normally would have paid by selling off land – the same green acres that form the inheritance for their eight children. But Silipo’s father, … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Premium of less than a cent a week: Micro-insurance plans extend health care to Africa’s poor.

Money Market Operations as on April 09, 2010

… Read this article on Gaea Times at : Money Market Operations as on April 09, 2010.

Asian markets advance after Wall Street gains, European pledges to Greece

Asian markets rise in early trading
TOKYO – Most Asian stock markets rose in early trading Monday after a strong finish Friday on Wall Street and easing worries about Greece’s financial health.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 1 percent to 11,314.42 , and Australia’s benchmark rose 0.6 percent to 4,981.80.
Markets in New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Asian markets advance after Wall Street gains, European pledges to Greece.

Google chief executive tells media group that newspapers will find new business models online

Google CEO says newspapers can make money online

WASHINGTON – Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt says he is confident that newspapers will find new ways to make money online by harnessing the vast reach of the Internet.
Media executives have accused Google of draining readers and advertising from newspapers online. But speaking Sunday night to open …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Google chief executive tells media group that newspapers will find new business models online.

Hungary’s center-right Fidesz gets landslide in national elections, far-right Jobbik is 3rd

Center-right Fidesz wins big in Hungary elections
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary’s center-right party reclaimed the right to govern on Sunday, winning over 50 percent of the vote and handing the ruling Socialists a humiliating defeat. Extreme rightists backed by black clad paramilitary troops took more than 15 percent to come in third.
While widely …. Source  : Hungary’s center-right Fidesz gets landslide in national elections, far-right Jobbik is 3rd.

Hungary’s center-right leads in elections, Socialists in 2nd ahead of far-right

Hungary’s center-right leads voting, far-right 3rd
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary’s center-right Fidesz party took a commanding lead in the first round of parliamentary elections on Sunday, while Jobbik, a far-right party with an anti-Gypsy and extreme nationalist agenda, was a strong third just behind the governing Socialists.
With 99.2 percent of the first-round votes counted, … Read more >>>.

Questions about nuclear stockpile, Russian attitude lead senators to question fate of treaty

Senators question future of US-Soviet nuclear pact
WASHINGTON – The new U.S.-Russian nuclear arms treaty may have a problem getting the vote of at least one independent senator, as well as Republican lawmakers.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, says that America’s nuclear arsenal must be modernized. That might be difficult if President Barack Obama …. Original article  : Questions about nuclear stockpile, Russian attitude lead senators to question fate of treaty.

Incinerator project burns up Pa. capital’s cash as some officials raise scary word: Bankruptcy

Incinerator project burns up Pa. capital’s cash

HARRISBURG, Pa. – This capital city was near total collapse three decades ago – its department stores, theaters and trolleys were gone, replaced by vacant buildings and streets devoid of any nightlife.
A huge effort, thanks partly to an energetic mayor, brought the Susquehanna River city of 47,000 back from …. Original article  : Incinerator project burns up Pa. capital’s cash as some officials raise scary word: Bankruptcy.

‘Benefit corporations’ legislation puts ‘people, planet, profit’ on bottom line

States move to let firms pursue social mission

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wish a bill making its way through the Vermont Legislature had been law decades ago.
If they’d been allowed to set up as a benefit corporation their Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., the Vermont-based super premium ice cream maker, they might … Read : ‘Benefit corporations’ legislation puts ‘people, planet, profit’ on bottom line.

Euro governments offer Greece ???30 billion in loans this year if needed to ease debt crisis

Euro governments offer Greece ???30 billion backstop

BRUSSELS – Trying again to halt a debt crisis that has hammered the euro, fellow eurozone governments tossed struggling Greece a financial lifeline Sunday, saying they would make ???30 billion in loans available this year alone – if Athens asks for the money.
The International Monetary Fund stands ready to … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Euro governments offer Greece ???30 billion in loans this year if needed to ease debt crisis.

Euro governments offer Greece euro30 billion in loans this year if needed to ease debt crisis

Euro governments offer Greece euro30 billion backstop

BRUSSELS – Trying again to halt a debt crisis that has hammered the euro, fellow eurozone governments tossed struggling Greece a financial lifeline Sunday, saying they would make euro30 billion in loans available this year alone – if Athens asks for the money.
The International Monetary Fund stands ready to … Read more : Euro governments offer Greece euro30 billion in loans this year if needed to ease debt crisis.

Mirant, RRI Energy merge in $1.61 billion deal to create one of the largest US power producers

Mirant, RRI Energy combining in $1.61B deal

ATLANTA – Energy providers Mirant Corp. and RRI Energy Inc. said Sunday they are combining in a $1.61 billion stock-swap deal, renaming the company and creating a utility powerhouse that will become one of the nation’s largest independent power producers.
The combined company, which will have a market capitalization of … Read : Mirant, RRI Energy merge in $1.61 billion deal to create one of the largest US power producers.