Reinventing the Nail November 28, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, construction, government, insurance, manufacturing, architecture , add a commentPopsci.com has an interesting article about how Ed Sutt, the son of an architect/contractor in suburban Connecticut, stumbled into an idea to redesign one of the most basic tools of construction: the nail.
Sutt, who now works for Stanley Bostitch, researched the problem of houses collapsing during hurricanes to help design a new nail, the HurriQuake.
Tests conducted by researchers at Florida International University and the International Code Council—the independent building-safety standards organization—confirmed that the HurriQuake has more than twice the “uplift capacity” of standard power-driven nails. Other independent tests showed that the HurriQuake can double a typical home’s resistance to high winds and add up to 50 percent more resistance to earthquakes.
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Big Dig Firms Sued Over Tunnel Accident
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, construction, government, insurance, manufacturing, transportation, architecture , add a commentMassachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly announced he will sue 15 companies that worked on the $15 billion “Big Dig” roadway project in Boston, alleging negligence that caused a ceiling panel to fall and crush a woman this past summer.
The civil suit claims project manager Bechtel/Parson Brinckerhoff was “grossly negligent” in building the tunnel, part of which collapsed less than four years after it was opened. The lawsuit also names the manufacturers and distributors of the epoxy used to hold bolts.
The family of Milena Del Valle, the 38-year-old woman killed on July 10th, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in August.
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Homeowners Can Sue Agent for Lapse in Coverage November 17, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, government, insurance, real estate , add a commentAccording to BusinessWeek, a federal judge has ruled that Michael and Lucille Catchot can sue their Nationwide Insurance agent, Michael Felsher, for negligence after he allegedly let their flood insurance policy lapse a few short days before Hurricane Katrina caused severe damage to their home.
The couple claims they paid their flood insurance premium two or three days before it was set to lapse, by dropping a check through the mail slot in Felsher’s office. Nationwide claims they missed the deadline for renewal by one day and has denied the Catchots’ $79,000 claim.
Nationwide attorney F. Hall Bailey argued on behalf of Felsher, claiming he isn’t liable for the company’s “coverage determination” and, therefore, should not be a defendant in the lawsuit. U.S. District Court Judge L. T. Senter, Jr. rejected the argument, however, saying the negligence claim can proceed.
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Siemens’ Electronic Wedge Brake November 13, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, manufacturing, transportation , add a commentSiemens VDO currently is developing a whole new generation of brakes for possible use in new vehicle models coming to market at end of the decade. The Siemens VDO’s brake-by-wire technology overarching idea is to completely replace all hydraulic brake components. The new braking architecture enables future driver assistance systems to more quickly access the brake and in a more targeted fashion. Automotive manufacturers will be able to take advantage of shorter stopping distances for their new model series, even on ice and snow.
According to the company:
The principle of EWB braking is that a brake pad connected to a wedge is pressed between the brake rod and the brake disc. The rotation of the wheel and the friction associated with it, automatically intensify the wedge effect. This means that high braking power can be generated with very little energy expenditure. The connection between the various electronic components of the EWB is handled by a real-time data bus, enabling data rates of up to 10 MBit in both test vehicles and later in series vehicles. This means a lot of room to maneuver in order to direct each individual brake separately in critical driving situations.
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AIG Breezes by Estimates November 10, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, finance , add a commentAmerican International Group (AIG) more than doubled profit in the third quarter, helped by the relatively quiet hurricane season.
The general insurance division, the company’s largest, posted modest gains, while the financial services group posted revenues up a whopping 65%.
“AIG had a very good quarter led by strong performance in our worldwide general insurance business and improved results in life insurance & retirement services operations,” the company says. “We continue to execute our growth strategies by capitalizing on our unique global franchise and product and distribution capabilities.”
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California Fire Continues to Rage October 27, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, agriculture, government, insurance, real estate, forestry , add a commentFirefighters continue to struggle against a wildfire that has already claimed the lives of four of their brethren as it races across Southern California.
The fire, which authorities claim was arson, has already claimed 38 square miles and was only 5 percent contained early Friday. Over 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze to protect homes and build fire lines.
According to the Associated Press:
Forecasters were calling for strong Santa Ana winds that could reach up to 60 mph. A “red flag warning” was in effect through Saturday night because of a mix of strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures.
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Tishman Speyer Buys 110-Building Site in NY October 19, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, real estate, finance , add a commentMetLife announced Jerry Speyer, the chairman of Tishman Speyer Properties, has inked a deal to purchase 110 apartment buildings along Manhattan’s East River for $5.4 billion.
Tishman Speyer already controls some of New York’s most well-known buildings, including Rockefeller Center (which also houses the company’s headquarters) and the Chrysler Building.
From the New York Times:
Mr. Speyer and his partner, BlackRock Realty, outmaneuvered nearly a dozen other bidders, including a group aligned with the tenants at the complexes who hoped to preserve them as relatively affordable middle-class housing, a rapidly disappearing commodity in Manhattan. As housing costs have skyrocketed in the city in recent years, the pending sale of the complexes and the larger issue of affordable housing became a cause célèbre among New York politicians and tenant activists.
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Is Dilbert a Financial Genius? October 11, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, real estate, finance , add a commentMarketwatch points to “Dilbert” creator, Scott Adams’, nine-point financial plan, suggesting it may be worth of a Nobel prize.
Perhaps it’s not worthy of that award, but it could easily be one of the simplest, best plans for personal financial success:
- Make a will
- Pay off your credit cards
- Get term life insurance if you have a family to support
- Fund your 401k to the maximum
- Fund your IRA to the maximum
- Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it
- Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account
- Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement
- If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio
I would suggest just one addition to these points, if only to add some levity (and to round it out to a nice, even ten points): Never put a price on a good time.
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Liability Insurance Premiums Drop With Lawsuits September 5, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, management , add a commentInsurance specialists are reporting the largest drop in more than a decade, 10 percent, for business liability insurance. This drop is apparently a direct response to an increase of dismissed class-action lawsuits.
From this article:
Among the insurance rates that have declined is coverage for corporate directors and officers (D&O), who are beginning to face lawsuits for the manipulation of stock options, which allowed them to take corporate profits they weren’t entitled to.
This is obviously good news for all businesses, as each year, over $45 billion is spent on liability insurance. And, in a classic win-win, insurance companies such as Zurich Financial Services, Hartford Financial Services, AIG and Chubb benefit from the decreased payouts.
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Hurricanes Force Insurance Rates Higher Across the Country March 29, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, real estate , add a comment“The hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast last summer are beginning to wreak havoc with homeowners’ insurance coverage in states far removed from where the storms hit,” according to this report. In addition, major insurers are cancelling policies and not writing new ones in the gulf states and along the eastern U.S. as far north as Massachusetts.
Allstate, the nation’s second biggest home insurer, for example, has already raised premiums in New York by 8.5 percent and is attempting to do the same in a “majority” of the states in which it does business.
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