Hypo Venture Capital Zurich Headlines: Bin Laden fallout: Do US trains need a ‘no-ride list’?

http://hypoventurecapital-research.com/?p=62On Sunday night, as he traveled from Washington to New York, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says Amtrak brought sniffer dogs on the train at every stop.
Not surprisingly, Mr. LaHood says he felt safe.
But, are the rails really as secure as they can be?
The question is important considering that as part of its treasure trove of intelligence gathered up at Osama bin Laden’s compound, was a plan to try to disrupt rail transportation on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Where will bin Laden ‘mother lode of intelligence’ lead?

Considering bin Laden’s interest in rail – including bombings in Europe – some legislators are wondering if Amtrak should emulate airlines with a “no ride list,” that duplicates the “no fly list.” Unlike air travelers, rail passengers do not have to go through electronic scanning machines or have their luggage checked. And most Amtrak trains don’t have armed marshals aboard as some flights to.
“We’re going to look at all these security matters,” Mr. LaHood said at a press conference on Monday in New York. “We’re going to look at everything and then we’ll make a judgment with our friends in Congress and decide what direction we should go.”

Hypo Venture Capital Zurich Headlines:Shortage of independent financial advisers looming

http://hypoventurecapital-research.com/?p=25And at least one industry player is warning it will only worsen the country’s underinsurance problem.
So far the Financial Markets Authority has on its records 4953 registered financial advisers (RFA) and 454 authorised financial advisers (AFA). It expects the numbers to rise to 5000 and 2000 respectively by the regulation deadline, but that is still far less than the numbers the industry originally estimated.
AFAs and RFAs are considered “independents” compared to qualifying financial entity (QFE) advisers who are “locked” into giving advice on products they market. So far, the 63 QFEs on the register have an estimated 20,000 advisers among them.
Fidelity Life chief executive Milton Jennings said the decrease is not good for the insurance industry which is serviced by both RFAs and QFE advisers, and the retail investment industry which is covered by AFAs.
“We’ve got an underinsurance problem in this country. Less people selling insurance will only make the problem worse.”
He said the lack of independent financial advisers tilts the insurance market to favour banks that “are getting far better in insuring people”

Hypo Venture Capital Zurich Headlines:Obama sees China as a partner in Mars mission

http://hypoventurecapital-research.com/?p=29U.S. President Barack Obama views China as a potential partner for an eventual human mission to Mars that would be difficult for any single nation to undertake, a senior White House official told lawmakers.Testifying May 4 before the House Appropriations subcommittee on commerce, justice and science, White House science adviser John Holdren said near-term engagement with China in civil space will help lay the groundwork for any such future endeavor. He prefaced his remarks with the assertion that human exploration of Mars is a long-term proposition and that any discussion of cooperating with Beijing on such an effort is speculative.