TR35 winner Sumeet Singh on stopping computer viruses

Sumeet Singh, a technical leader in the applied research and architecture group at Cisco Systems, stopped to chat with us at the Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT last week. He explained a bit more about the inspiration behind and inner workings of his system to automatically protect computer networks against viruses.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/VideoPosts.aspx?id=17433

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This and That: Invisible Hand, Tipping income and more…

The Invisible Hand on CBC CBC Radio has a new show called The Invisible Hand that takes a look at how economics plays a role in our everyday lives. The latest episode titled Love and Economics explored the role that concepts such as supply and demand and comparative advantage play in marriages and romantic relationships. [...]

This and That: Invisible Hand, Tipping income and more… is brought to you by Canadian Capitalist -- Helping you to invest & prosper.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ccapitalist/~3/ac-ADSQY8Fo/

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Best of Blogs – Savings and Investing

A few weeks back I let the cat out of the bag that a new project I was working on with some other great bloggers was finished.  This week, our new book A Beginners Guide to Savings and Investing was featured on a few other websites: Million Dollar Journey The Financial Blogger Canadian Couch Potato...

Best of Blogs – Savings and Investing appeared first on Retire Happy Blog.

Related posts:
  1. Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) won’t replace RRSPs for retirement savings
  2. Investment strategies for Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)
  3. Three common questions on Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)
  4. The Terminology of Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)
  5. Make RRSP Savings One of Your 2005 Financial Resolutions

Source: http://retirehappyblog.ca/best-of-blogs-savings-and-investing/

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Ted Cruz, GOP's Latest Right-Wing Purist

Gail Collins, New York Times
Texas Republicans have just nominated a Senate candidate who is promising to protect America’s golf courses from the United Nations. This is not actually the most important point about Ted Cruz, the Tea Party favorite who scored a dramatic upset victory over the state’s lieutenant governor on Tuesday. But we don’t really need to go over his basic agenda because you can pretty much guess it. (Hint: cutspendingshrinkgovernmentrepealObamacare.) Also, he memorized the Constitution in high school. And he wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service.

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/08/02/ted_cruz_gop039s_latest_right-wing_purist_286341.html

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The Future of Medicare and Why You Should Be Worried

Medicare

Arguably, the costs that often affect retirees the most are the ones associated with health care.  With advancements in technology and medical treatments, the price of health care has gone up.  Certain groups, such as retirees, feel this more than anyone.  This is because their health care costs are typically higher than the average person.


Many retirees turn to the federally funded Medicare program to help them with rising prices.  Medicare has helped millions in the past, but as the government lowers its funding at a time when costs are still increasing, the program's future is unclear.

Medicare's Benefits

Many retirees and disabled persons would be lost without Medicare.  Even one big medical procedure can lead to a loss of a person's savings in the event that he or she doesn't have health care coverage.  While some retirees would be able to afford health care coverage on their own, many find themselves denied due to a pre-existing condition or other such reason.

Luckily for those who can't afford private health care coverage, or are unable to qualify, Medicare is a great option.  It doesn't pay all medical costs, but it will cover 80%, which is a respectable amount.  Although this can still result in high costs from time to time, Medicare makes those costs much more manageable.

As previously stated, Medicare's future is unclear.  Although many are hopeful that the program will continue, there is definite concern that this may not be the case at some point.  With so many retirees relying on Medicare, the real question is, what would happen if the program no longer existed?

Skyrocketing Costs

If Medicare was to stop, many retirees would be facing higher health care costs than ever before.  Just imagine having to pay 100% of all medical costs, especially on a limited budget.  Even if a retiree was able to secure some kind of private health care insurance, he or she would likely be looking at a much higher cost for everything from prescriptions to doctor visits.

Pre-existing Conditions

Another problem that many retirees would face if Medicare wasn't around is the fact that coverage might be difficult to get.  Many health care insurance companies have a clause that disqualifies someone if they have a pre-existing condition.  This would mean that a lot of people might go without insurance, which could quickly turn into a catastrophic situation.

The Bright Side

If there's any good news to be found here, it's the fact that Medicare isn't going to go away tomorrow.  In fact, if you're relatively close to retirement, you have a good chance that it will be around for you throughout your retirement years.  The people most likely affected are the ones who are still many years away from retirement.  The key for those who fit into this category is to prepare now, before it's too late.

What you'll want to do is begin planning for such an event.  Unless the government announces that the Medicare program is going to be around for the next 50 years, assume that it won't be available once you've retired.  Make this fact part of your retirement planning.  Your goal should always be to ensure that when you retire, you are able to sustain yourself throughout your retirement.  To counteract the loss of Medicare, make sure you're maxing out all of your retirement account contributions.  This includes your 401k or pension plans, as well as any others.  Basically, you want to save as much money as you can, and it's never too early to start.

Source: http://firstsecurityfinancialshow.com/blog/bid/149630/The-Future-of-Medicare-and-Why-You-Should-Be-Worried

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Are You Seriously Considering Buying Bonds?

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For many investors, the imperative to own a certain percentage of your portfolio in bonds trumps every other consideration. But the same investors who wouldn't hesitate to pull back on stock allocations when stocks were overpriced don't seem to recognize the same conditions in the bond market.

Bond investors have had to make huge sacrifices in recent years. With rock-bottom interest rates, Treasuries pay so little that they're hardly worth investing in. Banks aren't paying their CD customers any better. When you look at the absolute reward and risk involved, buying corporate bonds makes less sense than ever. In comparison, corporate offerings look attractive -- at least in a relative sense.

Giving up every bit of upside potential for a yield that barely covers inflation doesn't make sense for most investors. Bonds are useful tools, but only when they give you returns worth buying them for.

A Snapshot of Bond Land
As some people fear a return of the conditions that brought on the 2008 financial crisis, bond yields have tumbled. That's good news for those who already own bonds, as bond prices move up when yields fall.

But if you're looking put new money to work now, low rates aren't your friend. The iShares Investment Grade Corporate (LQD) ETF has a current SEC yield of just 4% despite having a quarter of its holdings rated BBB, just above junk status.

Of course, it's possible that bond prices could continue to climb from here. Even now that the Fed has stopped making additional bond purchases through QE2, a new economic slowdown could keep interest rates low for some time. Bond buyers could end up looking smart, especially if the stock market responds to economic woes by falling sharply.

News like yesterday's favorable jobs reports put a more positive spin on the future, but then this morning's jobs number brought all that euphoria back into question.

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Still Not Convinced?
It's a fundamental truth of investing that any time you make an investment thinking that it will climb through the roof, the person selling that investment to you thinks it won't.

When the folks on the other side of the trade are financially savvy companies taking advantage of historically unprecedented favorable market conditions, investors should think twice before taking the opposing position.

Amid such uncertainty, there's one group that isn't taking any chances: Corporations have once again stepped up in issuing new bonds, locking in attractive low interest rates before the fallout from the end of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program -- along with a more solid economic recovery -- finally take away the low-rate punch bowl.

Some of the companies issuing new debt included the following:

  • Early in the holiday-shortened week, Devon Energy (DVN) and General Dynamics (GD) were among investment-grade corporate issuers that combined for $10 billion in new bonds Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Yesterday, Bank of America (BAC) and Deere's (DE) John Deere Capital division successfully sold debt carrying rates of less than 4%, with maturities extending from 2016 to 2021.
  • In addition, Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) each raised more than $1 billion through a combination of fixed-rate and floating-rate bonds. All of the bonds offered came in with spreads of less than 1 percentage point over Treasuries with the same maturity date.
Applying that fundamental axiom of investing, which side of this trade do you think made the better move: companies or bond investors? My money's on the corporations that issued that debt.

Don't Allocate Your Assets Blindly
Before you jump out and buy bonds that companies are issuing now, take a step back and consider: Who's getting the better end of the trade? Your better bet may well be to buy shares of the companies who are cashing in on low rates.

Motley Fool contributor Dan Caplinger likes investments that pay you back. He doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Dynamics and Devon Energy and Bank of America.

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/08/are-you-seriously-considering-buying-bonds/

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College Students' Guide to Charitable Giving

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charitable givingYou researched what college to attend. You research term papers every semester. You even look up that cute History 101 classmate on Facebook before making your move. So why wouldn't you research a charity before donating your hard-earned money this holiday season? Doing your homework before writing that charitable check can not only help your dollars do the most good, it could save you from becoming the victim of a scam, according to one expert who recently spoke to Money College.

Continue reading College Students' Guide to Charitable Giving

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/23/college-students-guide-to-charitable-giving/

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