Fit in 42 Daily Health and Fitness Challenge! – Video
Posted: February 2, 2012 at 3:38 pm
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Fit in 42 Daily Health and Fitness Challenge! - Video
Unbiased Supplement Review: NO-Xplode by BSN (Final Grade: B+) – Video
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Unbiased Supplement Review: NO-Xplode by BSN (Final Grade: B+) - Video
ING Study: Cultural Influences Impact Retirement Planning and Decision-Making
Posted: at 3:38 pm
WINDSOR, Conn., Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ING U.S. released key findings today from a comprehensive study(1) commissioned by the ING Retirement Research Institute that examined the attitudes, behaviors and preparedness of different ethnic groups, including African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics, regarding their future retirement. The research showed that while Americans of all backgrounds encounter similar barriers to saving and planning, cultural differences account for disparate experiences among the groups. For additional information or to view the report, visit http://ing.us.
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54466-ing-study-cultural-influences-impact-retirement-planning-decision-making
According to the study, Retirement Revealed, all populations found retirement planning to be a daunting task. However, ING's research showed that Hispanics feel the least prepared, with 54 percent indicating they feel "not very" or "not at all" prepared. This compares with 50 percent of African-Americans, 48 percent of white and 44 percent of Asian respondents indicating that they don't feel prepared. These feelings correspond with the amount saved in employer-sponsored retirement plans, where Hispanic respondents reported having the lowest average balances ($54,000) in their retirement plans. This amount was considerably less than the average balance across all groups ($69,000). In contrast, Asian respondents reported having the highest average plan balances ($81,000).
"All Americans face the growing responsibility of planning and saving for retirement. However, there are distinct cultural differences that may affect some groups more than others when it comes to getting or staying on the right path," said Maliz Beams, CEO of ING U.S. Retirement. "As a leading retirement provider at the workplace and in the retail market, our mission is to help individuals retire with the dignity and financial security they deserve. Our goal is to take the important cultural reference points from this study and turn them into customized solutions that help all our customers become better prepared — regardless of their background."
Other key findings from the Retirement Revealed study include the following:
Financial Information:
Non-whites were more likely than whites to get their investment information and guidance from the Internet and media. African-Americans (54 percent), Asians (53 percent) and Hispanics (50 percent) indicated that the media and Internet were the primary source of getting advice and guidance compared to 45 percent of white respondents. Whites were more likely to use a financial professional. While nearly one-in-three (28 percent) of overall respondents are currently working with a financial professional, only three-quarters (75 percent) of this group indicated their adviser looks at their complete financial picture. Face-to-face communication with a financial professional is ranked the highest in terms of value provided in getting information about their retirement plan and other employee benefits.
Barriers to Saving:
Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents admitted to having barriers to saving. Among the groups, African-Americans said debt was their biggest barrier. Needing to know more about their savings options is a greater barrier to savings for Hispanics than for any other group.
Planning Goals:
Hispanic respondents were less focused on their future retirement goals — well over half (57 percent) have never calculated how much money they will need to continue their current lifestyle upon retirement. Seven-in-10 (70 percent) Hispanics did not have a formal investment plan to reach those goals. Only three-in-10 (29 percent) of overall respondents have a formal investment plan; African-Americans are most likely to have one (32 percent); whites are least likely (28 percent).
Emergency Savings:
Just under half (41 percent) have virtually no emergency savings (one month or less). This increases to nearly half for Hispanics (47 percent) and 50 percent for African-Americans, while only one-in-four Asians have one month or less saved for emergencies.
Purchasing Priorities:
Asians appear to be most prepared for retirement, but had a tendency to place a higher priority on lifestyle choices, such as purchasing a nice house or car, than planning for retirement.
"There are certainly more similarities than differences among the ethnic groups when it comes to retirement planning, but distinctions do exist and understanding them can be critical to future retirement success," added Fabian Gonzalez, vice president of Multicultural Sales at ING U.S. "For example, many times in the Hispanic community, parents will sacrifice their own financial future in order for their children to advance. By researching and learning about the rationale behind decisions like this, we can better understand our customers and help them achieve their financial goals."
Additional findings from the study include:
Nearly one-in-four African-Americans (23 percent) have life insurance coverage equal to four to five times their salary, higher than the total population (18 percent). This corresponds with African-American respondents indicating that they were the most likely to leave life insurance proceeds to their heirs (70 percent vs. 53 percent of the total sample). More than six-in-10 (63 percent) of African-Americans cite reducing debt as their most important short-term financial goal. Hispanics are the most likely (57 percent) to want more education about investments and retirement options from their employer, compared to all respondent groups (47 percent). Asians are the least likely to have a last will and testament (26 percent), compared with 31 percent for Hispanics and 37 percent for white respondents.
For additional information on the ING's Retirement Revealed study and to read the report, visit http://ing.us.
(1) Findings are from an online survey conducted by ORC International during the period of Oct. 5-13, 2011. Respondents were 4,050 adults (including 500 African-Americans, 500 Hispanics and 350 Asians) between the ages of 25 and 69 who are employed full-time with an annual household income of $40,000 or greater. Data were weighted to make the results representative of the U.S. population.
About ING
ING U.S. is a subsidiary of Dutch-based ING Groep N.V. In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING - News) family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes retirement plans, life insurance, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits and financial planning. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves approximately 15 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit http://ing.us.
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ING Study: Cultural Influences Impact Retirement Planning and Decision-Making
BMO Retirement Tips of the Day: Using Your Common Sense and Planning Ahead Will Help Secure Your Retirement Nest Egg
Posted: at 3:38 pm
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -02/02/12)- As the February 29th deadline approaches to make a contribution to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and as part of its ongoing commitment to improving financial literacy, BMO Financial Group will be providing daily retirement tips during the month of February from BMO Retirement Institute Head Tina Di Vito's new book 52 Ways To Wreck Your Retirement...And How To Rescue It.
Tip Number Three:
Use common sense
Many Canadians understand that good money management includes saving, not over-spending and investing carefully. The problem is we often don't exercise common sense with our money, which can lead to spending too much, accumulating debt and making bad investment choices. Some tried and true tips for using common sense include:
-- Don't spend more than you earn. Try to save for purchases instead of
borrowing.
-- Be informed before making a financial decision; if it sounds too good to
be true, it probably is.
-- Pay yourself first by setting up an automatic contribution plan.
Tip Number Four:
Save for tomorrow rather than only living for today
When we live for today, we value things we can have right now more than those we will enjoy later on. As a result we often don't prioritize saving for retirement.
While retirement seems far away it should be a top priority. Establishing monthly savings goals will help get you on the right track, as will setting up automatic withdrawals from your paycheque into an RRSP. Start with small contributions - but not too small - especially if you want to give your savings a boost.
For more information on retirement: http://www.bmo.com/retirement.
Get the latest BMO press releases via Twitter by following @BMOmedia.
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BMO Retirement Tips of the Day: Using Your Common Sense and Planning Ahead Will Help Secure Your Retirement Nest Egg
Eazy-E – Arsenio Hall Interview + Live Performance Of Real Compton City G’s.wmv – Video
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Preety Bhalla’s Personal Collection of Jagjit Singh’s Live Performance Of "Tere Khusboo Main". – Video
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Lending Club Surpasses $500 Million in Personal Loans
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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lending Club (http://www.lendingclub.com), the leading platform for investing in and obtaining personal loans, today announced that $500 million in loans have been originated via the platform since inception. Lending Club serves the needs of prime consumers who choose the lower interest rate loans available through Lending Club over more expensive credit cards.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120202/SF46378)
The San Francisco-based company commenced operations in 2007 and has exceeded 100 percent growth in loan volume each year since. More than a quarter-billion dollars in loans were originated on the platform in 2011, more than doubling the previous four years combined. Lending Club now averages more than $1 million in loan originations per day, with an average loan size of $10,945. The majority of borrowers (66.7 percent) say they use Lending Club's fixed-rate personal loan platform to pay off their high-interest credit cards.
Investments are also soaring: Lending Club now receives more than $30 million a month in new investments from a base of over 50,000 retail investors and a rapidly growing pool of institutional investors, with more than 50 investor accounts over $1 million and several accounts over $10 million. By focusing on loan originations to prime and super-prime quality borrowers and with less than 10 percent of submitted loan applications approved, Lending Club has established a four and a half-year track record in which its Prime Consumer Notes generated 18 consecutive quarters of positive returns and average annual returns of 5.8 percent to 12.3 percent depending on loan grades.(1) The company's wholly-owned subsidiary LC Advisors, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, launched two funds in 2011 that rapidly grew to more than $80 million in assets under management.
Lending Club's year-over-year revenue more than doubled with calendar 2011 revenue reaching $12.8 million. The Lending Club team has expanded rapidly, with more than 25 new employees hired in 2011 bringing the company total to 78. Key hires included Chief Risk Officer Chaomei Chen, formerly chief risk officer with JP Morgan Chase Card Services and LC Advisors President Brad Pattelli, formerly co-portfolio manager of the levered loan group at New York-based hedge fund Angelo Gordon.
"Lending Club is a radically simple, new idea that is delivering value. We put the consumer back in the driver's seat and use technology to lower costs," said Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche. "Our process whereby investors provide capital to invest in loans made to borrowers is the simplest, most transparent and most efficient form of lending. Lending Club takes banking back to its roots."
About Lending Club
Lending Club utilizes technology and innovation to reduce the cost of traditional lending and offer borrowers better rates and investors better returns. Founded in 2006 and based in San Francisco, CA, Lending Club has been recognized for its results and innovation by the Harvard Business Review and Dow Jones, was named one of Forbes' America's Most Promising Companies in 2011 and recognized as a 2012 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. More information is available at: http://www.lendingclub.com.
Additional information about Lending Club is available in the prospectus for Lending Club's notes, which can be obtained on Lending Club's website at https://www.lendingclub.com/info/prospectus.action.
Information in this press release is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Some of the statements in this above are "forward-looking statements." The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Currently only residents of the following states may invest in Lending Club notes: CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY (accredited investors), LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SC, SD, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, or WY.
(1) Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Investments may lose value.
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Lending Club Surpasses $500 Million in Personal Loans
Prosper.com Funds More Than $300 Million in P2P Personal Loans
Posted: at 3:37 pm
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -02/02/12)- Prosper.com, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace for personal loans and investments, announced today that it has funded more than $300 million in P2P consumer loans since inception. The company also announced that it funded a record $10.8 million in loans in January alone. This latest monthly milestone continues a streak of 12 consecutive months of record growth, a 178% year-over-year increase in personal loans funded.
"Our record growth is a true testament to our category-best seasoned returns for lenders," said Chris Larsen, Prosper's chief executive officer and co-founder. "Investors are turning to us for our high-yield returns and our transparent, trusted marketplace. We look forward to continued growth in 2012."
Highlights for January 2012 include:
Record monthly origination volumes of $10.8 million; 14% monthly growth in originations from December 2011; 11.4% compound monthly growth rate over the last 12 months; Borrower listings increased 30%; Growth achieved while maintaining strong risk return metrics: average credit score of 724(2) and estimated loss of 5.69%(1) while delivering a 10.46%(1) ROI.
Prosper is the only P2P lender to report seasoned and audited returns. Seasoned returns are a more conservative and accurate indicator of returns, reflecting a loan or portfolio of loans that has matured enough for the performance to have stabilized. This return is thought to more accurately reflect the true underlying return of the asset.
Prosper contracted Ashland & Partners to conduct a comprehensive audit of its individual loans and operational infrastructure. The independent audit represents a first in P2P lending, setting the stage for full transparency and return on investment (ROI) verification. Ashland examined a specified Schedule of Performance for the Prosper All Rated Notes by Vintage Month Performance Record for the period July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2011.
Debt consolidation, home improvement and small business-related loans remain the leading loan categories on Prosper.com. To learn more about Prosper's lender returns and competitive personal loans, visit http://www.prosper.com.
About Prosper
Prosper Marketplace Inc., a peer-to-peer lending marketplace that brings together creditworthy borrowers with individual and institutional investors, allows people to invest in each other in a way that is financially and socially rewarding. Individual and institutional investors invest in minimum increments of $25 on loan listings they select. In addition to credit scores, ratings and histories, investors can consider borrowers' personal loan descriptions, endorsements from friends, and community affiliations. Prosper handles the servicing of the loan on behalf of the matched borrowers and investors. Prosper was co-founded by Chris Larsen, co-founder of E-LOAN. Prosper has raised $83.85 million in venture capital and is backed by financial and technology luminaries including, Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; David Silverman of Crosslink Capital, Accel Partners; CompuCredit; Omidyar Network; Capital One Co-founder Nigel Morris of QED Investors; Court Coursey of TomorrowVentures; Larry Cheng of Volition Capital.
Notes offered by Prospectus.
(1) Seasoned Return and annual loss rate calculations represent historical performance data for the Borrower Payment Dependent Notes ("Notes") issued and sold by Prosper since July 15, 2009. To be included in the calculations, Notes must be associated with a borrower loan originated more than 10 months ago; these calculations use loans originated through February 28, 2011. Our research shows that Prosper Note returns historically have shown increased stability after they've reached ten months of age. For that reason, we provide "Seasoned Returns", defined as the Return for Notes aged 10 months or more. To calculate the Return, all payments received on borrower loans, net of principal repayment, credit losses, and servicing costs for such loans, are aggregated and then divided by the average daily amount of aggregate outstanding principal. To annualize this cumulative return, it is divided by the dollar-weighted average age of the loans in days and then multiplied by 365. Returns have been audited by a 3rd party for all data through September 30, 2011. Seasoned Return is not necessarily indicative of the future performance on any Notes. The annual loss rate represents the actual losses on Notes. To calculate the annual loss rate, the net credit losses corresponding to eligible Notes are aggregated then divided by the average daily amount of aggregate outstanding principal for such loans. To annualize this rate, the cumulative number is divided by the dollar-weighted average age of the loans in days and then multiplied by 365. The forecast loss rate represents the Estimated Annual Loss Rates we provided for the borrower listings corresponding to the Notes included in the calculation of annual loss rate. All calculations were made as of December 31, 2011.
(2) Average Experian Scorex PLUS credit score of loans originated on the platform from July 15, 2009 through January 31, 2012. The average is weighted by the originated dollar amount of the loan.
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Prosper.com Funds More Than $300 Million in P2P Personal Loans
UNL researchers correlate personality traits with personal development
Posted: at 3:36 pm
Anyone who had an imaginary friend as a kid knows what it's like to invent personalities for people who don't exist. Usually, this activity is outgrown, but University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers Peter Harms and Fred Luthans have brought it back to a number of adults. A recent study co-authored by the two shows that the way people imagine others reflects their own personalities.
To test this hypothesis, the two applied a concept known as "psychological capital," a theory developed by Luthans ten years ago and used in a number of UNL studies, to the participants.
The theory of psychological capital targets personality characteristics or concepts that make individuals more prone to positive growth and direction, especially in the workplace.
The measurement of psychological capital consists of four components: hope, efficacy, resiliency and optimism, otherwise known as "HERO."
According to Luthans, these concepts were decided upon as important characteristics to have because they contribute to theory and research and are open to development. They are separate from a person's personality in that they can continue to be developed as an individual matures, whereas other characteristics are fully developed by adulthood, Luthans said.
Psychological capital has been successfully used in military, industry and education, according to Harms, although he said this is his first involvement on a project using the concept.
Luthans also said that having the HERO concepts contributes to a strong and desirable work ethic.
"It's about the hero in us," he said.
To test each individual's measure of these concepts, Harms and Luthans presented each participant with hypothetical situations and asked them to report on how a co-worker would react to each one.
Luthans estimated that between three and four hundred people were involved, reportedly from a range of career fields.
The researchers had them imagine how a co-worker would respond to three stimuli: a new job, a supervisor wanting to speak with him or her and making a mistake at work.
"By imagining others they revealed who they are," Luthans said.
According to Luthans, these tests were a simpler form of projective personality tests, a tool used in psychology for years in which a participant sees a picture and tells a story about it.
Harms said this was an effective way of measuring the way respondents view others. He said that if asked outright, many people who view others negatively have the tendency to respond positively as a means of maintaining relationships with others. Using the hypothetical situations takes away this bias, he said, because it targets people's unconscious perceptions of others.
The situations revealed the basic level of positivity of each respondent and were about "taking positive psychology to the workplace and realizing what's positive with people, not what's negative," Luthans said.
The study will be published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
"I think (this study) could be very useful for developing self-awareness," Harms said.
Luthans agreed. "It's really having an impact."
marenwestra@
dailynebraskan.com
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UNL researchers correlate personality traits with personal development
Education When and Where You Need It — Scottrade Commercial – Video
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Education When and Where You Need It -- Scottrade Commercial - Video