In September 2008, the American International Group, AIG, the largest insurance company in the United States, collapsed under the weight of bad debts incurred from insuring mortgage-backed securities. Although the corporation made significant progress in addressing liquidity issues related to its financial products and its securities-lending activities, in the middle of continued financial market turmoil, it failed to preserve and maximize the value of its business practices for the benefit of its stakeholders. As a result, AIG reported the largest quarterly losses in U.S corporate history, $61.7 billion in Q4.
The Federal Reserve bailed out AIG with an $85 billion loan in exchange for a 79.9% equity stake. Three weeks later, AIG was granted $37.8 billion loan as liquidity for its securities-lending business. Even after these initial infusions, losses continued to mount and in November, the Treasury provided another $20.9 billion under a new program, summing up the total bailout package to $144 billion under three different credit line programs. In March 2009, the Federal government agreed on providing AIG another $30 billion with a fourth program raising the bailout bill to $174 billion. By July 2009, the bailout package had reached $182 billion.
At the same time, AIG became the target of extensive outrage as a result of the $165 million paid in bonuses to AIG senior management and traders that actually caused the collapse. Investors, taxpayers and the public in general were disgusted at the idea of the people who caused AIG’s collapse and financial distress to be rewarded as heroes.
The first immediate impact of AIG bailout is evident on investor confidence. In spite of the increased consumer spending and household income in the beginning of 2009, the AIG scandal overshadowed the markets. Considering that more than the US population owns stocks and other securities and with global capital markets reacting aggressively to AIG press releases and government bailout packages, the US economy and, consequently, the global economy, are affected by the governmental actions to help a corporate monster recover.
Besides, since October 2007 when the Dow was around 14,100 until today that is at 9,750, investors have lost 31 percent of their value. Even worse, in fourteen trading sessions, the Dow has toppled from 8,000 to below 7,000. At the same time, unemployment is at an all time high having affected nearly five million Americans, while productions levels continue to shrink and layoffs surpass any growth.
Technically what AIG was provided is a loan, but, in effect, it is a bailout because without that amount of money the company could have gone bankrupt. Now, AIG not only has to pay back the money, but taxpayers are also hooked with the company since they own, along with the U.S. government, 79.9% of it. The question about investors is how AIG can sell off its assets at a high price when capital markets are still in turmoil and there is not much liquidity in the markets? Wall Street is out of cash and investors are out of faith. So, in a way, AIG paying back its debt is a hope given that the company has a lot of debt in its liabilities. If the market explodes, taxpayers and the government are going to be on the hook for AIG.
Another thing that seems to be slightly misunderstood is the fact that AIG failure is not terrible only because the company was so big, but mostly because with AIG getting out of the picture for having backed mortgage-backed securities, the possibility of a domino effect is evident. Any business or individual that has been involved and has done business with AIG faces the reality of seeing own assets going under. And is such an unstable and weak financial environment this would a nightmare scenario.
The government AIG bailout shows the levels of corruption in corporate America. Before AIG, the common measurement of bonuses was a company’s profitability. If the business was profitable, management was compensated with a bonus. If the business was losing money, there was no bonus involved. After AIG, things got reversed.
On the other hand, there are people who think that government bailout to AIG helped US economy to overcome the depression. However, the experience of previous recessions has shown that the end comes only when inflated prices shrink to a level that allows the majority of people to enjoy fundamental goods of life such as housing, clothing and nourishment.
The U.S. government is on the hook for succeeding in saving AIG for the moment. But, those who will make sure this bailout works are the U.S. taxpayers. The systemic risk that AIG posed in the first place and continues to pose combined with the volatility of capital markets, the cost to the US economy and the governmental inaction does little to re-inspire investor confidence. Even worse, government AIG bailout is a straight attack on the common sense of people. Unfortunately, this will take a long time until it can be forgotten and translated into rising capital markets and attractive stock performances around the globe.
A freelance writer, top MBA graduate with Finance major, passionate about business, finance, history and music; this is pretty much me in a nutshell.
I provide high quality writing services since 2005 in the field of Business & Finance, Movie Reviews, Book Reviews, Health & Fitness, Internet and Relationships. I also have a very good knowledge of Politics and History.
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I currently work as a financial and investment advisor at an international financial institution. Yet, my dream is to be able to make a living as a writer.
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Remember that to quit that bad habit which is smoking, you will have to fight against itself, that is, against his/her will, encouraging him/her to something harmful to themselves and to others you love.
In summary, this first step in method, you use the following conscious habits that may be abandoned later when desired:
- Smell the pack and cigarettes;
- Reduce the amount smoked daily;
- Go to watch the cigarette and identify situations that prompt him to smoke;
- Get on self-control over their desire to smoke.
To strengthen and solidify its final decision to quit smoking.
Following completion of the steps in , in which smoked cigarettes under the guidance of this method, you will enter this stage, more lucid and strengthened its ability to stop smoking, in light of experience.
In this method of quitting, you will begin to reduce the consumption of six units smoked, among those who smoke because of addiction to nicotine.
-Solidify peace unconditional.
- Decrease in the number 6 cigarettes smoked per day.
-For three months, smoking and the amount scheduled to continue with the mental rehabilitation
-Drinking lots of water, eat vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C.
Therefore, besides the reduction achieved in the first step, you will reduce six units of cigarettes smoked daily.
Note: that the quantity of cigarettes that smoking is no longer significant, causing your body undergoes a process of detoxification. With this, he will be “cleaner”, getting used to smaller amounts of nicotine and other thousands of substances to be expelled by the sputum, feces, urine and sweat.
Symptoms of hoarseness and cough are welcome because represents the signal that the body will be cleansing, detoxifying itself. Insofar as time passes, these characteristic symptoms increase. They correspond to the detachment of “soot” steeped in their lungs, with so many evil substances, especially carbon monoxide, which formed the tar.
See the information that the company Brazilian Thoracic Society (BTS) provides: “For a smoker, who for 20 years, smoked a pack of cigarettes per day, it builds up in your lungs 6 pounds of soot, due to gas dioxide caused by burning cigarette. Your nervous system will be changed, because of the anxiety which arose by the reduction in cigarette consumption, causing a decrease in the rate of nicotine from the body. This is natural, realize how much progressed. Do not fear, nor lack; seek balance.
The most common issue that can be controlled is build, BMI or weight. Statistics show that many overweight inactive individuals are at higher risk to eventually experience insulin resistance, high blood pressure, cholesterol and other related health problems. The most important thing you can do is eat a healthy diet and get some exercise. If your chronically obese discuss with your physician what type of plan you should follow. This can not only reverse your mortality rate but also reduce your premiums. Additionally before buying insurance direct speak with a agent who can guide you to a carrier that offers more leniency in underwriting build charts as you may qualify for a better rate class with specific carriers.
Smokers and tobacco users pay more for life insurance, smoking increase chances for emphysema, cancer and heart disease. (Occasional celebratory cigars won’t really hurt you.) If you stop smoking for at least 12 months you may qualify for better rates after 36 months you can qualify for great rates. Even though there are carriers that offer healthy smoker rates, you can expect to pay considerably more than non-smokers. Do not try to do the fake out they can tell from the exam if you are actually a smoker.
Hobbies can also be considered a risk for underwriting life insurance, hobbies such as scuba divers, private pilots, hang –gliders and the like will likely be taxed for all the fun when purchasing a life policy. Employment in a hazardous job can have an effect on your rates as well. Many resign from riding motorcycles and working dangerous jobs when starting a family so if your starting a family consider a more conservative approach to life and find some new hobbies and work. Stress can be a big factor for many consumers who may not realize the influence it is having on their health. Many times we see clients who believe they are healthy and are dumbfounded to learn from the Para-med exam that there high stress career has caused them to suffer from untreated high blood pressure. If in fact you think this might be your case consider a non- med policy first, get that in place then stack a fully underwritten policy on top to make up the difference of coverage you need or replace the non-med altogether if the rates are lower, this way you avoid the red marks on your medical information bureau report and the risk of being rated and being forced to pay the higher premium or being denied altogether.
Family history obviously cannot be controlled but again have an agent review the issue at hand and field underwrite your case prior to submission to the carrier since agents typically know what carriers are familiar with that particular health issue, some carrier ignore a mother or father history of cancer while other will rate it. Last but not least age can affect your premiums certainly it make sense to have some form of term coverage in force when you have liabilities that depend on you spouse, children, so the younger the better if you have been considering coverage do not put it off since providers will sometimes rate you up at the 6 month mark from your last birthday if you 34 years and 5 months old start searching!
Christopher Beard is a life insurance agent who uses automation to simplify the consumer buying experience. He is the president of Trinity 1 Financial Group and works with clients select the right carrier for life and health insurance to insure approval at the best rates for there health and age.
An article on the Gluten Free Pages site looks at how the increase in celiac disease victims could be caused by farmers over the last few hundred years purposely selecting varieties of grains that have abnormally high gluten levels. The purpose being to provide grains that will be turned into high gluten flours to assist bakers in keeping their breads and cakes together.
In a similar vein, consider that people who eat too much calorie rich food are prone to increased likelihoods of acquiring diabetes 2. Its not necessarily the foods, but the amount or concentrations that cause both diseases.
Some allergy reactions are believed to be traced to an increases in environmental pollutants lowering people’s resistance to certain allergies and diseases (changes in immune functioning). It appears that fructose malabsorptionand fructose intolerance may also be linked to a very simple ‘accidental’ increase in the concentration of fructose in certain foods in our diets. However, unlike the intentional increase in high concentration gluten grains, this increase in fructose has not been caused by a quest by farmers to pack more fructose into their fruits, the cause is seemingly further downstream.
While the following information is taken from a LA TIME article about the concerns of the over-consumption of fruit juice in our diets being linked to obesity, it also provides a good base for my fructose conspiracy theory.
The logic goes a little like this:
1 In World War II, the US Army commissioned scientists to invent a system for freezing OJ in a concentrated form. The result was the “Minute Maid” patent that created cans of frozen juice concentrate.
2 In the 1950s, Tropicana developed pasteurization technology so that juice could be sold in refrigerated cartons like milk.
3 US TV fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne and other health experts branded juice as a natural medicine, and decades of advertising made drinking juice concentrate a staple in our diet.
4 By the 1900s, Florida citrus growers harvested more oranges than they could sell – and because you can easily drink the juice of many more oranges than you can eat whole, they decided to sell high concentrations of juice in many drinks including cola sodas. This push to sell fructose heavy drinks in the US soon spread around the world.
Consider that “when fructose is eaten in a piece of fruit, it enters the body slowly so the liver has time to convert it into chemical energy. But a single glass of apple juice has the fructose of six apples.” Ref 1
Besides the bulk increase of fructose density that our bodies were never meant to consume, the concentrates also lead to obesity concerns which can lead to diabetes 2. Curiously as US and Australian schools are outlawing soda drinks in school vending machines, juice drinks are taking their place (which have equal calories and often more fructose).
While juice does add vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to our diet, fruit does the same, in much more appropriate concentrations. Raw fruit also contains many other nutrients that do not survive many drink manufacturing processes.
“A glass of juice concentrates all the sugar from several pieces of fruit. Ounce per ounce, it contains more calories than soda, though it tends to be consumed in smaller servings. A cup of orange juice has 112 calories, apple juice has 114, and grape juice packs 152, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The same amount of Coke has 97 calories, and Pepsi has 100.” 100% fruit juice poses the same obesity-related health risks as Coke, Pepsi and other widely vilified beverages. Ref 1
Now most of the main reference article is written with a view to warning people about the affects of concentrated fruit juice on weight gain, however as a fructose intolerance or malabsorptionperson should now understand, drinking fruit juice (concentrate) can directly relate to how you may have acquired your condition in the first place.
The author of this GFP article loves fruit and realises that this affair was fostered in childhood where his father grew many varieties of fruit trees in his home yard. As many people do not have this background it is easy to understand that parents with guilty consciences may think that substituting juice concentrate regularly into a diet is a clever way of getting ‘healthy food’ easily into everyone’s diet. However an overdose of concentrate is equivalent to an overdose of fructose, which “may” contribute to the early onset of fructose intolerance or malabsorption.
As a society we are much more aware of the way that all types of fats need to be controlled in our diets, however ‘good’ sugar variety levels are much lesser known and fructose can be concealed in many sources. It may be that adding fruit juice concentrate to your diet just exceeds the healthy daily allowance of fructose from all sources.
Consider the following list of “Foods highest in Fructose” (based on levels per 200-Calorie serving) that Ref 2 has compiled:
9 Carbonated beverage, SPRITE, lemon-lime, without caffeine [pop, soft drink, white soda] Fructose: 25954mg
10 Juice, apple and grape blend, with added ascorbic acid Fructose: 25837mg
FIVE of the TOP TEN FRUCTOSE CULPRITS ARE SODA DRINKS AND FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATE.
CONCLUSION
Now consider the radical concept of avoiding high density gluten grains and products to starve off the risk of acquiring gluten intolerance (this may not help reducing the chance of acquiring coeliac / celiac disease as much as this is believed to be gene related). To avoid fructose intolerance, perhaps sticking to a non soda, non fruit juice concentrate diet is a good idea. Particularly as many drinks do not specify what type of sugar is included, nor do many people know what a ‘safe’ level of fructose in concentrate should be.
Imagine something that has been promoted for decades as a health panacea actually causing an illness, just because of its high concentration levels. With the high cost of fruit, and in particular organic fruit, it is easy to understand how buying fruit juice concentrate may seem like a healthy alternative. While the concept of avoiding or limiting juice concentrate in your diet and children’s diet may seem controversial I recommend that you read the article in the reference in full and make up your own mind.
In the last few years I have had a strong interest in e-marketing and website optimization. My strongest desire is to be working in the sustainability industry which causes large reductions in greenhouse gases. Save the planet, save the people. Find other great gluten free articles at or visit my Market Analysis site CHEERS!