Razor Sharp Fitness Center

Racine Razors Volleyball Club Open Gym Training and Clinic Session: All volleyball players welcome to participate in this free training and clinic. 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays, July 25-Aug. 8. Razor Sharp Fitness Center, 7300 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant. Call (262) 939-1221.

North Beach

Zumba Classes: Zumba fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a dynamic workout system. Class participants follow the Zumba instructor who will do choreography dancing to Latin music like salsa, merengue, cumbia, samba, flamenco, reggaeton and some American music. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, through Aug. 30, at North Beach near the Beachside Oasis, 100 Kewaunee St. Free.

Racine Dental Group

Blood drive: Donors must be in good health, be age 17 or older (16 with parental consent) and have a photo ID. 3-7 p.m. Aug. 6. Racine Dental Group, lower meeting room, 1320 S. Green Bay Road, Racine. Register at http://www.bcw.edu/racinedentalgroup or call (262) 637-9371.

City of RacineHealth Department

Immunization clinics and TB tests: The City of Racine offers walk-in immunization clinics in the City Hall Room 4, 730 Washington Ave., from 1:30-4 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.

Medicaid/Forward Health cards are accepted only for those ages 18 and younger. Medicare cannot be accepted for any services. Cash, check and credit card (Visa and MasterCard) are accepted.

A $10 fee is requested for residents of the City of Racine, Elmwood Park and Wind Point for one vaccine plus $5 for each additional vaccine with a maximum of $20; and $15 for Racine County residents for one vaccine plus $5 for each additional vaccine with a maximum cost of $25.

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Health & Fitness File, July 25

I'm 25 and off to a good start saving for retirement. But I'm scared stiff about how to invest my Roth IRA because a poor decision could cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time I retire. Any advice? Andy C., Des Moines, Iowa

Relax, there's no need to work yourself into a lather. Even though many pros like to make investing seem complicated -- probably so you'll hire them to manage your money -- it's really not all that difficult.

Sure, you'll make some mistakes. We all do. But as long as you follow a few key principles like keeping it simple, holding the line on costs, diversifying broadly and ignoring the jabber of pundits who advocate constant buying and selling, any flubs you make aren't likely to wreak mortal damage.

Take solace in the fact that you're already doing the single most important thing to assure a secure future: You're actually saving. Wall Street types may cringe when I say this, but contributing to a retirement account regularly throughout your career is more important than investing prowess for building wealth over the long term.

That said, since you're going to the trouble to put bucks aside in your Roth IRA, you might as well earn a decent return. Here are three ways you can do that, ranging from easy to easier to easiest, without getting obsessive-compulsive about it.

The easy way. Your aim as a long-term investor should be to build a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds and then stick with it, except to rebalance every year or so.

You can create that stocks-bonds mix simply and effectively by investing in just three funds: a total stock market index fund, a total bond market index fund and a total international stock index fund, each of which you can find on our MONEY 70 list.

This three-fund combo will give you exposure to the entire U.S. stock market, virtually all publicly-traded foreign stocks and the full gamut of taxable investment-grade domestic bonds.

In short, you'll put together the building blocks for a well-balanced portfolio -- and you'll do it on the cheap. Your annual costs should come in below 0.25% a year, or less than a quarter of what the typical mutual fund charges.

As for how to divvy up your money among these three components, there's no "official" blend. But considering that you're young and have plenty of time to ride out market setbacks, you'll want to lean heavily toward stocks, which have the potential to generate the highest long-term gains.

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Everyone makes some retirement investing mistakes

PITTSBURGH, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --fi360, the premier organization for fiduciary education, investment analytics, support services, and industry insights for financial professionals, today announced a collaboration with Charles Schwab Retirement Business Services. Schwab retirement advisors will now have access to a customized version of the fi360 Toolkit that is directly integrated into the Schwab Retirement Center technology platform. fi360 also will be conducting custom Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) training events for Schwab retirement plan advisors.

The technology project will allow Schwab advisors to leverage fi360's first-in-class product, an online investment management tool created to support advisors' management of client portfolios and documentation of a prudent investment process.

In addition to this key technology development, the two firms are working together to bring AIF training to Schwab retirement plan advisors, enabling them to earn the AIF designation. The AIF designation represents a thorough knowledge of and ability to apply a fiduciary process.

Importantly, the fi360 Toolkit is fully integrated with the Schwab advisor interface and will:

"fi360's sophisticated toolkit is an integral part of our commitment to helping advisors meet a fiduciary standard of care and help their clients navigate the evolving retirement landscape," said Debbie Pritchard, vice president, Schwab Retirement Business Services. "By streamlining investment selection, analysis, and reporting, advisors will be able to more efficiently provide their clients with a high level of service and transparency."

"We are excited to be working with Schwab to support retirement plan advisors with the most sophisticated fiduciary education and plan management and client reporting tools available," said fi360 CEO Blaine Aikin. "But it is ultimately the investors on the receiving end of highly-supported, prudent fiduciary management who are the greatest beneficiaries of this collaboration."

About fi360fi360 offers a comprehensive approach to investment fiduciary education, practice management and support that has established them as the go-to source for investment fiduciary insights. With substantiated Practices as the foundation, fi360 offers world-class fiduciary Training/Education,ToolsandResourcesthat are essential for fiduciaries and those who provide services to fiduciaries to effectively and successfully manage their roles and responsibilities. Fi360 assists those who rely on their fiduciary education programs, professionalAIF and AIFA designations, Web-based analytical and reporting software and resources to achieve success. For more information about fi360, please visitwww.fi360.comor Twitter: @fi360.

About Charles SchwabThe Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300offices and 8.7million client brokerage accounts, 1.52million corporate retirement plan participants, 822,000banking accounts, and $1.80trillion in client assets. The company was ranked "Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Self-Directed Services" in the 2012 U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction StudySM from J.D. Power and Associates. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and mortgage services and products. More information is available at http://www.schwab.com and http://www.aboutschwab.com.

Charles Schwab Bank; Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.; Schwab Retirement Plan Services Company; and Schwab Retirement Technologies (Schwab RT) are separate but affiliated companies and wholly owned subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Brokerage products and services are offered by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Trust and custody products and services are offered by Charles Schwab Bank. Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. and Schwab Retirement Plan Services Company provide recordkeeping services with respect to retirement plans. Schwab RT is engaged in developing and licensing proprietary retirement plan recordkeeping systems to independent third-party administrators.

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fi360 Announces Initiative with Charles Schwab Retirement Business Services for Fiduciary Management Solution

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In response to the demand for state-of-the-art retirement communities designed for active lifestyle and healthcare needs of todays aging population, Nexus Companies redefines retirement living with Vivante On The Coast. Vivante, which encompasses nearly 200,000-square-feet of space on a seven-acre gated campus, is now under construction with completion Fall 2013. Its the first new retirement community built in the area in 15 years.

Vivante will provide an environment of unparalleled luxury and comfort, coupled with the highest level of personalized service for residents. Underscoring the demand, the team has pre-leased 55 suites to date of a total 185 planned.

Vivante will be a unique experience in luxury retirement living, incorporating new ideas in fitness, healthcare, technology, and lifestyle that appeal to the demands of an expanding aging population, said Curt Olson, CEO/Founder, Nexus Companies.

Setting Vivante apart is:

The community includes 31,000 square feet of indoor amenity space. Suites include full kitchens with luxury finishes such as CaesarStone countertops and stainless steel appliances. Wellness amenities include an indoor saltwater pool, fitness center, spa, daily group exercises, yoga deck, physical therapy, serenity garden, reflexology footpath, putting green and bocce ball court.

Vivante is dedicated to enhancing the lives of its residents. The communitys services include 24/7 concierge, personal care and assisted living services, chauffeur services, pet care, move-in services, housekeeping, personal shopping and laundry services. Vivante will provide each resident with an iPad including an application to allow communication among family and staff. Residents are able to view activities and menus, and request maintenance and repairs.

Another significant part of the community is The Shores at Vivante On The Coast, a secured memory care facility located within the property, featuring 40 residences. The Shores provides specialized care for residents with memory impairment diseases such as Alzheimers, Vascular Dementia and Parkinsons. The coastal-inspired community is designed as a secure and safe home-like environment with its own separate amenities.

Once completed, Integral Senior Living will manage the community. Vivante is at 1640 Monrovia Avenue in Costa Mesa, with our leasing office at 320 W. Coast Highway in Newport Beach. Call 949-629-2100.

Photos/MultimediaGallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50353207&lang=en

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Vivante On The Coast™ Redefines Retirement Living

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The year listed in the fifth graph, third sentence of release should read: 2001 (sted 2011).

The corrected release reads:

SIGNATURE BANK RANKS IN TOP FIVE ON BANK DIRECTOR MAGAZINES 2012 BANK PERFORMANCE SCORECARD

Signature Bank is One of Only Two Banks in the U.S. to Place in Top Five of Three Prestigious 2012 Bank Rankings

Signature Bank (SBNY), a New York-based full-service commercial bank, today announced that it ranked fifth on Bank Director magazines 2012 Bank Performance Scorecard, in the category of banks with assets ranging from $5 billion to $50 billion.

Bank Director magazines 2012 Bank Performance Scorecard is a comprehensive ranking of all banks and thrifts traded on the NYSE or NASDAQ exchanges. This years ranking was divided into four asset categories. As in past years, the ranking was based on performance across a combination of areas, including profitability, capital strength and asset quality.

The Bank Director ranking comes on the heels of Signature Bank being named 4th in ABA Banking Journals list of Top Performing Banks (April 2012), in the large bank category, meaning those public banks and thrifts with total assets of more than $10 billion; and Forbes 2012 list of Americas Best Banks (December 2011) where it ranked fifth. Forbes used eight metrics regarding asset quality, capital adequacy and profitability of the 100 largest publicly traded banks and thrifts to determine results.

Signature Bank is one of only two banks in the nation that placed in the top five in all three of these publications recent rankings.

The Bank Director ranking, as well as the many other prestigious lists that recognize Signature Banks performance and growth, validates our team-based client-centric model. Without ever advertising, Signature Bank attracts both bankers and clients by remaining dedicated to our distinctive single-point-of-contact approach -- where our private client banking teams are the central contact for meeting all client needs. Our focus on providing unparalleled relationship banking has continually generated consistent growth since the Banks inception in 2001, noted Signature Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo.

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CORRECTING and REPLACING Signature Bank Ranks in Top Five on Bank Director Magazine’s 2012 Bank Performance Scorecard

The Irish Times - Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A group of leading classical musicians tell MICHAEL DERVANtheir personal favourites, offer advice and reveal some tricks of the trade

CAROL McGONNELL

Irish clarinettist

Who do you regard as the greatest living clarinettist?

I guess Id have to say my former teacher, Charles Neidich. What hes capable of doing on the instrument goes beyond anything Ive heard anyone else do. His perspective on standard repertoire, his understanding of a piece in relation to the rest of a composers output, and his grasp of harmony are really outstanding.

The greatest performance you ever heard on clarinet?

Theres a busker at Union Square station in New York, on the N and R line, who plays saxophone and clarinet. What he does on clarinet is so fascinating, Ill get off at the stop just to see if hes there. Its utterly unique. I have no idea how he achieves the sounds that he makes. And David Krakauer doing Klezmer at the now defunct East Village Tonic Club on Sunday mornings.

The best advice you were ever given about the clarinet or clarinet playing?

One of the things I always remember is Brian ORourke, former principal clarinettist of the NSO and my teacher at the time, telling me years ago not to be too concerned about what other clarinettists are doing, to put my head down, do my own thing, and not to worry about it.

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Listen - it's all about the music

LONDON (SHARECAST) - The doorstep lender International Personal Finance (IPF) is to return a pile of cash to shareholders after reporting a big rise in customer numbers and underlying profits at the half year stage.

The company provides credit for households who may struggle to borrow money through conventional channels. The key for Leeds-based IPF is its focus on emerging markets; it makes its money in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Mexico.

In the six months to the end of June the group had 2.46m customers, up from 2.29m at the same point last year. Combined, those clients had taken out loans worth 409.3m. On a constant currency basis thats a 12.2% increase on 2011.

Foreign exchange (FX) movements were a big problem, though, for International Personal Finance, which last year had to issue a profit warning as the pound strengthened and the currencies in which it generates revenues weakened. It is this currency effect which is partly to blame for underlying profits before tax coming in at 31.4m, down on the 35.7m seen at the same point of 2011.

IPF also struggles when people pay their debts early, the so-called early settlement rebate. Stripping out both the FX and rebate issues, the profits before tax figure showed growth of 7.5m.

To reflect the underlying performance and with cash flowing in to strengthen an already healthy balance sheet, IPF has announced an interim dividend of 3.23p per share, a rise of 7.5% on the prior year, plus a 25m into a share buyback programme.

These two moves pushed the share price up nearly 7% in morning trading, although IPFs stock is still 26% down over the last 12 months.

Chief Executive Officer, Gerard Ryan, commented: "We are on track to perform well for the year as a whole, aim to deliver stronger growth and make our balance sheet work harder, and we have the strategy in place to do this."

BS

Excerpt from:
Confident Intl Personal Finance hikes divi

Transocean and BP, trade associations, and U.S. regulators largely judged the safety of offshore facilities by focusing on routine personal injury and fatality data such as dropped objects and trips and falls when they should have been more focused on managing the potential for catastrophic accidents, a federal report on the Gulf oil disaster says.

Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) who examined the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf said that timely checks on safety critical equipment and response to well control events would provide a better assessment of the health of safety management systems.

These type of indicators may be precursors to the kind of tragedy that took 11n lives on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig following the Macondo well blowout on April 20, 2010, the CSB said in a report released in Houston today that tracks with previous recommendations of the board.

A number of past CSB investigations have found companies focusing on personal injury rates while virtually overlooking looming process safety issues like the effectiveness of barriers against hazardous releases, automatic shutoff system failures, activation of pressure relief devices, and loss of containment of liquids and gases, said CSB Chairperson Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso. Furthermore, we have found failures by companies to implement their own recommendations from previous accidents involving, for example, leaks of flammable materials.

In its investigation of the Macondo disaster, the CSB found that BP and its contracted drilling rig operator, Transocean, were focused on personal safety issues such as worker injury rates, rather than broader safety issues involving the process of drilling for oil using a complex rig.

Citing what the report says was a lack of sustained focus on process safety, CSB investigator Cheryl MacKenzie described an eerie resemblance between the 2005 explosion at the BP Texas City refinery of March 2005 and the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon in 2010.

At the BP Texas City refinery on March 23, 2005, contract workers had just returned to temporary trailers at the plant after attending a celebratory lunch commending an excellent personal injury accident record. Shortly after lunch, an explosion occurred during process startup, killing 15 and injuring 180 others. At Macondo, BP and Transocean officials were in the process of lauding operators and workers for a low rate of personal injuries on the very day of that tragedy. Company VIPs had flown to the rig in part to commend the workforce for zero lost-time incidents.

The emphasis on personal injury and lost work-time data obscures the bigger picture: that companies need to develop indicators that give them realistic information about their potential for catastrophic accidents. How safety is measured and managed is at the very core of accident prevention, MacKenzie said. If companies are not measuring safety performance effectively and using those data to continuously improve, they will likely be left in the dark about their safety risks.

A BP spokesman told the Associated Press that the company stepped up and developed more rigorous safety indicators following the accident.

The safety board said when BP looked at offshore endeavors it focused on financial risks, not process safety risks. And after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the companys own accident investigation report recommended requiring hazard reviews of BP-owned and contracted rigs, the safety board said.

Link:
Oil Firms, Regulators Miss Major Accident Indicators: Gulf Spill Report

Pensacola, FL (PRWEB) July 24, 2012

Michael Gray, Jr., founder and CEO of MEG Financial, Inc., a national life and disability insurance specialty brokerage agency has collaborated with renowned marketing advisor, author and consultant Dan S. Kennedy, to co-write "The Ultimate Success Secret: Strategies From America's Most Trusted Advisors." The purpose of the book is to provide insight to everyone seeking to grow personally, professionally and financially.

The section of the book authored by Mr. Gray focuses on "How to Find an Advisor You Can Trust", a critical factor in building a successful relationship, especially when dealing with money and finances. Mr. Gray states, "in this day and age, with all of the financial schemes, "book cooking", market volatility and economic uncertainty, finding an advisor you can trust should be your #1 priority."

About Michael E. Gray, Jr. Over his 19+ career, Michael Gray, Jr., CEO of MEG Financial, Inc., has worked with tens of thousands of individuals and businesses nationwide as a trusted advisor and consultant with respect to life and disability insurance. The experience gained over the years has allowed Michael to grow both personally and professionally and to really understand the importance of helping others. During this time, Michael has developed 3,000+ clients and many have become very good friends.

About MEG Financial MEG Financial is a Florida based corporation that provides life insurance and financial services consulting to individuals and businesses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. MEG represents over 80 of the nations most respected life and disability insurance companies. Niche areas of focus include term life insurance, universal life, disability income insurance, finding insurance for people with tough medical conditions, business insurance including key person insurance as well as estate planning.

For details on how you can order a copy of "The Ultimate Success Secret: Strategies From America's Most Trusted Advisors" contact Paula Pope.

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Michael Gray, Jr., CEO of MEG Financial, Co-Authors Book "The Ultimate Success Secret: Strategies From America's Most ...

The end has come for Big Mamas Cheesecakes, at least for now.

In 2010, demand for Big Mamas creations was so huge that owners Carrie and Joe Fanizzi moved the bakery from a small storefront in Mattydale to Northern Lights mall.

But the cheesecake company is now closed, due to a combination of economic issues, limited traffic in Northern Lights and personal reasons, said co-owner Carrie Fanizzi.

Its really awful to have to close, but whats been unbelievable is the response people calling and saying how much they liked Big Mamas and theyll miss it, Fanizzi said.

About 80 percent of Big Mamas cheesecakes were sold wholesale to restaurants, leaving the rest for retail sales from the mall store.

Fanizzi, who was in business with her husband Joe, started the company in 2007. Its first restaurant customer was The Retreat in Liverpool. The Fanizzis later went into a partnership with Carol and David Trytek.

Carrie Fanizzi said she still has the cheesecake-making equipment, and is considering her next move. That could mean restarting in some fashion or perhaps selling the brand.

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Once a local success story, Big Mama's Cheesecakes is now closed