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Cincinnati Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CINF)
Q2 2008 Earnings Call
August 6, 2008 11:00 am ET
Heather Wietzel - IR Officer
Jack Schiff, Jr. - Chairman
Ken Stecher - President and CEO
Steve Johnston - CFO
Marty Hollenbeck - SVP of Investments
J. F. Scherer - EVP of Sales & Marketing
Marty Mullen - Chief Claims Officer
Jim Benoski - Vice Chairman
Paul Newsome - Sandler O'Neill
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
Beth Malone - KeyBanc
Scott Heleniak - RBC Capital Markets
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Good morning. My name is April and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Cincinnati Financial second quarter 2008 conference call. (Operator Instructions)
Ms. Wietzel, you may begin your conference.
Heather Wietzel
Thank you, April. Hello, everyone. This is Heather Wietzel, Cincinnati Financial's Investor Relations Officer. Thank you for joining us today for our second quarter conference call.
This morning we issued the news release on our results along with our 10-Q, supplemental financial package and a listing of the securities we own. If you need copies of any of today's material, please visit www.cinfin.com where all of the information related to the quarter can be found on the Investors page under the Quarterly Results quick link. In particular, some of today's comments will refer to pages and the financial supplement.
On the call, Chairman Jack Schiff, Jr. will introduce President and Chief Executive Officer, Ken Stecher and Chief Financial Officer, Steve Johnston. Ken and Steve will give prepared remarks after which we will open the call for questions.
First, please note that some of the matters we discuss today are forward-looking. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. With respect to these risks and uncertainties, we direct your attention to our news release and to our various filings with the SEC.
Also reconciliation of non-GAAP information as required by Regulation G was provided with the release and is available on the Investors page of our website under Financials and Analysis.
Statutory data prepared in accordance with statutory accounting rules is permitted by the states of Ohio and Delaware, including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' accounting practices and procedures manual, and therefore is not reconciled to GAAP.
So with that, let me turn the call over to Jack.
Jack Schiff, Jr.
Thank you, Heather, and good morning to all of you and thank you for joining us again today. In June, we announced a series of management transitions that will assure the continuity of our company's values, commitments and operations.
These significant changes to the Cincinnati executive team and to the department leadership and reporting put us in good shape now and they also help prepare our next generation of leaders.
Cincinnati has a new President and Chief Executive Officer, a new Chief Financial Officer and several new department heads, but please don't let all of this newness concern you. Your current relationships with the Cincinnati people you know will serve you well.
Jim and I continue to serve as Vice Chairman and Chairman respectively. We remain actively involved, particularly with agency relationships.
Ken Stecher, our new President and Chief Executive Officer, is a 40-year associate and seasoned leader who many of our investors know well. He is a person of integrity, high energy, excellent in his communication and very much a believer in continuing our tradition of being an agent-centered company.
Other leaders with new or expanded responsibilities may be less familiar to you as Jim, Ken and me but they are longtime associates. We are blessed that we can make transitions in a normal course that give us opportunities to place proven leaders where we believe their individual talents may produce the most benefit.
We do have one new face today at the table. Steve Johnston is Chief Financial Officer and started his career with Cincinnati Financial about five weeks ago, following extensive experience in actuarial and investment matters, serving as Chief Financial Officer of his former company before joining Cincinnati.
Going forward, Ken and Steve will be doing the major share in our investor conference call. I am comfortable knowing they will be able to provide you with the right information, either from their own resources or with the able support of our Vice Chairman, Jim Benoski; our new Chief Claims Officer, Marty Mullen; our promoted Executive Vice President, J. F. Scherer; and Investments Senior Vice President, Marty Hollenbeck who also are all here in the room to handle your questions.
Let me turn things over to Ken to get the real business for today's call, our second quarter results.
Ken Stecher
Thank you, Jack, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. I want to begin my comments today by acknowledging you have seen a pretty steady flow of information from us over the past month or so.
Today's detailed release almost seems anti-climatic with all the information that is already out there. But we have some topics we want to revisit today to give you some additional insight. We also want to stress that as we anticipated, we returned to profitability in the second quarter.
The first quarter net loss largely reflected non-cash other than temporary impairment charges, which continued, but at a lower level in the second quarter.
In the second quarter, we saw a slower rate of decline in premiums but higher catastrophe losses. Final investment results were right on with previous comments.
I am going to briefly comment on the news we have announced in recent weeks on our view of our investment strategy as well as our financial strength ratings. I will also talk about the property casualty markets always a topic of interest. After my remarks, I will turn the call over to Steve to cover details of the insurance results and our up-to-date perspective on our full year outlook.
Jack mentioned how pleased we are to be able to make executive transitions in normal course. We also have in process some updates to our retirement and health plan benefits that have been in the works for quite some time.
We are working to assure that Cincinnati has the next generation of leaders and associates ready to move into place. Good people have always been and will continue to be the source of our strength. We planned and are making an orderly implementation of those changes.
At the same time, events that were not fully under our control caused other less orderly changes. The property casualty industry saw record catastrophe losses during the second quarter, while economic and credit concerns caused continued disruptions in the stock market at large and in our portfolio.
We reacted to these two different sets of events in proven fashion even though the extent of these specific events was not predicted.
Reacting to the catastrophes, as we have for more than 50 years, we supplemented the work of local claims representatives with volunteers from around the country to respond to policyholders affected by weather.
We received about 3500 claims through July 31st from second quarter catastrophes. We have already closed approximately 70% of those claims. Agents tell us that this prompt and personal claims service is a source of new business referrals.
Reacting to the financial markets, we continued to lower our exposure to companies that reduced or eliminated their dividend. This also served to continue to address our concentration in the hard hit financial services sector.
We are acting to help protect our capital and future investment income. We carefully studied our options after Fifth Third's announcement of its dividend reduction, and at our first opportunity, we chose to sell more than half of our position.
Earlier in the quarter, we had completed our sale of our Wachovia and Huntington holdings and taken some gains from our excellent position along with other smaller changes in the portfolio.
Our intent is to systematically reinvest the $360 million net proceeds of the Fifth Third sale and other cash flow to achieve our long-standing portfolio objectives of balancing near-term income generation and the potential for long-term book value growth.
As we balance those objectives, it will likely take a few quarters to return to our track record of raising investment income every year.
You saw in today's release the impact of dividend reductions on investment income in the first half of 2008, and we have adjusted our full year expectations accordingly.
We believe the actions we have taken are consistent with our view of prudent enterprise risk management. As we have indicated, our Board and investment department are working to enhance our investment parameters so that we more closely align our investment strategy with specific risk tolerances. The objective is to improve our ability to identify and respond to changing conditions.
For example, these new parameters address security and sector concentrations and could lead to actions, such as rebalancing the portfolio by trimming or selling off positions. In the wake of our announcement of catastrophes and reduced dividend income, but before the sale of our Fifth Third shares, the four agencies that rate our financial strength placed our ratings under some type of watch or review.
Fitch and Standard & Poor's followed up by removing their watches and lowering the ratings, moving our insurance operating subsidiaries down one notch for insured financial strength.
Both agencies chose to move the holding company's credit rating down two notches giving us a more standard notching profile than we had previously enjoyed.
In my view, we have taken steps to stabilize our capital and surplus and we will continue to meet the quantitative or financial measurement based criteria for our current ratings or possibly ratings one notch above our current level.
I am less certain about the qualitative or subjective criteria that rating agencies apply as part of their formula for determining ratings.
Like all of us, they see what's going on in the economy and the stock market. They also draw their own conclusions about each rated company, assessing the full spectrum of operations and financial strength.
Even if our quantitative measures are within their range for the rating we want, they can see trends or movements that make them nervous. We continue to be highly responsive to rating agency information requests and to put policyholder safety first, maintaining reserves ahead of claims and covering our liabilities with a large, highly-rated and diversified bond portfolio.
On that note, let me turn briefly to today's highly competitive insurance market and how it is affecting our results. The slower rate of decline in the quarter's net written premiums reflected healthy new business activity as well as the benefits of our strong agency relationships and policyholder retention.
We feel our current pace for new and renewal business is consistent with our agents' practice of selecting and retaining accounts with manageable risk characteristics that support the lower prevailing prices.
A number of factors contributed to the 22.8% new business growth, including new agency appointments and our excess and surplus lines activities. We continue to make case-by-case decisions not to write or renew certain business.
In this environment, we have been careful to stay within our underwriting guidelines. J.F. will be available to respond to questions with more specifics on pricing.
We remain committed to our local independent agents and to maximizing their advantages. We are working on specific ways to reach new geographies, to provide agents with products to meet the changing needs of their customers, and then put in place systems that will increase the efficiency and ease with which they do business with Cincinnati.
As you may have seen, we have announced plans to enter Texas, our 35th state of operation, by the end of this year. Texas is home to four of the 10 fastest growing metro markets in the country.
We will enter with an eye to managing risk, but see the state offering exciting growth potential. We absolutely have the capital to support those efforts and we have the capital to write the business, our agencies bring to us, which bodes well for our ability to come out of the soft market, prepared to grow profitably.
I will add that our excess and surplus lines business continues to meet our expectations with the rollout to our agencies proceeding.
Not only are we writing non-standard business for our agents' customers, we are getting additional at-bats for accounts that require both standard and non-standard coverage.
Our agency value in presenting their customers with a solution that offers them the complete package, including coverages backed by our company's records of financial strength and superior claims service.
Turning to personal lines, we think some recent initiatives will continue to make a contribution in the second half and our new pricing structure in many states will further improve our competitive posture.
For example, we are making new agency appointments and expanding geographically by adding personal lines in areas where our agents previously represented Cincinnati for commercial lines only.
As we expand, we are sending underwriters to the field to train agencies and give them a quick start on our products and systems. As we take our personal lines policy processing system into these new areas, we have opportunities to gain benefits of scale and spread our risk, assuring our ability to offer our agents a competitive, stable personal lines market. We believe we are on the right path. In the second quarter, recently appointed agencies were a big source of personal lines new business.
During the third quarter, we were implementing more pricing points, fine tuning our rates for each risk to produce very competitive premiums for our agents' higher quality accounts. All of these actions move us closer to achieving the benefits of scale that will help us assure our agents access to a competitive, stable personal lines market.
For both commercial lines and personal lines, the biggest effect on the quarter's profitability was the catastrophe losses, but pricing and reserve changes were also factors.
Steve is going to talk about how the pieces fit together in the first half of this year and how they may play out for the remainder of 2008.
I will turn the call over with the aside that Steve has been in Cincinnati for about five weeks. I am pretty sure I speak for the rest of us when I say that he has fit in as if he has been a part of our team for years. Steve?
Steve Johnston
Thank you, Ken, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. I am looking forward to becoming reacquainted with many of you in the investing community.
As Ken said, I am going to cover the details of the insurance results and review our thinking on the full year outlook.
Before I dive into the numbers, I want to briefly share how fortunate I feel to be with Cincinnati. This is a quality company that I have studied from afar for a number of years.
Being on Board with this team, my goal is to continue the work Ken has done to make our results and financial condition transparent to you and to manage the company's financial and accounting decisions with the same high integrity.
Turning to the property casualty results, I am going to refer to some data that you can find in our financial supplement, which is available to all on our website www.cinfin.com in the Investor section.
Second quarter net written premiums declined by 2.5%, narrowing the six months decline to 5.4%. Although we continue to experience a competitive market, we are maintaining our focus on underwriting discipline.
The $14 million rise in new business for the first half, included just under $4 million in premiums from our new excess and surplus lines company in just its first six months of operation.
In addition, the 36 agencies appointed this year already contributed $2 million in new commercial lines business and agencies that initiated or expanded their use of Cincinnati's personal lines in the past 18 months were big contributors to new personal lines business.
Moving from growth to profitability, in the second quarter the consolidated property and casualty combined ratio increased 14.9 percentage points from the 2007 second quarter, largely because of the 13.5 point rise in the contribution from the atypical level of catastrophe losses.
Let's look at commercial lines and personal lines separately to give some insight into our analysis.
For commercial lines, premiums declined due to market competition. We saw a 14.7 point rise in the second quarter of 2008 combined ratio primarily because of the higher catastrophe losses. The property intensive business lines bore the brunt of the catastrophe losses, as one would expect.
Briefly, we had some non-cat weather losses also. We saw a handful of losses from events that didn't cause enough industrywide damage to be classified as catastrophes. For example, we had a $4 million loss when the tornado hit a distributor's facilities in North Carolina. There has just been a lot of bad weather across the United States this year.
Moving to the favorable development reserves, the commercial casualty business line contributed the bulk of the favorable development in the quarter. That business line's loss and loss expense ratio was 39.8%, compared with 54.6% in the second quarter of '07.
Savings of $60 million reduced that ratio 31 points for the quarter, compared with $27 million or 12.9 points in last year's second quarter.
The commercial casualty line continued to benefit from an initiative begun in 2001 to use a claims mediation process that promotes earlier liability settlement resolution. The line also benefited from revised expectations for loss expense inflation.
For personal lines, we are reporting a 15.4 point rise in the second quarter 2008 combined ratio, also driven by higher catastrophe losses. Those losses were partially offset by improvements in the loss and loss expense ratio, excluding catastrophe losses and by lower commissions and other underwriting expenses.
The 4.8 percentage points of improvement in the second quarter 2008 loss and loss expense ratio, excluding catastrophe losses, were primarily due to fluctuations in prior period reserve development on a year-over-year basis.
Savings from favorable development of prior period reserves reduced the loss and loss expense ratio by 7.2 points in the second quarter, compared with just 0.3 points in the same 2007 period. That largely reflects savings from the other personal line of business, which includes our personal umbrella coverages.
Before I comment on the outlook, I have a few observations on other aspects of the business.
First, the Cincinnati Life Insurance Company contributed $0.06 to second quarter operating income, compared with $0.05 last year. This steady flow of dollars to the bottom line helps offset the ups and downs of the property casualty market.
Second, we repurchased just over 800,000 shares in the second quarter, bringing the year-to-date repurchase total to approximately 3.8 million shares, making 2008 already our third-highest year since we began the program in 1996.
The investment department generally makes repurchases when we believe the open market stock price is favorable. However, our activity may be limited in the second half as we balance repurchases with capital preservation.
Finally, to summarize the outlook, as Ken mentioned, our investment team has adjusted its outlook for income growth. For full year 2008, they believe investment income could be 90% or more of the $608 million we reported for 2007. For 2009, they expect the first quarter comparison will be negative, but believe that we will start to see year-over-year growth in the second or third quarter.
On the insurance side, we continue to believe our full year net written premiums could decline as much as 5% if current commercial lines pricing trends continue. We believe that is a satisfactory comparison in light of industry reports.
It shows that we are using prudent underwriting, but continuing to look for appropriate growth opportunities, such as new agencies, new geographies and our new excess and surplus lines operation.
We believe our GAAP combined ratio may be above 100% for the full year. As we have noted, our target relies on three assumptions.
First, the savings from favorable reserve development reduces the ratio by approximately 4 percentage points.
Second, we expect the current accident year loss ratio to be under further pressure.
Finally, and here is the change we announced in June, our target now assumes that the catastrophe loss ratio could add as much as 9 percentage point to the ratio.
Our case-by-case underwriting approach supported by field underwriters, loss control associates and our claims team helps us retain quality accounts and places us in a position to benefit when the market changes. We have been successful in recent soft market cycles, outperforming the industry with lower combined ratios. With adequate revenues and a strong capital position, we believe we are prepared for the future. Ken?
Ken Stecher
Thank you, Steve, for those details. Before we open for questions, let me reiterate that I welcome the opportunity to lead a company with many distinct advantages in the marketplace. I welcome the challenge to continually demonstrate the value of those advantages.
Cincinnati's unique agent-centered mission, philosophies, and proven strategies have benefited many people from policyholders and claimants to agents, associates and shareholders. They will never go out of style. We will be applying those strategies as external conditions evolve whether that means competition or weather or economic and insurance cycles.
We are moving ahead with a variety of initiatives that range from our entry into Texas to our entry into excess and surplus lines. They include our emphasis on expanding personal lines products and technology into more of our commercial lines agencies and states to achieve the economics and the diversification needed for long-term success.
With the support of our local independent agents, our focus will be on achieving two goals.
On the financial side, we will be working to establish policies to preserve our capital stability.
On the insurance side, our priority will be to increase ease of doing business for our agencies, both by advancing our technology and by leveraging our local presence and decision-making in the agents' communities.
I consider those as my personal commitments. I firmly believe that we can serve Cincinnati's strength and change what needs to be changed to create value for shareholders over the long term.
We are confident in the continued contribution of our solid insurance operations to our earnings and our ability to sustain a strong capital position and on our Board's intention to reward shareholders with cash dividends that rise year-after-year.
From my perspective, our capital position and cash flow continue to support our current cash dividend payout and should provide our Board the flexibility to consider future dividend increases for our shareholders.
With that, we are about ready to open for questions.
Let me remind everyone that we have quite a group here to field your questions. Jack, Steve and I are joined by J. F. Scherer, Marty Hollenbeck, Steve Johnston, and Jim Benoski as well as Marty Mullen, a 30-year Cincinnati veteran who was recently named our Chief Claims Officer.
So, April, let's go ahead with questions.
Question-and-Answer Session
Your first question comes from the line of Paul Newsome with Sandler O'Neill.
Paul Newsome - Sandler O'Neill
Good morning. Thanks for the call. I was hoping you could give us just a little bit more color on the Fifth Third sale, in particular. You mentioned it was the first available opportunity. Could you talk about why the sale happened immediately, versus say a thought of holding on until better times come for the financial markets and how you were thinking about that?
Ken Stecher
Well, Paul, I will start and then I will let Marty follow up. Since we were a 10% shareholder, when they were in blackout, we were also in blackout. So which meant that once they decreased their dividend, the blackout existed until the point in time where they released earnings. So that was the timing there.
I think the standpoint of the sale instead of waiting for a recovery, when you look at the enterprise risk management process, and when you look at the size of that position to our overall portfolio and everyone knows how large a position that was relative to our capital base and the real uncertainties in the market. I felt that preservation of capital was a very key thing that we had to address at that point in time.
We saw other bank stocks and you have seen those also, that they did one dividend cut, some of them subsequently followed with a second dividend cut. We're uncertain as to where their dividends might go. Hopefully, it's not going to be changed from the current level, until it starts to reverse and rise again.
But I felt from the capital preservation point of view, I didn't want to take the risk of going down into the single digits. We still have a large position that we still retain, so we will enjoy quite a bit of the upside. So that is my perspective and I will let Marty add any color to that that he would like.
Marty Hollenbeck
I think, Paul, Ken pretty much covered it all right there. I mean it was a risk assessment analysis on our part. The credit crunch, if you will, is still far from over. It is still playing out. So, we were just analyzing the further downside risk and determined that the 32 million plus shares that we were going to hang onto were adequate to participate in that upside, that recovery that we hope ensued.
Paul Newsome - Sandler O'Neill
Did the rating agencies have much of a role if any?
Ken Stecher
It really was driven by enterprise risk management. We have to say that in any time when they are going through their analysis, concentrations of investments are always one of the things they take into account. But this was mainly driven by our enterprise risk management process.
Paul Newsome - Sandler O'Neill
Great, thank you. And I will let some other folks get their questions in.
Your next question comes from the line of Michael Phillips with Stifel Nicolaus.
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
First off, welcome back Steve. It's good to hear your voice again.
Steve Johnston
It's good to be back, Michael.
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
Couple of questions. One, you mentioned in the press release and obviously your new business growth, a lot of that comes from the agency appointments, but you also mentioned the book rolls initiatives in that regard. Can you talk about how big that is for your new business in terms of numbers maybe? And then, how much of a priority do you place on that versus just individual account-by-account business?
J. F. Scherer
Michael, this is J.F. Just to give you a little idea, right now. We will be even with book rollovers underwriting on a risk-by-risk basis. We discuss with our agencies the advantages they might have in reducing the number of carriers they have. Obviously, we try to convince them that for the long term what we can do for them measures up.
We have about $38 million in books of business, if you will, of about a 150 separate books that we are analyzing right now. We won't roll all of that to the Cincinnati Insurance Company, but our agencies have indicated in all those cases that we can take a look at it and that those would be eligible in their agencies for phasing out a carrier.
So, I think we've really never talked a lot about book rollovers as a company, because we don't take the approach that we want to take everything in a book. We think that's dangerous. We think we can step up on the very good accounts. Our excess and surplus lines company gives us much more flexibility on those accounts, but we don't think qualify for Cincinnati Insurance Company, but that has played a nice part this year in some of the increase in new business.
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
I guess a follow-up on that. With the current market conditions and agents under pressure to grow their revenue, are they looking to do more book rolls to help their expenses? Are they looking to appoint more and more companies to help possibly grow the top line that way, which of those wins out for agency do you think?
J. F. Scherer
Well, in very good agencies that granted everyone is under pressure from a revenue standpoint. But having to split up the pie in an agency among ever more increasing carriers is not something even in a tough time that an agency wants to do. They want a lineup of carriers that are reliable year in and year out and do reflect the strengths of the agency.
We do see in certain states, obviously, they are just as we are going to go into Texas, we see certain carriers coming into states where we are already active and they because they will be drawn to the better agencies, will be going into the agencies that represent our company.
It's always a balance. Certainly if an agency has a group of already very viable carriers, the last thing they want to do is dilute the relationships with those good carriers. So it's a balance. And just as we balance the numbers of agencies, we appoint in a certain state, so too will agencies balance the number of carriers they are going to have.
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
Okay, thanks. And last question. Steve, I think you mentioned on the reserve development a good chunk of that in commercial lines came from commercial casualty. I think you said you haven't revised expectation for loss inflation. That kind of got choppy that when you were saying at least on my end. Can you explain what you were talking about there?
Steve Johnston
Michael, when we look at the reserves, the various assumptions that we put into our actuarial analysis, one of them is the inflation assumption. As we look back at how the actual numbers have been developing relative to what we've had built in as an inflation assumption, we just think this is the time to revise them down a little bit.
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
No, kind of numbers around what the numbers are that you are looking at there with inflation?
Steve Johnston
No, I don't have those with me. They are blended in with a number of other assumptions.
Michael Phillips - Stifel Nicolaus
Okay, thanks very much.
Your next question comes from the line of Beth Malone with KeyBanc.
Beth Malone - KeyBanc
Thank you. Good afternoon. I just had a couple of questions here. One is on the risk management that you apply to make a decision to sell the Fifth Third. Is that a different or does that constantly get recalibrated or is it a different? Did you change the way you look at that?
Ken Stecher
Beth, this is Ken. Basically enterprise risk management process is something that has been developing for the last few years. And so, I think it's something that all carriers and all companies are looking at just looking at the broad risks that they have across their organization.
And when we started to look at that, and we started to look at the size of that investment in our portfolio, along with the other financial stocks, it started to point out that there was just a little bit of an oversized position. So, it really has been something that has been developing from the last few years.
As we mentioned in some of our other comments, we are also in the process too of just revising our investment policy and that is going to put some parameters in place that would help us manage these investments as we go forward. If we have a stock that is a winner like Fifth Third in the future that bring us to looking at that at an earlier point in time as to the size and the outlook and things like that. So it's something that's been evolving for a few years.
Beth Malone - KeyBanc
Okay. And on the E&S book, the new E&S book, is that developing or what is your experience on that so far? Is it developing as you would have anticipated, do you have more than you expected demand for it?
Ken Stecher
From my perspective, I think it's going along very well. And I know J.F. can add color to that. I think any time you start up a new organization like that, and many of our agencies write the excess and surplus lines, but we want to make sure that we have adequate underwriting in place. We want to make sure our technology is in place. And we want to make sure that we understand the risks that are in that market. So I think it's going along very well, but I would like J.F. to add some comment to that.
J. F. Scherer
Beth, we started out slow in January where we actually only had a few agencies to make sure our systems were in place to write the business that we wanted to. We started off with five states, then another five states in Phase II that were live by the end of May. So we're not trying to explode on the scene with excess and surplus lines, but I think it is fair to say that our agencies have embraced it.
Our hit ratio right now is around 40% of the submissions that we are getting. We've written through six months. We wrote $3.7 million in business in our excess and surplus lines, but the attractive consequence as well is that we calculate we wrote about $2.5 million in new business in Cincinnati Insurance Company on the non-E&S lines within those accounts. So, we are very happy with the progress we are making.
We're rolling out property in addition to the casualty as the year goes on in these states. We will be active in 33 of the 34 states, with Delaware being our state of domicile. So, therefore, we are an admitted company there. We will be active in the 33 states by the end of the year. And our agencies once again are giving us a lot of opportunity. So it is very positive from our viewpoint.
Beth Malone - KeyBanc
Okay. And then, one last question. On your communications with your agents, I know that is one of your strengths, your agency force. A number of those agents also own Cincinnati Financial stock because they've been with you for a while now. I just wonder, have you changed your communications with the agents or are you just doing just the same thing you always have done? And what kind of feedback have you gotten from the agents to-date on the market conditions in Cincinnati stock?
Ken Stecher
I think they understand that we are under more pressure because of the financial sector, in general. And they understand that the investment policy that we have followed for many years has resulted in a little bit of a drop in our book value. I think one of the things that we did here just recently with my announcement was we sent out a letter to all the agents, just reinforcing the fact like I had in my comments what our main focuses are.
The agents are going to remain our customers. We are going to stay much focused on providing service to them. The relationships are key, and we are not going to change any of the key metrics that have gotten us to where we are today, if anything we want to continue on that same path and improve in areas where we can.
I think getting back to stock prices briefly; they understand the volatility of the markets. They understand the solid balance sheet that we have. And I think they are like all the other investors. They are looking long term, and we believe we are in fine shape to go forward.
Beth Malone - KeyBanc
Okay. And just one last question on that on the rating changes from the rating agencies. Do you see that as having any impact on your ability to write the business you normally write?
Ken Stecher
I think, Beth, from my point of view and J.F. may have some additional comments. But right now we are in the top 2% with our A.M. Best rating. And the A+ if they would review us at a later date that would still be in the top 10% of the companies with those ratings. So I think that would put us in a very strong position to continue to operate the same way we do currently with our agents.
J. F. Scherer
Beth, this is J.F. No question, we like the A++ rating, so do our agents. In the short term, obviously there has been a little conversation out in the field, other carriers commenting on Cincinnati. But we recently had our agents meeting where about 380 couples attended and we talked with them.
We see no dilution in their enthusiasm or confidence in the Cincinnati Insurance Company. We've seen evidence, since the announcements in late June, of very substantial prestigious marquee accounts that could be very sensitive to financial ratings placed with the Cincinnati Insurance Company, additional book rolls. So, these agencies have done business with us in many cases for years.
They have tremendous confidence in us. I guess to comment on the communication, we view the marketplace obviously as a competitive one. We have 108 territories. We think we communicate very well to all of our field associates with our agencies. Our agents are kept up to speed and know exactly what is going on with our company.
And we are trying to leverage the 18 years experience as insurance professionals that our field underwriters have to navigate through a very competitive marketplace. So it's tough out there for everyone. We are in the same boat as everyone else from that standpoint, but we are very pleased with our results.
Steve Johnston
Beth, this is Steve. I might just add that in our current position, if you look at it on a statutory basis that the insurance companies, our premium surplus ratio still less than 0.9 to 1, I think we annualized it around 0.85 to 1. We have a very strong and diversified high quality bond portfolio that is sufficient to cover our liabilities.
I guess a third point, probably all of us were with a large number of our agents at the Presidents Club and I think it was comforting to hear from them a commitment. They did not seem to be concerned about the rating agency talk at the time. So I don't think it is an issue.
Beth Malone - KeyBanc
Okay, thank you.
Your next question comes from the line of [Scott Heleniak] with RBC Capital Markets.
Scott Heleniak - RBC Capital Markets
Just want to start off with a question on the three-year policies. You guys still marketing these policies as actively as you had been past couple of quarters. And what is your plan to market those as the soft market gets a little bit deeper, how are you thinking about that?
J. F. Scherer
Scott, I guess, I would answer that by saying we are marketing it as we have since 1951. About 90% of our accounts have a three-year policy feature to them. We don't time our use of the three-year policy. Year-in and year-out that three year policy creates I think a consistency and persistency in our book of business that our agencies are drawn to, their policyholders are drawn to. So we have neither increased nor decreased our approach in that area.
Scott Heleniak - RBC Capital Markets
Okay. And then you talked in your comments about marketing more successfully to personal lines agencies. Just wondering if you could talk about how you think you have had that success? Is it technology or pricing or how you think you've been able to penetrate more personal lines within the agencies?
J. F. Scherer
First and foremost would be technology. The introduction of our Diamond System throughout all states has been key to our ability to open up some new states and to add agencies. So I think our agencies are getting more and more comfortable with the system.
Agencies that up to this point had chosen not to do business with us because of the absence of technology or direct billing are embracing it as well. Further, on the pricing side, we fine tuned our pricing in a variety of areas. We've talked previously on calls where when we increased rates over the past several years in some areas we overshot the mark and that depressed our new business writings.
We fine tuned those. We are in the process right now of introducing nine additional tiering levels in our pricing schemes. And so, I think we will be in a much better position to more accurately target business for our agencies. So we are actively recruiting more and more agencies.
We anticipated that we would add 90 new personal lines agencies this year, the lion share of which was in commercial lines agencies for us historically that now we will be writing personal lines. We will meet that goal and we've got another 40 or 50 that we think we can add to that shortly after the first two year as well.
Scott Heleniak - RBC Capital Markets
Okay. And then, one last question. You mentioned in the press release some of the higher loss trends in workers' comp, executive risk. It sounds like a severity issue. I wondered if you could talk about that a little more detail about some of the claims that are coming in?
Ken Stecher
Sure, our analysis indicated that there were about $38 million increase in large commercial lines losses. Case reserves reflected normal fluctuations in loss patterns, had normal variability in our large loss case reserves for our workers' comp claims. We did have several unusual large losses related to the non-catastrophe weather, as I mentioned in the set comments.
And then we did have a higher number of executive risk losses between $250,000 and $1 million. I don't think from what I saw that it was anything that would be the start of a trend. It seemed to be a one-off thing. We did have as I had mentioned some larger claims with some adverse development.
But if you look at in total including IBNR, including everything, we had quite favorable development. So you are right to point those out and I think we take it seriously as we look at our underwriting. We are a good underwriting company and good underwriting companies are always thoroughly looking at their books and their trends and their losses and we are going to continue to do that.
I think its part of being on a good team around here. Our company knows Marty Mullen. I think over his 30 years here at Cincinnati, he's probably remembers more than I know about the claims around here, so I might ask Marty, do you have any insight on that?
Marty Mullen
No, thanks, Steve, that pretty much covers the synopsis of the losses during the second quarter. And your particular question concerning more comp losses, we did see one particular area between $500,000 to $1 million in new claims, a little unusual number in that second quarter than usual which contributed somewhat to that increase. But other than that, it was a normal trend.
Scott Heleniak - RBC Capital Markets
Okay. All right. Thanks.
(Operator Instructions). Your next question comes from the line of Dan Schlemmer with FPK.
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Hi, good morning. Guess a lot of changes in this quarter. So I will start off with congratulations to Jim and the other various promotions and also welcome, Steve. Glad to have you with us.
Steve Johnston
Glad to be here.
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Ken, I am following up on Beth asking about the ratings, specifically on the A.M. Best. I think Cincinnati is still under review. Is there a specific timing on that or is that open-ended? I don't know if there is any other info you can give us just as far as what to expect in terms of timing? Is an A+ pretty much a worst-case scenario or do you even have any info from them on that?
Ken Stecher
Dan, we really don't have any info. I think right now the timing is open-ended. We continue to have discussions with them. We believe when we do go through their analysis from a quantitative point of view. We believe that the A++ rating would still be warranted, but I think there is still an open-ended timeframe there. I do believe that if there was some kind of action taken, I think the A+ would be the worst-case scenario.
I can't see with our BCAR rating that it would be any lower than that. But, I also believe that we do have the criteria that they look for to maintain the current rating that we have. I think it is the strong financial strength, the good reserving philosophy that we have.
We do have a good niche in the marketplace and we are a very strong company in the space that we write in. So those are the things I believe they look for. So I think we are in a good position, but obviously there still is some uncertainty because we still are under review.
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Great, thank you. Separately, we talked last quarter I think it was J.F. commented on just specifically looking at the construction business. I think the comment is that was ballpark 40% or 50% of the premiums in GL and workers' comp.
Can you give us an update on that market and just what you are seeing first of all in terms of business, obviously with the current state of the housing market etcetera that has got to be tough? Specifically, I'm assuming that business is just disappearing, right. There is less work being done. But, is that increasing the pricing pressure within that segment within that niche?
J. F. Scherer
I think disappearing is a little strong. The percentages we talked about is 41% of our GL liability premiums would have a ISO general liability code related to construction and then 48% on workers' comp. So that is the balance in our book of business. No question, it is down substantially.
And as far as pricing is concerned, our payrolls in the sales and the residential construction, it is still under a lot of pressure, modestly so on the commercial construction side. However, we still insure some good contractors and good contractors still continue to work.
So, it is under pressure for us. Some of the states in which we would have a pretty high level of construction business, New York comes to mind. We've seen some declines in overall premiums that are around 10%, so falling off the table, nothing like that so strong but it is having its effect.
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
And last question on the cat losses, I think the comment was 70% of the claims have been resolved at this point. So, I guess what level of uncertainty is still associated with the last 30% of claims? I don't know if you have a dollar value associated with those reserves, and there if you can make any comments on a range for just the cat specific reserves?
Steve Johnston
Dan, are you asking how much IBNR we might have left on those events, is that what you are asking?
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Well, I guess, yes. How much IBNR, and then what is the level of uncertainty just with 70% of the claims resolved, what about the other 30%?
Marty Mullen
Dan, this is Marty Mullen. Thanks for the question. Fortunately, we were able to implement our storm team for those affected areas and I think it's safe to say they've done an excellent job in closing and resolving the majority of those cases to the point that all of those teams have been recalled.
So the remaining claims are being handled by the local claim representative to finish off the final payments on those claims. So I believe that is really indicative of the severity issue related to those storms is pretty much intact.
As far as the total amount incurred for those storms, it's approximately $77 million incurred for all 10 of those storms. So I feel like we have a good handle on the average claim and reserve per file and the exposure related to such and that the open pending files are well in hand.
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Would it be fair to say then that given that your comments there that those claims are no more uncertain or no more risky of blowing up or anything like that than just the normal claims, that you are in a normal claims paying mode on those losses?
Marty Mullen
No, it's correct. That would be correct. At this point in time, the majority of those cases although they are open have probably been inspected and evaluated to some degree.
Jim Benoski
Let me add something to that, Dan. This is Jim Benoski. The incurred that Marty mentioned of $77 million plus is actually paid loss and case reserve. In addition to that, we've got $44 million in IBNR. So, we think we have adequate reserves on case, but we still have $44 million in IBNR out there in case something does happen that we've got a fallback.
Dan Schlemmer - FPK
Very helpful. Thank you.
At this time, there are no further questions. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Stecher. Please go ahead.
Ken Stecher
April, thank you and thanks everyone for joining us today. We appreciate your interest in Cincinnati Financial and look forward to tracking our progress for you throughout the remainder of 2008. Thanks and have a great day.
This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.
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The fuel pump may fail causing the engine to stall and not restart. Our technicians recommend replacing the fuel filter every 30,000 miles to help prevent undue strain on the fuel pump.
Problem Description and Possible Solution
Problem Data
RepairPal Verified
Average mileage: 178,500 (120,000–237,000)
Engine affected: 5.7L V8
11 people reported this problem

subset: commoncrawl


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Time Schedule:
Lauren S. Berliner
Bothell Campus
Emphasizes the skills of critical media analysis and creative media production. Addresses media representations and the importance of media in structuring contemporary society.
Class description
This class is an introduction to the skills of critical media analysis and informed media production. Students will explore key theories of media production and consumption and apply these theories to the task of reflecting critically on media representations and the roles that media play in shaping our contemporary society. These analytical skills provide the theoretical foundation for students who wish to enhance their critical approach to media production, perhaps in the pursuit of becoming conscientious media professionals and/or more informed media consumers. Through lectures, discussions and hands-on projects, students will examine the politics of representation, practices of production, and the institutional, cultural, and regulatory conditions that shape how media is produced and consumed.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading


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Take a ride on the Delta River Boats at Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.
Shake off a long day with a pint of Guinness in an authentic pub atmosphere at Findley's Irish Pub inside the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center boasts 2,881 guest rooms, more than 600,000 square feet of meeting space, and 15 restaurants.
Keith Urban was inducted to the Grand Ole Opry on April 12, 2012.
J. Crew, Tommy Bahama, Calvin Klein, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, and Polo Ralph Lauren are just some of the amazing shopping found at Opry Mills Mall.
The Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills Mall is a wild place to shop and eat!
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World offers the most comprehensive selection of Fishing, Hunting, Camping, Boating, Golf and Outdoor Gear, that you will find anywhere under one roof, and conveniently located at Opry Mills Mall.
The Grand Ole Opry plays to a packed audience every week in Music City.
Gaylord Opryland has it all - 2,884 guestrooms, a plethora of dining options, full-service spa, salon and fitness center featuring indoor and outdoor pools, unique shopping experiences, and live entertainment.
The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center boasts more than 9 acres of indoor gardens
Music City hosts concerts of every size, from street corners to small listening rooms to large capacity concert halls - and everything in between.
The Grand Ole Opry is the longest-running radio show, turning out amazing live musical shows every week from Music City.
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center boasts more than 2,880 guest rooms, more than 600,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants, shopping, and more.


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The Spire Point - Recoil Proof (SP-RP)bullet is Hornady's InterLock Spire Point bullet with the unique ring that ensures the core and jacket remain locked together during expansion. The InterLock retains more mass, energy and momentum after impact and transfers that energy to the target. The exposed lead tip is flush with the jacket. The fact that it's Recoil Proof helps large calibers and also assists with premature mushrooming. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.
Technical Information
Ballistics Information:


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Twitter: Mets Fans React To The Terry Collins HireNovember 22, 2010
In the video below I put together a mixed bag of tweets from Mets fans initial reaction to the Terry Collins hire. Also, check out The Apple for a little comedy reaction by Mets fans.
7 Responses to Twitter: Mets Fans React To The Terry Collins Hire
I wonder how long it will take for collins to bruise Jose Reyes's ego. For not running out a popup or flubbing a groundball. I can also see Carlos Beltran having issues with not sliding or breaking up a double play. But who will Carlos sing "Ding dong the Witch is dead with" when collins is fired for losing a 4th team? collins can't help being the person he is just like Larry Bowa. I wonder how little Alderson will get for a broken Reyes? if anybody will take Beltran when he don't want to play for collins?
Joe your name is perfect…Who you going to replace Jose Reyes with. When healthy and he was for 4 years running, he is the BEST leadoff man in baseball and when he scores, the METS "WIN" 72% of the time. The guy got hurt and it took along time to heal..Imagine how long it would take genius like you to heal compared to the shape he's in..
If there is one area you'd like to see Reyes improve his game in, what would it be? For me I think I'd like to see him steal more bases.
For not running out a popup or flubbing a groundball? Sounds like David Wright to me. Except for that bad spell in September in 2007 in which I don't know what happened w/Reyes, you never see him not hustle.
Can't be bothered to watch, there's an ad on this
You fail, my time is too valuable
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
No time to watch commercial, but time to post a comment…Interesting.


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I am an author, programmer, architect, development manager, and advocate of a human-centric workplace. I like to help companies create software that makes a difference. I have enjoyed working on software for zero-day threat detection to protect people from malicious files, healthcare decision support software to help medical professionals deliver consistently high-quality care to patients, and contact centre software intended to improve the customer experience and improve working conditions for call handlers.
I have written books on software test automation, software development methods, and the TypeScript programming language. I enjoy combining my interests in programming, the entire software development pipeline, and psychology.


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Have Relationship Questions? Ask a Counselor for Answers ASAP
Well, do you really think this is a normal bedside manner? My friends don't. I do like him as a doctor and I am curious now, perhaps something is going on in his relationship. He has not asked me for a date. I'm not sure if he cheats on his wife either. I certainly wouldn't do anything out of line. If he were single, I would ask him to coffee maybe, but then I thought patients and doctors aren't supposed to do that? I think he being married is holding him back. Just wondering if you think part of him could be indeed interested in me. But if he is being a tease, I don't appreciate it. I guess I just wonder what an outsider thinks of this situation? It has been bothering me for a while now.
Does this have to be posted on line or is it just in my personal email? Just wondering before I accept.
Thanks, XXXXX XXXXX appreciate your opinion. It made me feel better. I guess what ever will be, will be. I will accept answer and definitely proceed with caution!


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A legal battle is escalating over the push by militant unions to require that contractors and labour-hire workers get the same pay and condition as permanent employees.
Unions are pushing "job security" clauses during bargaining over thousands of agreements in transport, construction and electrical contracting that prevent employers engaging outside labour at cheaper rates.
But the Australian Industry Group aims to overturn an in-principle deal that is earmarked to cover hundreds of Victorian employers and more than 10,000 electricians – setting precedents for other bargaining rounds.
The Ai Group's national industrial relations director,
"We're determined to do everything we can to prevent it,'' Mr Smith said. "The best thing that companies can do is refuse to accept those conditions – it's unwise to accept these pattern deals."
The Ai Group will seek to block the first of the deals negotiated by the ETU, arguing that the terms are unlawful under the Fair Work Act, the Trade Practices Act and the Building Construction Industry Improvement Act.
It will argue that the agreement requires details of contractors and labour-hire companies to be given to the union, which will lead to pressure to negotiate union-endorsed deals or be frozen out of contracts.
It will also argue that a clause requiring employers to promote union membership "to all prospective and current employees" is unlawful.
A hearing has been set down in Fair Work Australia on April 4, but the Ai Group's intervention is unusual because the in-principle deal was agreed between the ETU and another employer group, the National Electrical Contractors Association.
The Victorian secretary of the ETU,
Mr Mighell argued that the Ai Group had taken an "ideological position" on the agreement because it strengthened the right of delegates and unions. He said the challenge was "absurd" and would be opposed strongly.
The case will be followed closely in the Victorian construction industry as it negotiates new agreements with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, which wants to include similar clauses to prevent undercutting of pay and conditions.
The Transport Workers Union has been pushing for owner-drivers and casuals in the trucking and logistics sector to be paid at the same rate as permanent employees.
The TWU has negotiated an in-principle deal covering thousands of employees at leading trucking and logistics operator
The Toll deal and a separate agreement at Linfox deliver annual pay rises of 4 per cent a year plus increased superannuation
"We have got a settlement with TNT, pending the agreement being put to the delegates," TWU national secretary
"There's some issues that need to be fine-tuned."
Comment was not available from TNT but the union said the in-principle deal provided that outside labour would be paid the same rates as direct employees. Mr Sheldon said it provided for pay rises and increased superannuation that was linked to the company's profits and the "capacity to pay".
The TWU has flagged that it will pursue similar claims at Qantas, which it argues has outsourced work to external baggage handling companies with lower pay rates. "They have taken industrial action against their own employees," Mr Sheldon said.
The union's agreements at
The Australian Financial Review


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Join as a member. There's a certificate with your name on it.
Hi I'm new to Drupal and wondering how I would go about translating a variable with jquery. I have a two language site (English and French) and I am using Responsive Menu: https://github.com/mattkersley/Responsive-Menu. This turns my nicemenus (primary navigation) into a select box. But I'd like to translate the text from "Select a Page" so it is correct on the French version.
It is possible to send the text as an option like:
$('#nice-menu-1').mobileMenu(topOptionText ['Select a page']);
Currently I'm current calling the script in an external js file, and haven't every tried to mix php with js. So my though was to override my html.tpl.php and add an IF statement to test for language in the . Is that the best approach? What code would I use to test and how would I set up the language strings in Drupal?


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The eighty-ninth Congress was potentially more fertile ground for the broad range of controversial programs on his dream agenda.
He lived far into the time of a new generation, dying in his eighty-ninth year in 1881.
He died December 4, 1845, in the eighty-ninth year of his age.
Mrs. Lawrence lived well into the nineteenth century, dying in 1845, in her eighty-ninth year.
From the eighty-eighth to the eighty-ninth parallel the ice lay in large fields, the surface was less irregular than formerly.
At ten o'clock next morning, he had an unusual visitor at his flat in West eighty-ninth Street.
A second visit to Spain, however, brought his career to an end in his eighty-ninth year.
Several years ago eighty-ninth Street was about as far uptown as one could secure fair rewards for diligent begging.
The aged widow, now in her eighty-ninth year, still survives, occupying her home in this Colorado town.
Her sister, in her eighty-ninth year, equally unfaded in her great intellectual gifts, still lingers for a while on the scene.


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Deputy district attorney Rusty Sabich finds himself a murder suspect, when his lover his found with her head stoved in by a hammer. In the midst of a sea of internal politics, he finds himself short of friends, and when the case reaches court it is to the flamboyant Sandy Stern to defend him. But, then, is he innocent?
A well-rigged whodunit based on the bestseller by Scott Turrow, that pretends to investigate the various political manipulations that haunt your average district attorney's office (would it even lead to murder?) but is in truth about the wages of sin (that Harrison Ford's sturdy family man Rusty Sabich is doing some extracurricular bonding with Greta Scacchi's fast-tracked legal wannabe).
Ford is a good call as the stern Sabich, his attitude is like his haircut, cut to the temple. His innocence, deliciously, is never fully clear, but as he's played by Ford we can't help but presume him innocent, even if he has wronged his winsomely devoted wife Bonnie Bedelia. His boss, the evidently corrupt Raymond Horgan (played with smarmy leverage by the not-seen-enough Brian Dennehy) could be playing him a deuce, being fully stacked with his own political machinations and sexual indelicacies. The finger is soon pointing in every direction, but it ends up with Sabich in the dock, amid a flurry of fingerprints, sperm samples, carpet fibres and that elusive murder weapon.
The second half is some solid courtroom action, mainly because the great Raul Julia steps centre stage to lead the defense, while Fords gets to pout with internalised anguish, and Paul Winfield's inevitably stony-faced judge presides over the knotty case. Director Alan J. Pakula is a modern master of the broad-shouldered American thriller (he's responsible for All The President's Men, Sophie's Choice and Klute). Here he knows well enough it is well-dressed pulp, so works on the looming camerawork and long shadows, letting his actors push to the borders of melodrama while not allowing them to throw the game. He also does a good job bouncing proceedings back and forth through a myriad of flashbacks and sideshows. The denouement should be murky to all but lucky guessers and Hercule Poirot (indeed, Agatha would adore its crimes of passion disguising themselves as politics) and when it hits it signs off an expertly handled thriller with aplomb.
The adaptation is satisfying neither for those who know Turows book nor to those, unaware of the final twist, who are excited by the propect of a first class produciton of a first class novel.


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Pate de Verre Bowls by Steve Ramsey
Amazing texture and color grace these glass bowls by Savannah College of Art and Design artist Steve Ramsey. The pate de verre process of molding glass allows for the precise placement of lines and colors- in this case yielding wonderfully delicate results.
A vintage, masculine way to decorate the den.Tags: light, glass, library, home decor, wood, metal, den, decorations, AnthropologieAdded 8 Years Ago from Anthropologie
Fish appear to be swimming around the base.Tags: art, fins, glass, bowls, home decor, decorative, house, vases, metal leafAdded 9 Years Ago from Georgebucquet
Mini Buddha's embedded in glass. Cool eh?Tags: art, glass, bowls, home decor, decorative, house, metal leaf, copper, miniaturesAdded 9 Years Ago from Georgebucquet
I spent some of the summer gazing into the briny depths. Sea life is so organic yet alien to me. I think I'd like to get better acquainted with it by hanging a cluster of these gorgeous barnacle storage pods on my wall.Tags: storage, glass, home decor, wall arts, interior decoration, sculptural, fluke collective, barnaclesAdded 9 Years Ago from Flukecollective


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WILLS Carnival Club may not be able to enter a cart in next year's carnival after thieves ransacked its base, ripping out up to £4,000 worth of equipment.
The club has already faced a tough fundraising year as well as looking for a new base, and members were dealt the further blow last week at their current home at Little Sydenham Farm, off Bath Road.
Treasurer Karen Williams said: "We checked on the shed on Monday afternoon to find someone had cut the lock, broken in and stolen every cable in there they could find.
"I think they tore off the cable with bolt cutters.
"They also stole four industrial grinders which we use for dismantling the cart, and cut cables from a welder, so that's also wrecked.
"I'd say we're looking at £3,000 to £4,000 to replace what was taken. It cost us around that to construct our cart this year, not to mention paying insurance costs, so we're gutted."
Karen said the club faces an extra challenge of finding a new base by February as the landlords of its current home are retiring and selling up.
She said: "They've been absolutely amazing and we can't thank them enough for their support, but we need to dismantle the cart to move, and we can't do that without grinders."
It's not the first time carnival clubs were targeted this year – in September the Mercury reported how thieves stole £800 worth of power cable from Centurion CC's cart.
"I'd say someone's definitely targeting carnival clubs," said Karen.
"Whoever did this has no idea of the amount of work we put into making a cart and how much it costs to take part in carnival.
"We may not be able to bring a cart out next year. It'll be such a shame because we've never missed an entry."
A police spokesman said: "The theft occurred between Saturday and Monday lunchtime when entry was gained to a shipping container and several items were taken.
"No arrests have been made and police are appealing for anyone with information to call 101."


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It's King Kong vs. a shark, snake, and cruise liner, all at the same time, in this French movie poster. Via.
And a few more links:
1. A rather sad link - - tax rules for how to claim a kidnapped child as your dependent.
2. Some day, I'd like my yard to look like this. The same artist creates beautiful terrariums.
3. Top Ten Deadbeat Dad Athletes. Number one has eleven kids with ten women.
4. On that last link, I was going to tack on a joke about turning into a swan or a bull, but then I found this from The Onion: "Today's Women Don't Like It When You Come To Them As A Bull Or Swan."
*Previously: McSweeney's list of The Twelve Labors of Gay Hercules.
*Buy King Kong movie posters at eBay.


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Payday Loan Lenders Calgary
Sometimes, we all need some help. If you truly need money and payday is a week or two away, consider obtaining a payday loan. Although their public image is not great, payday advances can be nothing less than salvation for a few cash-strapped borrowers. Keep reading more information information.
Hidden fees are incredibly prevalent while confronting Payday Loan Lenders Calgary. You have no way of knowing what you're charged if you do not ask. Make sure your questions are clear and direct. Some people find out that they owe a lot more than they originally thought after getting a loan. Steer clear of this pitfall by causing sure to read all of the documents and asking all critical questions.
Never be dishonest on the loan application! You may be tempted for one reason or any other, however it is illegal and can get you into trouble.
Consider simply how much you honestly need the money that you're considering borrowing. If it is something which could delay until you have the money to buy, wait. You will likely realize that Payday Loan Lenders Calgary usually are not an affordable option to get a big TV for a football game. Limit your borrowing through these lenders to emergency situations.
Check with the BBB to make certain the payday lender you are considering has a good rating. Check their BBB ratings for almost any complaints before you sign for a payday advance with any business. If you discover any complaints, you then should probably search for another company. If you find none, then it is probably dependable them.
Are you having problems paying your bills? Do you need to get your hands on some money right away, and never having to jump via a lot of hoops? If so, you might like to think about obtaining a payday loan. Before this though, browse the tips on this page.
It is important to make certain you can pay back the credit when it is due. The interest rate of a payday loan is high which could result in significant costs if not paid back promptly.
When looking for a cash payday loan vender, investigate whether or not they are a direct lender or even an indirect lender. Direct lenders are loaning you their very own capitol, whereas an indirect lender is being a middleman. The service is probably similar in results, but an indirect lender needs to get their cut too. This means you pay a greater interest rate.
There are several companies that you can use to get yourself a payday loan. You may be in a situation in which you need money quickly, and think that you don't have plenty of time for this. However, taking one hour out to research a minimum of a dozen options can quickly yield one while using lowest rate. Doing your research first could save you a lot of money and keep from making a choice you'll regret.
Before you sign up for a payday loan, consider the amount of money that you really need. You should borrow only how much cash that will be required by the short term, and you will be able to pay off at the end of the term of the loan.


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The articles by Rogers Brubaker, Genevieve Zubrzycki, and Muhacit Bilici are all about the religious and secular self, and the religious and secular other, and about the relationship between the secular and the religious in processes of nation building, national rebranding, or nation repositioning. They are also about how nations and religious communities are constructed transnationally and about how that intersects with nation-building and nation-changing processes.
So how do these three analyses fit together and what do they tell us about religion and nationalism?
They are all about how ghosts or religious traces stay within the secular: How Catholicism stays present in Quebec and Christianity stays present in the Netherlands. But what more can we say about these ghosts? When are they bright and frightening, and when are they barely visible? What difference does it make when they are majority or minority? In Zubryzycki's case, Jews are desirable and undesirable. For some, they are— along with secularists and communists—not fit for national belonging and, for others, they are a part of history that must be rescued because their perceived cosmopolitanism promotes a civic and secular version of the polity. So what would we gain by theorizing the different registers, valences, or traces of the religious in the secular—their visibility, invisibility, their size, the comfort or discomfort they invoke?


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The Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania (MHASP) works to improve services for and treatment of adults with serious mental illness and children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders.
MHASP has a long history as an advocacy organization. It was incorporated in 1951 and serves Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. Over the years, the Association has continually expanded its programs and initiatives to meet newly recognized needs, establishing statewide and national constituencies in the process. With the Mental Health and Aging Project, the Association now serves the full span of ages - from childhood to senior.
MHASP's executive director is Joseph A. Rogers, a nationally known advocate for the rights of people with mental illness.
MHASP is by far the largest of the country's 331 local mental health associations. In 1997, operating with a $10 million budget and a staff of more than 200, the association served 104,000 people through a variety of community based support programs in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. MHASP receives funding from the federal government, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia, United Way, foundations, and private contributors.
MHASP is an advocate for the rights of people with mental illness. The association played a leading role in forcing the state to close Philadelphia State Hospital in 1990 and Haverford State Hospital in 1998. Currently, it is involved in an ongoing class action suit intended to force the state to place Haverford residents, who now are residing at Norristown State Hospital, into appropriate community settings. These are people the state had already identified as eligible for such placements, but who continue to be kept in the hospital.
MHASP joined other mental health advocates in convincing the state to give counties the right to provide behavioral health care, and helped city agencies in Philadelphia develop a system for managing the delivery of that care. This resulted in the establishment of Community Behavioral Health, which administers $350 million a year in Medicaid funding and controls sensitive clinical decisions about behavioral health care. This non-profit agency serves an estimated 400,000 people.
MHASP is nationally recognized as a leader in creating community-based support programs to serve people who once resided in psychiatric institutions, or who might face confinement in an institution if community programs did not exist. The agency is committed to changing a 30-year-old system in which all too often people have been released from institutions, only to be dropped into a community without any support services.
MHASP programs include case management, vocational training and job placement, housing assistance, peer support and companionship, and life-skill training. MHASP also offers training and information for families of adults with mental illness and families of children with emotional and behavioral disorders, and advocacy for the elderly who suffer from depression or other mental illnesses.
MHASP is allied with the National Mental Health Self-Help Clearinghouse, which helps consumers around the country plan for, provide, and evaluate mental health and community-based support services. MHASP executive director Joseph A. Rogers is also executive director of the Clearinghouse.


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Rex Ryan's Jets find success away from home in new camp setting
By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY
USA TODAY is writing Letters from Camp from all 32 NFL training camps over the next few weeks. See all the Letters from Camp.
CORTLAND, N.Y. — Doug's Fish Fry has turned into the unofficial restaurant of the New York Jets at training camp.
Owner Mark Braun is a lifelong Jets fan and 12-year season-ticket holder who makes the four-hour drive from Cortland to Giants Stadium for Jets home games.
PHOTOS: Jets training camp
Not many people in town were happier than Braun when the Jets announced they would hold training camp at the State University of New York-Cortland. This is the first season in 40 years that the Jets have held training camp somewhere other than Hofstra University on Long Island.
"I'm excited as a business owner but more excited as a fan," Braun said. "This has by far exceeded my expectations."
He has turned this mom-and-pop fish shack — (A sign inside the restaurant reads: "We buy fresh fish direct from the fish piers in Boston and Glouchester (sic). It is trucked to us on crushed ice FIVE times a week not once or twice") — into a Jets shrine. Photos of Jets players, including players who have dined at Doug's Fish Fry adorn one wall. Street signs "Jets Blvd" and "N.Y. Jets St." hang on other walls.
Braun also brought his Jets memorabilia — signed football and helmets — to display in the restaurant.
"When I found out the Jets were coming here for training camp, I said, 'How can I make my restaurant a Jets meeting ground and be noticed by Jets fans and players?' " Braun said.
A sign in front his restaurant, just a couple of Jay Feely kickoffs from the practice field, bears the section (137) and row (7) of his season tickets and a plane pulling a "Doug's Fish Fry" banner helps draw business.
Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum has been in. So has first-year coach Rex Ryan and a few players. Braun said business is up a "safe 25%" compared to last August.
It's not always easy being green in Cortland, which encroaches on Bills territory. The small town (population approximately 20,000) is 185 miles from Buffalo, 120 miles from Rochester and 220 miles from New York City.
Now, Cortland is turning into a Jets town, one that is expected to benefit financially from influx of fans. One estimate says the Jets' training camp stay will help bring in at least $1 million to the city.
Signs all over town welcome the Jets and fans. SUNY-Cortland president Erik J. Bitterbaum is a regular at practice.
But when Ryan decided to take the team north for camp, his goal was not to boost the economy of a small town. It was to create team chemistry in a distraction-free environment. Ryan loves the idea of getting away for camp. During his time as an assistant coach with Baltimore, the Ravens had training camp at tiny McDaniel College in rural Westminster, Md.
"The main thing in coming here was team-building, camaraderie, learning about each other, eliminating distractions," Ryan said. "We've accomplished all that here. The people here have been absolutely outstanding to our players and our coaches. They've treated us all well and opened their arms to us. The facilities here are great to hold a camp. It's really been top notch."
Ryan is not overstating the facilities. There are three practice fields — one with real grass that Jets built and two with artificial turf.
SUNY-Cortland, surrounded by verdant hills, has a fine Division III athletic program. It finished fifth in the final Director's Cup standings for its success in all men's and women's sports.
The Red Dragons are the defending men's lacrosse and men's cross country champions; Jake Zanetti won the pole vault title and gymnast Alyssa Neely won the balance beam championship. The football team reached the quarterfinals of the Division III playoffs and lost to eventual champion Mount Union.
The Jets have enjoyed the experience, but have not made a commitment to 2010.
Linebacker Bart Scott, who followed Ryan from Baltimore, is helping sell the coach's makeshift home away from home.
"Ryan comes from a philosophy of getting us away from the facility so when we get back to the comforts of our facility and things the NFL allows you to have that you'll appreciate it a little bit more," Scott said. "I like getting away. It gets you out of your comfort zone, and you lean on each other instead of leaning on familiar territory."
• Reason to believe: The Jets were 9-7 last season, and the defense is expected to be better than last year under Ryan and first-year defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
• Trouble spots: Offense. While Atlanta and Baltimore proved teams can reach the playoffs with a rookie quarterback, it is not a given that an inexperienced quarterback — either No. 5 overall selection Mark Sanchez or Kellen Clemens (in three seasons, just 256 career passes, including five in 2008) — can lead the Jets to the playoffs.
• Who's new: Ryan, Sanchez and Scott join safety Jim Leonhard, rookie running back Shonn Greene and linebacker Larry Izzo among the new faces.
• Positional battle: The quarterback contest between Sanchez and Clemens is closely watched. But regardless of who throws the ball, who will catch it? Jerricho Cotchery is the No. 1 guy, but after that it's wide open. Chansi Stuckey might be the next best receiver but Ryan really likes what Stuckey does from the slot receiver spot. "He's a difference-maker in the slot," Ryan said. "He's so elusive that he is hard to cover."
If Stuckey plays there, who plays opposite Cotchery with Laveranues Coles now in Cincinnati? Former college quarterback-turned-receiver Brad Smith, Wallace Wright and David Clowney are possibilities. "I'm confident in these guys," Ryan said. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I think we'll be more than adequate."
• Rookie watch: All eyes are on Sanchez. Will he be the starter in Week 1?
• On the mend: Nose tackle Kris Jenkins has been bothered by a strained left calf and has not practiced much since the start of camp. Other than that, the Jets just have players with minor issues like cornerback Darrelle Revis' sore hamstring, which is more inconvenience than injury.
Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.


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Rollglass from Klein USA
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Rollglass from
Klein USA
is designed to divide spaces through a combination of fixed and sliding frameless glass panels. Rollglass' compact, clear anodized track holds panels up to 10 feet high, while its ball bearing system and stopper-brake ensure quiet openings and closings. A minimal gap between the fixed and sliding panels improves aesthetics and acoustics. This system is ideal for office fronts and conference rooms, as well as bathroom entrances and shower enclosures.


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A dog in the US caused his owners a panic when he swallowed a diamond worth $20,000 (around £12,000) in a jewellery shop.
A diamond dealer had brought the precious stone to the shop, but he dropped it and Soli the golden retriever wolfed it down.
There was no way the owners could get the diamond back out from Soli.
So they had to wait for nature to take its course, and the diamond to pass through the dog, before returning it!


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Hi there,
I'm Raffles, proud to be a 'claw and lovin' it here on MNFF^^
You can also find me on the beta boards, with the same username.
About me: I am the (co-) owner of Neville,
I love cheese, doodling (if I find a blank piece of paper, I can assure you that in no time, it would be filled with hearts and stars^^), Harry Potter, Monty Python, Black-adder, Mr.Bean, Slum-dog Millionaire, vegetable soup, my kitty, my friends and family and many other things too (:
Please read and review my stories^^
Lol, that's hilarious. I LOVE this story.
thats really funny. wanna read on real badly.
that cool. cool idea
harry still likes cho chang?????? no way!!!!!
Still great story
Bwuahahahahahaha *Bursts out laughing*
That was seriously one of the funniest things I have ever read!!!!!!! I have to read on straight away!
*Goes and reads the next chapter*
Great Chapter! Your story really makes me crack up. I must read on to find out what happens next!
*Reads on to find out what happens next*
Your an amazing writer you know!!!!!! This chapter was really hilarious!!!!
yay, a sequel! I can't wait to read that! I love your style of writing. You make everything seem so funny!
great story. COOL maybe he is related to Lily evans
great chapter and again COOL T.M.R thats soooo cool
great story. cant wait to hear more. i wonder who this misterios guy is that the two gals were fighting (or discussing) over. Is it dudley? Please can you andswer htese questions in the next chapter
great story
it would be great if you guys wrote another chapter
I shall read on immediately
*reads on immediately*
*is not here as she is already reading the next chapter*
lo. that was a really good story. please update soon. i cant wait to find out more
that was funny. good idea of a fanfiction.
That story is GREAT. It is awsome and funny. It is my favorite fanfiction. GOOD JOB
Great story. I loved it. Will you write other fics coz i bet they would be great.
cool first chapter. i loved the ending part when mrs.norris startin spitting fire. it was hilarios. cant wait to read on
Author's Response: Hilarios: they\'re hilari-licious!


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Reconnect with your fellow alumni and reminisce about your time as a Temple student in the late 80s and early 90s at your reunion pregame party at the Draught Horse. Continue the HOOTenanny in the Liacouras Center, cheering on the current Temple Owls in their game against American Athletic Conference rival the University of Houston.
Saturday, March 1
6:30–8:30 pm: Reunion Pregame Party
Draught Horse
1431 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19121
9 pm: Temple vs. Houston Men's Basketball Game
Liacouras Center
1776 N. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Reunion Party and Basketball Game: $20 per person
Includes admission to the reunion party (two drink tickets, hors d'oeuvres, and exclusive reunion giveaway) and one lower level ticket to the Temple vs. Houston men's basketball game.
Reunion Party ONLY: $10 per person
Includes admission to the reunion party (two drink tickets, hors d'oeuvres, and exclusive reunion giveaway).
Questions? Contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 215-204-7521 or email@example.com.
Support Temple University: Alumni donations are an investment in your alma mater and today's students. Show your pride by making a gift in honor of your anniversary.
Browse online yearbooks and reminiscence about your time at Temple.
Search the online directory for old friends and classmates.
Update your contact information to ensure that you receive reunion updates.
Submit a class note and tell your classmates about your latest personal and professional accomplishments.
In Memoriam
Share your favorite memories from your years at Temple using #TempleMemories:


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Allegheny Pittsburg Coal Co. v. County Comm'n of Webster County, WV: United States Supreme Court Finds County Assessor's Methods Unconstitutional
In Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Company v. County Comm'n of Webster County, WV, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the defendant's method of assessing real property violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.
Between 1975 and 1986, the Tax Assessor of Webster County, West Virginia fixed yearly assessments for property at 50% of the appraised value. As a result, a higher tax was placed on properties more recently conveyed at higher market prices than comparable properties purchased in earlier years. Some minor adjustments were made in the assessments of the properties that had not been recently sold, but they were "too small to seasonably dissipate the remaining disparity between these assessments and the assessments based on a recent purchase price."
The U.S. Supreme Court pointed noted that, on its face, the assessment scheme was not constitutionally flawed. In fact, short-term or "transitional" inequality is permissible. In this case, however, the property had been assessed at roughly eight to 35 times more than comparable neighboring property, and these discrepancies continued for more than ten years. It was this "gross disparity" that led the Court to reject Webster County's contention that its assessment scheme was rationally related to its purpose of assessing properties at true current value.
The U.S. Supreme Court was careful to note that the assessment scheme employed by the county assessor was not sanctioned by West Virginia law. While states have broad powers to impose and collect taxes, the Court stated "we are not advised of any West Virginia statute or practice which authorizes individual counties of the state to fashion their own substantive assessment policies independently of state statute." Moreover, the assessment scheme ran afoul of the guide published by the West Virginia Tax Commission. It was this "intentional systematic undervaluation" by a state official which denied the property owner equal protection of the law.
Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Company v. County Comm'n of Webster County, WV, 488 U.S. 336, 109 S. Ct. 633 (1989).


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Pintxos Small Plates in the Basque Tradition
Pinxtos is a fine example of tapas sized portions with big flavors and traditional flare.
Chef Hirigoyen's cookbook concentrates on pintxos, the Basque equivalent to tapas, a specialty from this region of Spain. The dishes in this book are organized by style: small sandwiches, braises, fried snacks, skewers, etc. With 75 recipes and 50 full-color photographs, Chef Hirigoyen broadens your arsenal of small plate with dishes like lamb's tongue, duck breast with oranges and green olives, tuna belly with lemon confit, and fava beans with crème fraîche and mint. Many of the recipes are designed to be made in advance, and several are even served at room temperature adding to the books versatility and ease of use.


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GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney mocked President Barack Obama's re-election campaign slogan — "Forward" — during a fundraiser Wednesday night. "'Forward,' what, over the cliff?" he joked.
Romney isn't the only one trying to make hay over Obama's head-scratcher of a choice on Monday. A Wikipedia page exploring the historical significance of the word "Forward" as a socialist rallying cry has made it the subject of dueling snarks from assorted would-be Wiki editors and vandals.
Within hours of the Obama campaign's slogan unveiling, the online page had its first edit since November 2011. "Forward is the official slogan of the Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012," the simple entry read.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/03/obama-forward-campaign-slogan-inspires-wikipedia-editing-war/#ixzz1toRneNtN
Obama Forward Campaign Slogan | Wikipedia Editing War
Current Status: Blessed (1)
Seeded on Thu May 3, 2012 6:23 AM
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This is one of those must-do recipes. It takes about 2 minutes of effort and is a ridiculous improvement over anything you can buy in the store. Your cocktails will taste a bazillion times better (at least!) when you use real grenadine, rather than the red-dyed corn syrup that masquerades as grenadine.
I say real grenadine because the original version of grenadine was made from pomegranate juice, not cherry. The word grenadine comes from the traditional French word for pomegranate, granade. Somewhere along the way, cherry replaced pomegranate in the most widespread grenadine syrups. Now there are few grenadine syrups with any fruit in them at all.
Here are the ingredients of Rose's grenadine: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Red 40, Blue 1.
Yuck, right? So, let's make our own.
- 1 c sugar
- 1 c of the freshest pomegranate juice you can get your hands on (juice it if you're ambitious, otherwise head toward the refrigerated section of the grocery store — Trader Joe's has a pretty reasonably priced option, but its from concentrate)
- 2 oz vodka (optional)
There are lots of different methods out there on the internet of how to make grenadine. I read and read (definitely more than a person should read about grenadine), and then I came up with my own method: using a blender. I think the blender beats anything else out there because the pomegranate juice maintains a crisp, fresh taste, while staying as concentrated as possible. The common alternative methods are heating up the juice and sugar on the stove, which tends to give the syrup a dull, cooked taste, or creating a simple syrup and mixing it with the juice, which dilutes the pomegranate flavor.
So, pull out your blender and add in the sugar and pomegranate juice. You can scale up the recipe as much as you want to. The important part is to keep a 1:1 juice to sugar ratio. If you add much more sugar, the liquid becomes too dense and doesn't mix well. Blend the juice and syrup for about a minute or so. I have a crazy, high powered blender, so after about a minute, the juice becomes ever so slightly warm. This is enough to dissolve the sugar thoroughly without cooking the juice. You should blend until you feel your sugar is totally dissolved.
Now you have real grenadine syrup. That's it. Seriously. Woohoo!
If you want to give your grenadine some shelf life, pour it in a jar and add 2 oz of vodka. Keep the jar in the freezer. The freezer will prevent the grenadine from spoiling for a long time. The vodka will keep the mixture slushy as it hangs out in your freezer. So, next time you're going to make a cocktail, you can just reach in your freezer and spoon out a little bit. As soon as you mix it into a room temperature liquid, it will melt and work just like normal grenadine syrup.
Need inspiration on how to use grenadine? Here's a recipe for a New Orleans style Hurricane! Or you can just add it to seltzer water at those times you want to be responsible.


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With Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference coming up next June, we're all anxious to see what, if any, fancy new hardware Apple's going to release.
The rumor circuit is now full of buzz about production beginning for displays to be used in upcoming iPhone 5S. According to the Japanese publication, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (via Macrumors), Sharp will begin production in June. Meanwhile, both Japan Display and Korea's LG Displays have begun production of iPhone 5S displays. Assuming that mass production typically takes 3-4 months prior to launch, we're looking at a September or October launch of the iPhone 5S.
Of course, here at Caudabe we're always in tune with the latest and greatest Apple developments, including whispers of a new budget iPhone that may also be right around the corner. Stay posted to this blog for more!


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Healthcare stocks remained flat on Thursday morning on Wall Street.
More broadly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%, the Nasdaq was down 0.3% and the S&P 500 fell 0.3%.
Some of the biggest gainers among healthcare stocks include:
- Lannett Co Inc (LCI): LCI stock is up 3.4% today.
- Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS): ISIS stock is up 3.1% today and up 21.0% in the last month.
- Centene Corp (CNC): CNC stock is up 2.2%, marking the third consecutive day the stock has increased.
- Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN): ACHN stock is up 1.6% today and up 59.9% in the last month.
- Immunogen (IMGN): IMGN stock is up 1.7% today.
- Sangamo Biosciences (SGMO): SGMO stock is up 1.4% today.
- Vca Antech (WOOF): WOOF stock is up 1.2% today.
- Resmed Inc (RMD): RMD stock is up 1.1% today.
- Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACAD): ACAD stock is up 0.9% today.
- Seattle Genetics (SGEN): SGEN stock is up 1.1% today.
Some of the biggest losers among healthcare stocks include:
- China Biologic Products (CBPO): CBPO stock is down 2.9% today.
- Exact Sciences Corp (EXAS): EXAS stock is down 2.6% today.
- Dentsply International Inc (XRAY): XRAY stock is down 1.5% today.
- Tornier N.V. (TRNX): TRNX stock is down 1.4% today.
- Theravance (THRX): THRX stock is down 1.3% today.
- Sanofi-Aventis Sa (SNY): SNY stock is down 1.3% today.
- Masimo Corp (MASI): MASI stock is down 1.2% today.
- Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO): HALO stock is down 1.2% today.
- Sirona Dental Systems (SIRO): SIRO stock is down 1.1% today.
For more information on the best stocks to buy right now, check out the latest commentary on InvestorPlace.com.
And for more on the hot stocks moving most on Wall Street right now, check out our archive of daily market movers by sector here.
Editor's Note: Returns for the fastest-moving stocks listed here are based on share prices 20 minutes prior to publication of this story.


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* Christopher Browne (cbbrowne(at)gmail(dot)com) wrote: > How about having a "pg_filters" table in pg_catalog which allows capturing > labels and names of known-to-be-safe binary filters: I was considering that (though I was thinking they'd be "transformations" rather than filters; filter implies that you're removing something, imv), but as I mentioned upthread, there are dangers in that direction and having a default set of options strikes me as a lot more challenging to provide. > insert into pg_filters (label, location) > values > ('zcat', '/usr/bin/zcat'), > ('bzip2', '/usr/bin/bzip2'), > ('bunzip2', '/usr/bin/bunzip2'); We'd need to include which direction is supported also, I think. > And then having some capability to grant permissions to roles to use > these filters. Yes, an additional ACL system, as I mentioned upthread, would be required for this. > That's not a "version 1" capability... Suppose we have, in 9.3, that there are > direct references to "|/usr/bin/zcat" (and such), and then hope, in > 9.4, to tease > this out to be a non-superuser-capable facility via the above pg_filters? It would be good to flush out what the syntax, etc, would look like for this, if we're going to support it, before we go down a road that limits us in what we can do. For example, if we implement the existing popen call, and then later want to allow non-superusers to use certain filters, how would the non-superuser specify the filter? I really don't think we want to be taking the shell-like command provided by a non-superuser and then try to match that against a list of commands in a table.. > These filters should be useful for FDWs as well as for COPY. I'm not sure I see how any FDW beyond file_fdw would really benefit from this..? I don't think a MySQL FDW or Reddis FDW would gain anything... Thanks, Stephen
Next: From: Stephen Frost Date: 2013-01-15 21:22:48 Subject: Re: [PATCH] COPY .. COMPRESSED Previous: From: Robert Haas Date: 2013-01-15 20:56:04 Subject: Re: unlogged tables vs. GIST