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Why should I buy life insurance?

Many financial experts consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of sound financial planning. It can be an important tool in the following situations: Replace income for dependents. If people depend on your income, life insurance can replace that income for them if you die. The most commonly recognized case of this is parents with young children. However, it can also apply to couples in which the survivor would be financially stricken by the income lost through the death of a partner, and to dependent adults, such as parents, siblings, or adult children who continue to rely on you financially. Insurance to replace your income can be especially useful if the government- or employer-sponsored benefits of your surviving spouse or domestic partner will be reduced after your death Pay final expenses. Life insurance can pay your funeral and burial costs, probate and other estate administration costs, debts, and medical expenses not covered by health insurance. Create an inheritance for your heirs. Even if you have no other assets to pass to your heirs, you can create an inheritance by buying a life insurance policy and naming them as beneficiaries. Pay federal “death” taxes and state “death” taxes. Life insurance benefits can pay estate taxes so that your heirs will not have to liquidate other assets or take a smaller inheritance. Changes in the federal “death” tax rules between now and January 1, 2011, will likely lessen the impact of this tax on some people, but some states are offsetting those federal decreases with increases in their state-level “death” taxes. Make significant charitable contributions. By making a charity the beneficiary of your life insurance, you can make a much larger contribution than if you donated the cash equivalent of the policy’s premiums. Create a source of savings. Some types of life insurance create a cash value that, if not paid out as a death benefit, can be borrowed or withdrawn at the owner’s request. Since most people make paying their life insurance policy premiums a high priority, buying a cash-value type policy can create a kind of “forced” savings plan. Furthermore, the interest credited is tax-deferred (and tax-exempt if the money is paid as a death claim).
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What Are the Listing Requirements for the NASDAQ?

Major stock exchanges, like the Nasdaq, are exclusive clubs—their reputations rest on the companies they trade. As such, the Nasdaq won’t allow just any company to be traded on its exchange. Only companies with a solid history and top-notch management behind them are considered. The Nasdaq has four sets of listing requirements. Each company must meet at least one of the four requirement sets, as well as the main rules for all companies. Key Takeaways Major stock exchanges, like the NASDAQ, are exclusive clubs—their reputations rest on the companies they trade. The NASDAQ has four sets of listing requirements. Each company must meet at least one of the four requirement sets, as well as the main rules for all companies. In addition to these requirements, companies must meet all of the criteria under at least one of the following standards. A company has four ways to get listed on the NASDAQ, depending on the underlying fundamentals of the company. Listing Requirements for All Companies Each company must have a minimum of 1,250,000 publicly traded shares outstanding upon listing, excluding those held by officers, directors, or any beneficial owners of more than 10% of the company. The regular bid price of shares of the company’s stock at the time of listing must be at least $4.00. However, a company may qualify under a closing price alternative of $3.00 or $2.00 if the company meets varying requirements. There must be at least three (or four depending on the criteria) market makers for the stock. For companies using the $3 or $2 criteria, only two market makers may be required. Each listing firm is also required to follow NASDAQ corporate governance rules 4350, 4351, and 4360. Companies must also have at least 450 round lot (i.e., 100 shares or more) shareholders, 2,200 total shareholders, or 550 total shareholders with 1.1 million average trading volume over the past 12 months. As of 2020, a company must pay a $25,000 application fee before its stock can even be considered for listing, and it can expect to pay between $150,000 and $295,000 in entry fees if successful. In addition to these requirements, companies must meet all of the criteria under at least one of the following standards. Standard No. 1: Earnings The company must have aggregate pre-tax earnings in the prior three years of at least $11 million, in the previous two years at least $2.2 million, and no single year in the prior three years can have a net loss. Standard No. 2: Capitalization With Cash Flow The company must have a minimum aggregate cash flow of at least $27.5 million for the past three fiscal years, with no negative cash flow in any of those three years. Also, its average market capitalization over the prior 12 months must be at least $550 million, and revenues in the previous fiscal year must be $110 million, minimum. Standard No. 3: Capitalization With Revenue Companies can be removed from the cash flow requirement of the second standard if their average market capitalization over the past 12 months is at least $850 million and revenues over the prior fiscal year are at least $90 million. Standard No. 4: Assets With Equity Companies can eliminate the cash flow and revenue requirements, and decrease their marketing capitalization requirements to $160 million if their total assets total at least $80 million and their stockholders’ equity is at least $55 million. Important! To stay listed on the Nasdaq, a company must continue to meet the minimum listing requirements or risk being delisted and removed from the Nasdaq exchange. The Bottom Line A company has four ways to get listed on the NASDAQ, depending on the underlying fundamentals of the company. If a company does not meet certain criteria, such as the operating income minimum, it has to make it up with larger minimum amounts in another area, like revenue. This helps to improve the quality of companies listed on the exchange. After a company gets listed on the market, it must maintain certain standards to continue trading. Failure to meet the specifications set out by the stock exchange will result in its delisting. Falling below the minimum required share price, or market capitalization is one of the major factors triggering a delisting. The exact details of delisting depend on the exchange. Source: investopedia.com
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Are there any disasters my property insurance won’t cover?

Yes. Floods, earthquakes and acts of terrorism are generally not covered. Protection against flood damage Property insurance policies usually exclude coverage for flood damage. Find out from your local government office or your commercial bank whether your business is located in a flood zone. Also ask around to find out whether your location has been flooded in the past. Government projects to map flood zones may be slow to keep up with new developments. If you need to buy a flood insurance policy, contact your insurance agent or the National Flood Insurance Program. For more information about this program call 888-CALL-FLOOD. The federal government requires buildings in flood zones that don’t conform to flood plain building codes to be torn down if damage exceeds 50 percent of the market value. Consider purchasing “ordinance or law” coverage to help pay for the extra costs of tearing down the structure and rebuilding it. If your policy contains a coinsurance clause, make sure your property is sufficiently insured to comply with the clause. Protection against earthquake damage Coverage for earthquake damage is excluded in most property insurance policies, including homeowners and business owners package policies. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you’ll need a special earthquake insurance policy or commercial property earthquake endorsement. Earthquake policies have a different kind of deductible — a percentage of coverage rather than a straight dollar amount. If the building is insured for $100,000, with a 5% deductible, for example, in the event of an earthquake, your business would be responsible for the first $5,000 in damage. Remember that business interruption insurance, which reimburses you for lost income during a shutdown, applies only to causes of damage covered under your business property insurance policy. If your business premises are shut down due to earthquake damage, you’ll need to have earthquake coverage to make a claim under a business interruption policy. Protection against terrorist attack losses Under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, only businesses that purchase optional terrorism coverage are covered for losses arising from terrorist acts. The exception is workers compensation, which covers injuries and deaths due to acts of terrorism.
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Oxford University to trial giving AstraZeneca vaccine as a nasal spray

Oxford University to trial giving AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as a nasal spray with the hope it will trigger a better and faster immune response in the lungs. Oxford university is looking for 30 adults to receive vaccine through nasal spray. Trials could begin next week and are expected to last four months. Trial follows announcements that the university and other researchers are assessing delivering vaccines in non-jab forms. AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine will be administered as a nasal spray as part of a new trial. Oxford University scientists — who developed the jab — have been looking at injection-free ways to dish out the vaccine. It’s thought that nasal sprays may better target immune cells in the lungs, throat and nose, making them even more effective at defending against Covid. Oxford is looking for 30 adults to get the vaccine squirted up their noses as soon as next week. Volunteers will be tracked for four months to see make sure it’s safe as part of the initial trial. If successful, the phase one study will move on and tens or potentially hundreds more adults will be recruited to see if it can ward off the virus as well as a jab. Nasal spray vaccines would be great news for people who have a fear of needles and could alleviate supply issues that have hindered rollouts around the world. This method is already used to give out children’s flu jabs. The university’s study, involving adults over 40, is part of its partnership with AstraZeneca, the Financial Times reported. Professor Sarah Gilbert, one of the lead scientists behind the Oxford university jab, announced last month that her team was working on injection-free ways of delivering the vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy could lead to 20,000 extra coronavirus deaths over the next two years, a study has suggested. Researchers warned that if a significant number of people turn the jab down, it may allow the virus to spread in high numbers when lockdowns are eased, posing a constant threat to the elderly and ill. The gloomy modelling by Imperial College London predicted 305 extra Covid deaths per million people by 2023, the equivalent of 20,130 people in the UK. Other more pessimistic calculations projected even more deaths. Experts warned vaccine hesitancy will lead to flare-ups in cases and hospitalisations which could see lockdown restrictions in place for longer. The study did not specify what constituted as high vaccine hesitancy. But Imperial has been repeatedly criticised for its pessimistic Covid models, which predicted 250,000 deaths in the first wave without further action. So far, uptake in Britain has been far higher than expected, with more than 90 per cent of Britons over the age of 60 having accepted their jab. But officials expect that, as the programme moves to younger, less-vulnerable groups, the turnout rate will drop because young people don’t see the virus as a threat. Government-funded surveys have indicated up to a fifth of people under-30 will turn the vaccines down. Professor Sarah Gilbert told the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee last month that researchers were exploring nasal spray and tablet forms of the vaccine. She said: ‘As you know all the vaccines have been given at the moment as intramuscular injections. ‘That is not necessarily the best way to provide protection against a respiratory virus infection, where we want the immune system to be active in the upper respiratory tract and then in the lower respiratory tract, which is where the virus is causing the infection. ‘We have flu vaccines that are given by nasal spray and this could be a very good approach in the future to use vaccines against coronaviruses.’ Other scientists in the UK began testing a different nasal spray vaccine, known as COVI-VAC, on volunteers at the start of the year. The spray, made by New York-based company Codagenix, contains a genetically modified form of Covid and is being tested on 48 adults in London. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) green-lit the trial after positive safety data in animal studies. COVI-VAC is a type of live attenuated vaccine, meaning trialists will get a genetically-modified version of Covid that is weaker than the real thing but still infectious. Live attenuated vaccines — such as the MMR jab — work by stimulating the immune system in the same way that real disease would, but by relying on viruses unable to cause severe illness. Oxford University’s vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine – which uses a weakened virus that causes the common cold that has been modified not to trigger illness and is not infectious. Meanwhile, Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is also trialing a nasal spray to deliver the country’s Sputnik V vaccine. The institute expects to complete clinical trials of the spray by the end of the year. Scientists at the University of Birmingham are also working on a nasal Covid treatment. But rather than acting as a vaccine, its version aims to prevent Covid infections by capturing the virus in the nose. Researchers hope the spray may be readily available in pharmacies in the coming months. Source: DailyMail.co.uk
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Trenchless Sewer Repair

Considering the advantages and disadvantages of trenchless sewer repair? You’re in the right place for a comprehensive overview. Let’s dive into a quick introduction to trenchless sewer repair, followed by its merits and demerits. Understanding Trenchless Sewer Repair Emerging in the 1970s in Europe, trenchless sewer repair was initially designed for large-scale municipal and industrial pipe projects. Over the past two decades, technological advancements have enabled its application to smaller-diameter pipes, such as those in residential homes and multi-story buildings. Unlike traditional methods, trenchless repair doesn’t involve uprooting gardens or tearing down walls. Plus, in most scenarios, residents can remain in their homes during the repair. Nevertheless, prior to and post-repair, camera inspections are mandated to ensure the quality of the job. Additionally, obtaining a construction permit is necessary. Let’s delve into the four predominant trenchless sewer repair techniques: Structural Pipe Lining or Cured-In-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP) Spray Lining and Brush Coating Pipe Bursting Slip Lining Stay tuned for an in-depth analysis of its pros and cons. Benefits of Cured-In-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP) Cost Efficiency: Opting for CIPP can result in a cost reduction of approximately 30-40% in comparison to conventional repair methods. The savings arise due to reduced labor hours and the absence of extensive excavation. Reduced Disruption: The CIPP technique is minimally invasive, minimizing disruptions to one’s property. Most repairs can be conducted through pre-existing access points like outdoor cleanouts, manholes, or roof vent openings without the need to create new access points. Quick Turnaround: Speed is a notable advantage. The entire CIPP process, spanning cleaning, lining, and reinstatement, usually wraps up within 2-3 days, while traditional methods might extend over weeks. Durability: Once rehabilitated using CIPP, the pipes showcase enhanced longevity. They are not only robust but also resistant to corrosion, boasting a life expectancy of around 50 years. Drawbacks of Cured-In-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP) Pipe Condition Restrictions: The liner molds to the shape of the original pipe. Therefore, it’s crucial that the existing pipe isn’t collapsed or incorrectly sloped (backpitched). Curing Downtime: The epoxy integral to the CIPP method might necessitate up to a day to fully set. Yet, even with this consideration, CIPP remains speedier than traditional techniques. Pipe Suitability: CIPP isn’t a universal solution. It’s incompatible with Orangeburg (a type of tarpaper) pipes, especially brittle ones. The latter might sustain damage during the hydro-jetting cleaning procedure, which precedes the lining insertion. Spray Lining and Brush Coating Overview Though these trenchless sewer repair techniques share some similarities with CIPP, they differ in their non-structural nature. Instead of employing a felt or fiberglass liner like in CIPP, they involve coating the internal structure of the existing pipe with resins like epoxy, flexible polymers, or other suitable materials. These resins can be sprayed or brushed onto the pipe, achieving the desired outcome either way. (It’s worth noting that various resins cater to different needs. For instance, flexible resins are the go-to for vertical pipes in skyscrapers, as traditional rigid epoxy might fracture due to building movement.) Opting for spray lining or brush coating can effectively counteract corrosion in cast iron pipes and curb sewer gas emanating from compromised joints. Impressively, these methods can be adapted to pipes with diameters as small as 1.5 inches. Pipe Bursting Pipe bursting stands as an alternative trenchless approach to mend compromised sewer pipes. This technique employs an HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipe, either of identical size or more significant than the existing one, which is winched into the old pipe. Leading the replacement pipe is a bursting head, which fragments the damaged pipe, making room for the new one to assume its position. Sewer Pros advocates for this method, especially when replacing sewer lateral lines (those connecting your private sewer system to the public main). This recommendation stems from the fact that pipe bursting is not only cost-effective and rapid but also yields a sturdier final product. Moreover, the expense associated with restoring grass or turf post-repair remains relatively low. Pipe Bursting Overview Pipe bursting is a trenchless approach to address damaged sewer pipes. The procedure involves drawing a replacement HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipe, of the same or larger size, into the old pipe using a winch. A bursting head shatters the old pipe, allowing the new one to occupy its position. Sewer Pros vouches for this method, particularly when addressing sewer lateral lines. This preference is due to its affordability, speed, and the superior durability of the resulting product. Plus, the cost of restoring grass or landscapes post-operation is modest. Advantages of Pipe Bursting: Affordability: It’s cost-effective compared to other trenchless alternatives, and the reduced need for digging translates to savings on restoration. Minimal Disruption: Only two small pits, each measuring 4′ x 4′, are required at the pipe’s ends, reducing the need for extensive excavation. Speed: Less excavation means swifter completion. Durability: The replacement HDPE pipes are robust, boasting a lifespan ranging from 50 to 100 years, with resistance against rust and erosion. Additional Benefits: Capability to install a wider sewer line. Proven long-term solution for damaged pipe replacement. Drawbacks of Pipe Bursting: Pipe Length: Replacement pipes need to be over 15 feet, considering the space needed for two pits. Eligibility: In cases of already collapsed pipes or improperly graded ones, this method isn’t suitable. Slip Lining Overview Originating in the 1940s, slip lining targets larger pipes. The method pulls a narrower HDPE pipe into the existing one, sealing the gap with grout. This can diminish the pipe’s flow capacity. Note that Sewer Pros doesn’t engage in slip lining for pipes between 2” and 12”. Advantages of Slip Lining: Cost-Effective: As a trenchless method, costs related to destruction are minimized. Less Disruption: Compared to traditional methods, less excavation is involved. Speed: Depending on the pipe length, the process is swifter than conventional methods. Durability: The HDPE pipes are resilient, with a life expectancy of 50-100 years. Drawbacks of Slip Lining: Pipe Size: Suited mainly for larger, non-residential pipes due to diameter constraints. Inflexibility: Not suitable for pipes with bends or those significantly >>Read more
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