Category Archives: Business

Business

FPL Researchers helping ensure Lightning’s Effects are gone in a Flash

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Since 1997, FPL has reduced the number of service interruptions for its customers by 15 percent. FPL is the only one of the 55 utilities in the state to have a research lab to simulate lightning and its potential impact in this manner.

Juno Beach, FL (July 27, 2012) — A team of engineers at Florida Power & Light Company works diligently to protect the electric grid from one very persistent and potentially destructive foe: lightning.

Florida sustains more lightning strikes than any other state in the U.S., and more than almost any country, too (second only to Rwanda, the world’s lightning capital). Within FPL’s 35-county service territory, there are approximately 250,000 lightning strikes each year. That “striking” distinction puts Florida’s electric infrastructure under siege. When a lightning bolt hits electrical equipment, it can cause power outages and flickers.

At a high-voltage “Lightning Lab” within FPL’s Reliability Assurance Center in Riviera Beach, Fla., engineers test equipment and research ways to reduce lightning’s impact on the grid, ultimately helping to reduce the number and duration of power outages. The engineering team tests the performance of its own equipment and insulators in the lab by zapping them with up to 2 million volts of electricity. Experimenting with simulated lightning allows the team to gather detailed data about the effects of lightning on FPL equipment and helps it discover ways to prevent future lightning-related problems.

“This is the one center to handle product evaluation, forensic and application research needs,” said FPL Reliability Assurance Center Manager John Fischer. “It is a hub where experts can do hands-on analysis and subject matter experts can quickly get analytic capabilities. During my 40 years at FPL as an engineer, I’ve used this lab many times on complex issues and would not have been able to find solutions without the range of advanced possibilities here.”

Since 1997, FPL has reduced the number of service interruptions for its customers by 15 percent.

FPL is the only one of the 55 utilities in the state to have a research lab to simulate lightning and its potential impact in this manner. Fischer says this is one of the ways FPL is able to provide its customers with reliable service the lowest bill in the state.

“The lightning lab, the entire Reliability Assurance Center and the talented engineers and experts who work here are definitely a benefit to our customers both in ensuring reliable service and keeping costs down,” Fischer said.

To view photos, please visit http://www.fpl.com/newsroom.

Media Contact:
FPL Media Line
Florida Power & Light Company
700 Universe Blvd.
Juno Beach, FL 33408
305-552-3888
amelia.gomez@rbbpr.com
http://www.fpl.com

Business

High-Frequency Trading World’s Capital Moving to China with The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 Shanghai and Hong Kong

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Edgar Perez, Author, The Speed Traders, Speaker at The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 Shanghai (August 1) and Hong Kong (August 4): How Algorithmic and High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX (Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Kiev, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Ho Chi Minh, New York, Dubai and Chicago).

New York City, NY, USA (July 26, 2012) — The high-frequency trading world’s capital is moving to China this August with Mr. Edgar Perez, author of The Speed Traders, and former McKinsey & Co. consultant and New York University Adjunct Professor, presenting The Speed Traders Workshop 2012: How Algorithmic and High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX (http://www.TheSpeedTradersWorkshop.com), in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

As Mr. Perez will cover, high-frequency trading is the use of sophisticated technological tools to trade securities like stocks or options, and is typically characterized by several distinguishing features:

– Highly quantitative, employing computerized algorithms to analyze incoming market data and implement proprietary trading strategies.
– Investment positions are held only for very brief periods of time, from seconds to hours, and rapidly traded into and out, sometimes thousands or tens of thousands of times a day.
– No net investment position at the end of a trading day.
– Mostly employed by proprietary firms or proprietary trading desks in hedge funds and banks.
– Very sensitive to the processing speed of markets and of their own access to the market.

Top securities firms and traders from China, Hong Kong and Singapore trading at Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE), Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), and Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), are joining these enlightening workshops, which display an agenda full of information and insights, as can be seen through the following sessions:

1. Understanding High Frequency Trading in Equities and other Asset Classes
– The need for speed and sophisticated computer programs in generating, routing, and executing orders
– Co-location and individual data feeds to minimize latency
– Time-frames for establishing and closing highly-liquid positions
– Review of the most important strategies: market making, trend following, value arbitrage and others

2. Key Enablers for High Frequency Trading
– Technological innovation: computing power, complex event processing, and low-latency bandwidth
– Shift to electronic trading and the rise of alternative trading systems
– In-depth look at strategies high frequency traders leverage to find alpha in equities, options, futures and FX
– The profitability of typical high frequency trading strategies and its evolution

3. Global Regulatory Overview: from the U.S. and Europe to China and Brazil
– Regulations in place before the “flash crash”
– Proposed regulatory initiatives after the “flash crash” in the U.S. and Europe, circuit breakers, limit up limit down and consolidated audit trail
– High frequency trading in Asia, from Japan, Singapore and India to Hong Kong and China
– Regulating speed trading to samba beats: Brazil and Mexico

4. The Future of High Frequency Trading
– Enhancing profitability: from equities to FX to cross-asset trading
– High frequency trading in the world: from the U.S. and Europe to China and Brazil
– Adding ammunition to the high frequency trader toolkit, FPGA, GPUs and enhanced technologies
– Turning the tables on high frequency trading: the transparency challenge for the buy-side

Mr. Perez is widely regarded as the preeminent global expert in the specialized area of high-frequency trading. He is author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World, published in English by McGraw-Hill Inc. (2011), in Mandarin by China Financial Publishing House (2012) and currently being translated into Bahasa Indonesia and Portuguese. He is course director of The Speed Traders Workshop 2012, How High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX (Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Kiev, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Ho Chi Minh, New York, Dubai and Chicago), and was Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, where he taught Algorithmic Trading and High-Frequency Finance. He contributes regularly to China’s International Finance News.

Mr. Perez has been interviewed on CNBC Cash Flow, CNBC Squawk Box, BNN Business Day, CCTV China, Bankier.pl, TheStreet.com, Leaderonomics, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. In addition, Mr. Perez has been featured on Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua, CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, ifeng.com, International Finance News, hexun.com, Finance.QQ.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, BMF 89.9, iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Mr. Perez has been engaged to present to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington DC), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult International Business School (Shanghai) and Pace University (New York), among other public and private institutions. In addition, Mr. Perez has spoken at a number of global conferences, including Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston), High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago), MIT Sloan Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Institutional Investor’s Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), FIXGlobal Face2Face (Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia (London).

Mr. Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Mr. Perez has an undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Mr. Perez resides in the New York City area and is an accomplished salsa and hustle dancer.

Media Contact:
Julia Ye
Media Relations Coordinator
The Speed Traders
516-761-4712
jye@thespeedtraders.com
http://www.thespeedtraders.com

Business

Express Employment Professionals Maintains Strong Growth, Awards 10 Franchises in 35 Days

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Express Employment Professionals has announced the signing of 10 new U.S. franchise agreements in just 35 days.

Oklahoma City, OK (USA), July 25, 2012 — As America’s workforce continues to shift from full-time employees to more contract and temporary positions, Oklahoma City-based Express Employment Professionals’ expansion efforts have gone into double time. As a result, Express has announced the signing of 10 new U.S. franchise agreements in just 35 days.

“Staffing services are in high demand, and Express continues to work with thousands of employers and job seekers around the world to keep the economic recovery moving forward,” said David Lewis, executive director of franchising. “To meet this increasing need, we’re rapidly expanding and letting new and existing clients know that we’re here when they need us.”

Among the 10 new Express franchise ( http://www.expressfranchising.com ) owners are Jay Diaz in Meridian, Conn.; Jason and Christi Patrick in West Nashville, Tenn.; Doug Dirrim in Roswell, Ga.; Diego Lejwa in Memphis, Tenn.; Brad Collins in South Kansas City, Mo.; Jim Bartunek in Central Suffolk County, N.Y.; Fran Mackovjak in Delaware County, Pa.; Jim Sovacool in Lakeville, Ohio; Greg Lavelle in Worcester, Mass.; and Mitch Porter in West Suffolk County, N.Y.

As one of the nation’s largest privately-held staffing firms, Express put more than 335,000 people to work in 2011, providing expertise in evaluation hire, temporary staffing, professional search and human resources. As the company expands, it continues to achieve record breaking sales growth. Most recently, Express franchisees set an all-time record in average clients billed per office at 35.68 for the week ending June 24. Together, franchise owners across the country billed a record 15,271 clients for the same week. Express projects company growth to top 18 percent in 2012, and plans to award 64 new franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada, targeting Orlando, Fla.; Detroit; Chicago; Fairbanks, Ala.; and Hartford, Conn. Sales for the company reached $2.1 billion in 2011, with the average territory generating sales of $4.5 million.

Express ( http://www.expresspros.com ) began franchising in 1985 and has consistently maintained a 98 percent approval rating from franchisees on the quality and opportunity of the Express system. The company was named the No. 1 staffing franchise in the U.S. by Entrepreneur as part of the magazine’s thirty-third annual Franchise 500® list and also ranked in the top 100 on the magazine’s Top Global Franchises list in America.

“Our franchise owners come from various backgrounds such as sales, management, human resources and finance and all share a vision of controlling their own destiny through business ownership,” Lewis said. “While the Express model does not require partnerships for success, jointly owned franchises make up approximately 20 percent of our franchisees, and husband-and-wife ownership teams are common. We also have numerous franchise owners in our system who are military veterans.”

For information about purchasing an Express franchise, visit http://www.expressfranchising.com. For more information about Express and its services, visit http://www.expresspros.com.

Express EMPLOYMENT PROFESSIONALS
8516 NW Expressway
Oklahoma City, OK 73162
Contact: Sherry Kast
Phone: 405-840-5000
Websites: http://www.expressfranchising.com / http://www.expresspros.com

Press & Media Contact:
Christine Picchietti
Sanderson & Associates, Ltd
8516 NW Expressway
Oklahoma City, OK 73162
312-829-4350
christine@sandersonpr.com
http://www.expressfranchising.com
http://www.expresspros.com

Business, Entertainment, Internet & Online, Management, Marketing, Media, Retail, Social Media, Society, Software, Sports, Technology

SportsMark selects WinMagic Encryption technology to protect critical data at London 2012 Olympic Games

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WinMagic Inc., the global innovator in disk encryption, today announced SportsMark has chosen WinMagic’s SecureDoc data security and encryption software to protect sensitive corporate hospitality program data for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Of the many events SportsMark will be involved in this year, including Super Bowl, The Masters, and the America’s Cup World Series, the London 2012 Olympic Games will be a pinnacle event. SportsMark has been preparing for this momentous event for over four years, working side by side with its clients to create unparalleled guest experiences and optimize their brand building and sales objectives. SportsMark’s clients will host more than 45,000 guests throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games, working with a staff of over 1,000 and managing tens of thousands of Olympic event tickets on behalf of their 15 clients.

“We’ve been working with SportsMark for quite some time and we’re very pleased that they selected SecureDoc as their data encryption solution to protect the personal information of all the guests they’ll be hosting during the London 2012 Olympic Games,” said Mark Hickman, worldwide vice-president of sales at WinMagic Inc. “As an existing customer, SportsMark recognized the ease of use and flexibility of SecureDoc and we were more than happy to help ensure this continued for a project of this importance and profile.”

SportsMark’s information services team determined that they required a rapid OS and encryption deployment ready for a highly mobile and diverse workforce to securing log in onto any of their laptops at any of the locations.

“WinMagic SecureDoc was clearly the answer to our requirements,” said Scott Shuemake, systems engineer at SportsMark. “We needed an encryption solution that we could quickly and easily implement, manage centrally and provide all temporary staff with access to all the devices, so we had the flexibility to move staff around the hospitality venues across London, sometimes at short notice.”

SportsMark Group has contracted 1000 temporary hospitality event staff to work for the duration of Olympic and Paralympic Games in more than 15 pop-up offices around central London. These staff will be supplied with rented laptops that require the hard drive to be fully encrypted.

The technical solution consisted of 300 temporary licenses of WinMagic SecureDoc and SecureDoc Enterprise Server to install the SecureDoc packages and provide recovery. SportsMark also utilized WinMagic consultancy services to ensure the smoothest and quickest deployment in the fastest possible timeframe. At the end of the project, SportsMark will take advantage of SecureDoc’s Crypto erase feature to decommission the devices used for the event.

About SecureDoc
SecureDoc is a comprehensive disk encryption and data security product that secures data at rest. It has two main components: the client software used to encrypt and protect data and the server software (SecureDoc Enterprise Server or SES) used to configure, deploy, and manage server encryption for an entire organization.

Armed with a full arsenal of data protection solutions, SecureDoc provides: full disk encryption; file and folder encryption; removable media and removable media container encryption; departmental server encryption; centralized management; Active Directory and LDAP integration, and much more. SecureDoc also makes it easy to centrally manage and use standard drives and self-encrypting drives including TCG OPAL-compliant drives.

SecureDoc uses a FIPS 140-2 level 1 and level 2 certified AES 256-bit cryptographic engine to encrypt data. SecureDoc was the first product in market to introduce network-based pre-boot authentication. This technology, PBConnex, has been recognized throughout the industry as a market leading security solution significantly reducing the total cost of ownership of data encryption. Most recently, WinMagic was awarded Security Magazine’s Innovator of the Year Award in 2011 for SecureDoc and the groundbreaking functionality PBConnex offers.

WinMagic’s SecureDoc data encryption and security solution protects sensitive data stored on desktops, servers as well as portable media such as laptops and removable media including USB thumb drives and CD/DVDs. It is compatible with all editions of Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000 as well as Mac OS X Lion, Snow Leopard, Leopard and Linux platforms.

About SportsMark Management Group
SportsMark Management Group is an Omnicom-owned global sports marketing, event management, and corporate hospitality company. SportsMark excels in using the live sporting event as a marketing platform to strengthen and grow key business-to-business relationships for their clients.

SportsMark’s vast event and sports industry experience stems from managing global sponsorship activation initiatives and hundreds of corporate hospitality programs at twelve Olympic Games, eight FIFA World Cups, America’s Cup, and other high profile sporting events, including UEFA EURO 2012TM, Rugby World Cup, Super Bowl, The Masters, NCAA Final Four, Ryder Cup, and U.S. Open. SportsMark’s international client portfolio includes adidas, ArcelorMittal, British Airways, CBS Television, Chevron, Cisco, The Hartford, Office Depot, Omega, Procter & Gamble, Sony, Visa, and others.

SportsMark is appointed as the Exclusive Sales Agent of MATCH Hospitality in the USA for the sale of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Official Hospitality Programme. SportsMark is the Official Corporate Hospitality Management Partner and Exclusive Global Sales Agent of the America’s Cup Club Hospitality Program. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area with 75+ full-time employees and a field staff of over 1000 event professionals, SportsMark has international offices in London and São Paulo. For more information, please visitwww.sportsmark.com.

About WinMagic Inc.
WinMagic Inc. provides the world’s most secure, manageable and easy-to–use data security solutions. WinMagic’s SecureDoc is a comprehensive encryption and security management product that can manage data security across the enterprise. By encrypting entire disks, specific files or folders locally or on the network as well as mobile devices and removable media, SecureDoc secures your data wherever it is stored, providing enterprise grade data security policy and key management across all operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS, Android and Linux. SecureDoc is trusted by thousands of enterprises and government organizations worldwide for laptop encryption, device encryption, and a host of other applications. Our solutions help organizations to minimize business risks, meet privacy/regulatory compliance requirements, and protect valuable information assets against unauthorized access. With a full complement of professional and customer services, WinMagic supports over three million SecureDoc users in more than 80 countries.

For more information, please visit www.winmagic.com, call 1-888-879-5879 or e-mail us atinfo@winmagic.com.

WinMagic, SecureDoc, SecureDoc Enterprise Server, Compartmental SecureDoc, SecureDoc PDA, SecureDoc Personal Edition, SecureDoc RME, SecureDoc Removable Media Encryption, SecureDoc Media Viewer, SecureDoc Express, SecureDoc for Mac and SecureDoc Central Database are trademarks and registered trademarks of WinMagic Inc., registered in the US and other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners. © 2011 WinMagic Inc. All rights reserved.

Press Contacts:

Liz Scott
VP, Marketing
WinMagic Inc.
+1 (905) 502-7000 x221
Liz.Scott@winmagic.com

SportsMark Contact:

Joanna Stott
Vice President, Marketing Communications & Brand Development
+1.415.464.4128
joannas@sportsmark.com

Business

Bart Chilton, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), at High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012

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Building off of the momentum of past conferences, Golden Networking brings back High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012, now in New York, Chicago and London (www.HFTLeadersForum.com).

New York City, NY, USA (July 26, 2012) — Commissioner Bart Chilton, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will return this fall to Golden Networking’s High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012, “How Traders, Brokers, Exchanges and Dark Pools Navigate the Most Challenging Regulatory Landscape”. This conference will provide attendees in New York, Chicago and London with the most up-to-date review of where this ever-changing industry stands and how new technology and regulatory developments will impact it. Recognized experts, regulators, and strategists, will return to High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012 to provide the information practitioners are looking for in an open and unbiased environment, highly conducive to the most efficient and effective networking.

Mr. Chilton was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U. S. Senate in 2007. In 2009, he was re-nominated by President Obama and reconfirmed by the Senate. He has served as the Chairman of the CFTC’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC). His career spans 25 years in government service-working on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives, in the Senate, and serving in the Executive Branch during the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Mr. Chilton was the Chief of Staff and Vice President for Government Relations at the National Farmers Union where he represented family farmers. In 2005, Mr. Chilton was a Schedule C political appointee of President Bush at the U. S. Farm Credit Administration where he served as an Executive Assistant to the Board. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Chilton was a Senior Advisor to Senator Tom Daschle, the Democrat Leader of the United States Senate, where he worked on myriad issues including agriculture and transportation policy.

From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Chilton was a Schedule C political appointee of President Clinton where he rose to Deputy Chief of Staff to U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. In this role, Mr. Chilton became a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES)-government executives selected for their leadership qualifications to serve in the key positions just below the most senior Presidential appointees. As an SES member, Mr. Chilton served as a liaison between Secretary Glickman and the Federal work force at USDA.

From 1985 to 1995, Mr. Chilton worked in the U. S. House of Representatives where he served as Legislative Director for three different Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and as the Executive Director of the bipartisan Congressional Rural Caucus. Mr. Chilton previously served on the Boards of Directors of Bion Environmental Technologies and the Association of Family Farms.

Mr. Chilton was born in Delaware and spent his youth in Indiana, where he attended Purdue University (1979-1982). He studied political science and communications and was a collegiate leader of several organizations. Mr. Chilton and his wife, Sherry Daggett Chilton, split their time between Washington, D.C. and Arkansas.

High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012 is produced by Golden Networking (http://www.goldennetworking.net), the premier networking community for business executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to info@goldennetworking.net.

Media Contact:
Julia Ye
Media Relations Coordinator
Golden Networking
516-761-4712
jye@goldennetworking.net
http://www.goldennetworking.net

Business

Time is Ticking to Submit an Entry for Center for Productive Longevity’s Later Life Story Contest

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$1,000 Prizes Honor Older Americans Who Epitomize Entrepreneurship and Inspirational Living

Boulder, CO, July 25, 2012 – The Center for Productive Longevity’s (CPL) Later-Life Story Contest is now at its mid-way point, with less than seven weeks left to submit a story. This national competition, which was launched June 1, 2012, highlights entrepreneur success stories and inspirational life stories from people 55 and older. The deadline to enter the contest is August 31, 2012, and CPL will announce the two winners on October 1, 2012. Boulder-based CPL serves as the bridge between people 55 and older and opportunities that enable them to continue in productive activities.

A panel of three influential, highly-regarded judges will select one winner in each of the following two categories: (1) Entrepreneurship Success Stories and (2) Inspirational Life Stories. The winners will each receive $1,000 and a specially designed trophy. From the entries, CPL will select a variety of entrepreneur success stories to post on its website and publish the stories of the two winners. Here are some tips on what to include in your contest submission:

For the Entrepreneurship Success Stories Category, some optional areas to include:

* Describe your business, the need it fulfills, and the practices that contributed to its success.

* What motivated you to pursue entrepreneurship in this next stage of life?

* What “lessons learned” can you share with Baby Boomers just starting on the entrepreneurial path?

* A full outline of considerations can be found at: www.ctrpl.org/entrepreneurship-success-stories

Entrepreneurship Success Story submissions will be judged on how well they:

* Tell a compelling story.

* Describe an innovative/creative/interesting new business or way of doing business.

* Demonstrate a measurable impact/success.

* Provide practical guidance for overcoming the adversities or obstacles of new-business creation.

* Provide advice for other Baby Boomers starting on the entrepreneurial path as a career after retirement.

A few things to consider when submitting for the Inspirational Life Stories Category:

* In what ways have your later years been extraordinary?

* Did you have “a bucket list” that influenced your decisions?

* What inspirational thoughts and messages can you share with others on making the later years more fulfilling and impactful?

* Additional considerations can be found at: www.ctrpl.org/inspirationallifestories

Inspirational Life Story submissions will be judged on how well they:

* Capture the imagination.

* Describe an extraordinary/creative/innovative later-life story or experiences.

* Inspire the reader to do/learn/experience something new.

* Provide tangible advice for other Baby Boomers working after retirement on making their later years more fulfilling, inspirational and impactful.

To submit a story, visit www.ctrpl.org/laterlifestorycontest and complete a submission form. Entrants must be 55 and older and be willing to have their story posted on the CPL website for viewing and for possible publication. Stories may also be sent to James Hooks at jhooks@ctrpl.org.

For more information on CPL and the Later Life Story Contest, visit www.ctrpl.org or Facebook at www.facebook.com/CTRPL.

Media Contacts:
Jenny Foust or Alicia Hassinger
Communications Strategy Group
303.433.7020
jfoust@csg-pr.com or ahassinger@csg-pr.com

Company Contacts:
William K. Zinke or James R. Hooks
Center for Productive Longevity
303.499.3939
wzinke@ctrpl.org or jhooks@ctrpl.org

About the Center for Productive Longevity
The mission of CPL is to stimulate the substantially increased engagement of people 55 and older in productive activities, paid and volunteer, where they are qualified and ready to continue adding value. Visit ctrpl.org for more information. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CTRPL.

Contact:
Alicia Hassinger
CSG|PR
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
303-433-7020
ahassinger@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

Business

Hundreds of Community Banking Executives Meet in Austin to Strategize Against Megabanks

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Today, hundreds of community bank and credit union executives from across the country gathered for the first Kasasa Family Reunion to strategize around how to take back market share from the megabanks.

Austin, TX, July 25, 2012 – Today, hundreds of community bank and credit union executives from across the country gathered for the first Kasasa Family Reunion to strategize around how to take back market share from the megabanks.

The event, held at BancVue’s corporate headquarters in Austin, centered around Kasasa®, the powerful national brand of banking products offered exclusively by community banks and credit unions. The main objective of the ‘Reunion’ was to rally community financial institutions and celebrate the growing momentum behind the Kasasa movement.

Along with hundreds of executives representing community banks and credit unions that offer Kasasa, a contingent of non-Kasasa financial institutions that had been invited by their peers were also in attendance to learn more about the strategy of uniting behind a national brand to take back market share.

“I’ve been working in the banking industry for over 35 years and I never thought I would see the day when community banks and credit unions come together in mass to talk about ways to take it to the megabanks,” says Paul Peterson, CFO at Ocean Communities Federal Credit Union in Biddeford, Maine. “Kasasa has already taken off in our market and based on this year’s Kasasa Family Reunion, it’s clear that it’s also taking off all across the country.”

In addition to strategic planning, the event also celebrated the success of Kasasa. In short order, more than 300,000 Kasasa accounts have been opened, representing some $41 million in non-interest income to partner institutions. In aggregate, Kasasa partners, currently represented in 38 states, rank 17th in branch network size.

Another key part of the ‘Reunion’ involved financial institutions sharing best practices with each other, and BancVue sharing the newest developments that the community banking industry can expect from Kasasa in the near future.

“Looking around the crowd at Kasasa Family Reunion, it’s safe to say, these are the bankers who will survive and thrive over the next five to ten years,” says Gabe Krajicek, CEO of BancVue. “Kasasa has really taken off and we fully expect for that trend to continue into 2013. In short order, we’ve built a powerful network of community banks and credit unions that have united under a national brand of banking accounts. It’s just a matter of time before we catch up to the mega banks and retake market share.”

BancVue has been bringing game-changing innovations to the marketplace since its founding in 2004. With offerings like Kasasa and the latest innovation, Kasasa 360, a superior online money management platform designed to help drive revenues and facilitate more cross-sales activities, BancVue has helped its network of over 5,000 branches nationwide compete and win against the megabanks.

About BancVue
BancVue is the leading provider of innovative products, world-class marketing, and data-driven consulting solutions to community financial institutions across the U.S. Featuring offerings like Kasasa, a dynamic suite of banking solutions that make a difference with innovative accounts and money management tools, BancVue products are designed to deliver controlled new account growth, higher profitability, and increased customer retention. For more information, visit www.bancvue.com.

Contact:
Katie Weathers
CSG PR
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
(404) 791-8245
kweathers@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

Business

Lumber ‘Treasure Hunts’ illustrate Demand for Timber, claims FRA

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FRA has claimed that the modern-day timber scavengers and ‘treasure-hunters’ prove that timber is growing in demand and value.

Seattle, United States, July 25, 2012 — Forestry Research Associates has claimed that the modern-day timber scavengers and ‘treasure-hunters’ prove that timber is growing in demand and value.

Reports into the increase in people searching for lost tropical rainforest timbers that fell to river and sea beds years ago, has prompted experts to use this as evidence of the ongoing demand for timber. A recent report in the Bangkok Post about the activity shows that there is a growing number of timber ‘treasure-hunters’ who search for long-lost logs of timbers no longer widely available due to logging restrictions.

Peter Collins of FRA, the research and analysis consultancy, said, “Many of these so-called treasure hunters are in operation in South-East Asia where a large number of exotic hardwood logs were lost during the period when logging of rainforests was more common and legal, back in the 1980s and 1990s.”

The article in the Bangkok Post described how the exotic lumber is in demand in Asia in particular, where it is used for the construction of everything from bar tops to pianos.

“The populations of many Asian countries are growing increasingly wealthy and want fine things made of beautiful timbers. However, the logging of many of these timbers is now illegal and the only way to get hold of them is to rescue logs that have been sitting on river beds for several years,” explained Mr Collins. He added, “The alternative, of course, is to source timber from sustainable plantations, such as those run by firms like Greenwood Management in Brazil and Canada.”

FRA supports sustainable timber plantations that allow investors to buy up sections of timberland while receiving returns from when the timber is harvested, processed and sold on. Timber demand in general is high at the moment, particularly in China, India and Japan, which is making timberland investment even more attractive.

About Forestry Research Associates

Forestry Research Associates is a research and advisory consultancy that focuses on forestry management, sustainability issues and forestry investment around the globe.

Media Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 316 8394
info@forestry-research.com
http://www.forestry-research.com

Business, Marketing

Bringing Street Art into the Home – The Urban Wallpaper Collection at Urbane Living

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The designer Urban wallpaper collection has now launched at Urbane Living.

London, UK, July 25, 2012 — The Urban designer wallpaper collection Urban Wallpaper, recently launched at Urbane Living, allows design-lovers to admire some urban art in the comfort of their own homes.

The collection features portraits, graffiti-style prints, illustrative designs and comic-esque images from top artists and designers such as Javi Gutiérrez, David Fernández, Txema Algualcil, Mariscal, La Casita de Wendy and Txell Miras.

Hand-painted and drawn designs add an authentic artistic flair and there’s a choice of bold shades such as deep reds and greens or more subtle colour palettes to fit with any décor. The papers are easy to maintain too, making them a much more realistic option for any home – just wipe with a damp cloth.

The range will appeal to eco-conscious design fans – each wallpaper in the Urban collection is printed on highly sustainable paper using special inks which allow the paper to be recycled when it is removed from the walls.

Adam Robertson, co-founder of Urbane Living, commented: “We’re proud to be offering wallpaper from such highly respected artists and designers. This collection taps into the interest in artists such as Banksy and successfully transfers urban art to the wallpaper world and the home.”

He added: “These eye-catching designs will prove a talking point in any modern home or business property and are perfect for a feature wall in any room.”

Roll size: Width 0.53m x Length 10m

Price: Starts from £52.00 including VAT

About Urbane Living

Urbane Living supplies a wide range of home décor products, including wood flooring, natural carpets, rugs, designer wallpaper and eco-paints. When sourcing its products, the company always considers quality, performance, affordability, and environmental benefits.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Goh
Urbane Living
Unit 102, The Light Box,
111 Power Road, Chiswick, London W4 5PY
020 7138 3836
info@urbaneliving.co.uk
http://www.urbaneliving.co.uk

Business, Travel

TripInsurance.com Can Protect Ticket Investment for Travelers Headed to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics

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Missing Special Events Can Ruin Your Vacation Unless You Have the Right Travel Insurance.

LOS GATOS, Calif. (July 20, 2012) — This year’s London 2012 Summer Olympics is expected to attract more than 11 million visitors, and there are more than 16 million tickets being sold for Olympic events at prices ranging from $30 to $3,100. With so many people gathering in one place for so many events, any number of things can prevent you from seeing the Olympic event that you may have traveled thousands of miles to experience. According to TripInsurance.com, the most trusted online resource to help travelers find the trip coverage they need, the right travel insurance can help protect your Olympic investment if you are delayed or miss your favorite event for some unforeseen reason.

Many travel insurance policies include coverage for nonrefundable shore excursions or events, such as tickets to a special event such as the Olympics, Wimbledon, the America’s Cup, the Super Bowl, or a Broadway play. Depending on the specific insurance plan, if you miss a scheduled event because of an accident, illness, illness in the family, a work commitment, or some other unforeseen circumstance, you can either recoup the cost of the event tickets or, in some cases, the cost of the entire vacation. For those who have spent thousands of dollars to attend the 2012 Summer Olympics, this kind of travel insurance is essential.

“The Olympics is a great example of the kind of vacation that offers no flexibility in your vacation timing or travel scheduling,” noted Dan Skilken, founder and CEO of TripInsurance.com. “After investing all that time and effort to get tickets to the Olympics, a delayed flight or train or an overbooked hotel can ruin your entire trip. Travel delay coverage is your best defense and is included in most travel insurance policies, so you are covered if you miss an event that was the focal point of your trip.”

Insurance coverage for nonrefundable shore excursion and event tickets are included in most of TripInsurance.com’s direct-to-consumer travel insurance plans. TripInsurance.com offers trip insurance plans to suit all needs, categorized as “good,” “better,” and “best.” And TripInsurance.com customers realize savings of 40 percent or more because on TripInsurance.com they can buy direct from the underwriters. Plus there is 24/7 service available to handle questions and claims. For more information, visit http://www.tripinsurance.com, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TripInsurancecom.

About TripInsurance.com
TripInsurance.com is the online resource for comprehensive and affordable travel insurance. Most travelers really don’t understand the details and benefits of travel insurance, and buy based on recommendations from a travel agent or a third party. TripInsurance.com simplifies buying travel insurance by providing comparison-shopping online for the best coverage at the lowest prices. TripInsurance.com is committed to making insurance terms easy to understand, providing the best available coverage categorized by customers’ specific needs, and allowing travelers to buy direct from leading underwriters to achieve savings of 40% or more. The company is fully licensed for Property and Casualty, Life, and Accident and Health insurance in all 50 states, and the staff are fully trained and licensed insurance professionals.

For more information, visit http://www.tripinsurance.com.

Contact:
Dan Skilken
TripInsurance.com
(408) 337-2345
info@tripinsurance.com

Tom Woolf
Gumas Advertising
(415) 621-7575
twoolf@gumas.com