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Dangerous Track/Trail

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IT HAPPENS ONLY IN ...... series

Where do u want to be ?

This happens only in Texas....hmmm...

This happens only in Thailand.....

This happens only in Australia

This happens only in Japan

This happens only somewhere in Africa

This happens only in India

i know it is yaaaaakkkkeeee

This happens only in India

This happens only in China

This happens only in Hawaii...!!!

AND WHERE DO U WANT TO BE ??????
Feel free to drop in your comments....

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How Fat Is Your State? Breakdown of State Obesity Percentages

Friday, July 18, 2008

Below is a list of how each state ranks in adult obesity prevalence, along with the percentage of obese adults. The breakdown is based upon a Centers for Disease Control report.

1. Mississippi: 32%
2. Alabama: 30.3%
3. Tennessee: 30.1%
4. Louisiana: 29.8%
5. Arkansas: 28.7%
6. West Virginia: 29.5%
7. South Carolina: 28.4%
8. Georgia: 28.2%
9. Oklahoma and Texas: 28.1%
10. North Carolina: 28%
11. Michigan: 27.7%
12. Alaska, Missouri, and Ohio: 27.5%
13. Delaware and Kentucky: 27.4%
14. Pennsylvania: 27.1%
15. Iowa and Kansas: 26.9%
16. Indiana: 26.8%
17. North Dakota: 26.5%
18. South Dakota: 26.2%
19. Nebraska: 26%
20. Minnesota: 25.6%
21. Oregon: 25.5%
22. Arizona and Maryland: 25.4%
23. Washington: 25.3%
24. New York: 25%
25. Illinois: 24.9%
26. Maine: 24.8%
27. Wisconsin: 24.7%
28. Idaho: 24.5%
29. New Hampshire: 24.4%
30. Virginia: 24.3%
31. Nevada: 24.1%
32. New Mexico: 24%
33. Wyoming: 23.7%
34. New Jersey: 23.5%
35. California: 22.6%
36. Montana, Utah, and Washington, D.C.: 21.8%
37. Hawaii and Rhode Island: 21.4%
38. Massachusetts and Vermont: 21.3%
39. Connecticut: 21.2%
40. Colorado: 18.7%

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150 U.S Banks May Fail Next Year Nationwide

By LOUISE STORY

As home prices continue to decline and loan defaults mount, federal regulators are bracing for dozens of American banks to fail over the next year.

But after a large mortgage lender in California collapsed late Friday, Wall Street analysts began posing two crucial questions: Just how many banks might falter? And, more urgently, which one could be next?

The nation’s banks are in far less danger than they were in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 1,000 federally insured institutions went under during the savings-and-loan crisis. The debacle, the greatest collapse of American financial institutions since the Depression, prompted a government bailout that cost taxpayers about $125 billion.

But the troubles are growing so rapidly at some small and midsize banks that as many as 150 out of the 7,500 banks nationwide could fail over the next 12 to 18 months, analysts say. Other lenders are likely to shut branches or seek mergers.

“Everybody is drawing up lists, trying to figure out who the next bank is, No. 1, and No. 2, how many of them are there,” said Richard X. Bove, the banking analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann, who released a list of troubled banks over the weekend. “And No. 3, from the standpoint of Washington, how badly is it going to affect the economy?”

Many investors are on edge after federal regulators seized the California lender, IndyMac Bank, one of the nation’s largest savings and loans, last week. With $32 billion in assets, IndyMac, a spinoff of the Countrywide Financial Corporation, was the biggest American lender to fail in more than two decades.

Now, as the Bush administration grapples with the crisis at the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a rush of earnings reports in the coming days and weeks from some of the nation’s largest financial companies are likely to provide more gloomy reminders about the sorry state of the industry.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is vital to the banks, savings and loans and credit unions, which own $1.3 trillion of securities issued or guaranteed by the two mortgage companies. If the mortgage giants ever defaulted on those obligations, banks might be forced to raise billions of dollars in additional capital.

The large institutions set to report results this week, including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, are in no danger of failing, but some are expected to report more multibillion-dollar write-offs.

But time may be running out for some small and midsize lenders. They vary in size and location, but their common woe is the collapsed real estate market and souring mortgage loans. Most of these banks are far smaller than the industry giants that have drawn so much scrutiny from regulators and investors.

Still, only six lenders have failed so far this year, including IndyMac. In 1994, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation listed 575 banks that it considered to be troubled. As of this spring, the agency was worried about just 90 banks. That number may go up in August, when the government releases an updated list.

“Failed banks are a lagging indicator, not a leading indicator,” said William Isaac, who was chairman of the F.D.I.C. in the early 1980s and is now the chairman of the Secura Group, a finance consulting firm in Virginia. “So you will see more troubled, more failed banks this year.”

And yet IndyMac, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, was not on the government’s troubled bank list this spring — an indication that other troubled banks may be below the radar.

The F.D.I.C. has $53 billion set aside to reimburse consumers for deposits lost at failed banks. IndyMac will eat up $4 billion to $8 billion of that fund, the agency estimates, and that could force it to raise more money from the banks that it insures.

The agency does not disclose which banks it thinks are troubled. But analysts are circulating their own lists, and short sellers — investors who bet against stocks — are piling on. In recent weeks, the share prices of some regional banks, like the BankUnited Financial Corporation, in Florida, and the Downey Financial Corporation, in California, have stumbled hard amid concern about their financial health. A BankUnited spokeswoman said the lender had largely avoided risky subprime loans.

In his “Who Is Next?” report over the weekend, Mr. Bove listed the fraction of loans at banks that are nonperforming, meaning, for example, that the assets have been foreclosed on or that payments are 90 days past due. He came up with what he called a danger zone, which was a percentage above 5 percent. Seven banks fell in this category.

An important issue for the regional and community banks will be whether they have managed to sell their riskiest loans to Wall Street firms.

And the government may have fewer failures than in the past because private investment funds might buy some troubled lenders. Regulators are considering rule changes that would allow private equity firms to buy larger shares of banks, and several prominent investors, like Wilbur Ross, have raised funds to leap in.

Eric Dash contributed reporting.

Source: NY Times

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Sub-prime mortgage crisis

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Metal thieves haunt cemeteries

With scrap metal prices nearing historic highs in the United States, robbers seem to be stealing everything, from metal plaques in cemeteries to plumbing pipes, gutters and even manhole covers.

Image: A bronze plaque marks a World War-II veteran's grave at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. | Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The United States' scrap metal industry is seen at a massive $71 billion, and it has seen an unprecedented boom primarily because of the growing demand from India, China, Russia and other nations.

Image: A sign advertises prices paid for scrap metal at a recycling facility in Chicago, Illinois. | Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Scrap metal thieves are making the most of it with prices of copper, brass and other scrap metal soaring across the world.

The market prices of scrap metal in the US do not show the real value, but a growing global demand is said to be the reason for the rise in scrap values.

Some states in the United States have now passed a new law that will make theft of metal scrap a highly punishable offense. Meanwhile, cops are asking people to be more alert and keep their cars and bikes safe as they may be targeted by thieves for their scrap metal value.

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IT HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA (Pics)

"It happens" series to continue.... Lets start with India
















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World's 8 biggest stock exchanges

You either make or break your fortune in stock markets, it is said. And rightly so. While we often get to hear of men turning paupers overnight when the stock markets crash, tales of people like Warren Buffett and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala inspire us to dream big.

Here we present information about the world's eight biggest stock markets. They have not been ranked. Read on...

1. New York Stock Exchange: $21.79 trillion share trades

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is nicknamed the 'Big Board'. This is the largest stock exchange in the world by dollar volume with 2,764 listed securities. It has the second most securities of all stock exchanges.

The NYSE originated on May 17, 1792. On that day, the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stock brokers outside New York's 68 Wall Street under a buttonwood tree.

The first office of NYSE was a room at 40 Wall Street rented for $200 a month. NYSE was gutted in the Great Fire of New York in 1835 and reconstructed soon after. In 1865, it moved to 10-12 Broad Street.

2. NASDAQ: $11.81 trillion share trades

The NASDAQ is the acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. An American stock exchange, NASDAQ is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the US.

It is owned and operated by the NASDAQ OMX Group.

With about 3,200 companies in its ambit, NASDAQ has more trading volume per day than any other stock exchange.

NASDAQ came into being in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers. The latter divested themselves of it in a series of sales in 2000 and 2001.

NASDAQ was the successor to the over-the-counter (OTC) and the 'Curb Exchange' systems of trading. As late as 1987, the NASDAQ exchange was commonly referred to as the OTC.

3. The London Stock Exchange: $7.57 trillion share trades

London Stock Exchange, or LSE, is located in London, England. It is part of the London Stock Exchange Group plc.

At present, it is situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. One of the largest stock exchanges in the world, LSE was founded in 1801.

The trade in shares in London began with the need to finance two voyages: The Muscovy Company's attempt to reach China via the White Sea north of Russia, and the East India Company voyage to India and the east.

Unable to finance these costly journeys, the companies raised the money by selling shares to merchants, giving them a right to a portion of any profits eventually made.

4. Tokyo Stock Exchange: $5.82 trillion share trades

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, or TSE, located in Tokyo, Japan, is the second largest stock exchange in the world by market value, second to the New York Stock Exchange, but 4th in terms of worth of shares traded.

It currently lists 2,271 domestic companies and 31 foreign companies.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was established on May 15, 1878, as the Tokyo Kabushiki Torihikijo under the direction of then Finance Minister Okuma Shigenobu and capitalist advocate Shibusawa Eiichi. Trading began on June 1, 1878.

In 1943, the exchange was combined with 10 other stock exchanges in major Japanese cities to form a single Japanese Stock Exchange. The combined exchange was shut down and reorganised shortly after the bombing of Nagasaki.

5. Euronext: $3.85 trillion share trades

Euronext N.V. is a pan-European stock exchange based in Paris with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

In addition to equities and derivatives markets, the Euronext group provides clearing and information services.

Not too long ago, Euronext merged with NYSE Group to form NYSE Euronext, the 'first global stock exchange'.

Euronext was formed on September 22, 2000 in a merger of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Brussels Stock Exchange, and Paris Bourse.

In December 2001, Euronext acquired the shares of the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, which continues to operate under its own governance.

6. Deutsche Borse: $2.74 trillion share trades Deutsche Borse AG is a marketplace organiser for the trading of shares and other securities. It also is a transaction services provider. It gives companies and investors access to global capital markets.

Deutsche Borse was founded in 1992. The headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany.

More than 3,200 employees of the exchange serve customers in Europe, the US and Asia. Deutsche Borse has locations in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Spain, as well as representative offices in London, Paris, Chicago, New York, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

FWB Frankfurter Wertpapierborse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange), is one of the world's largest trading centers for securities. With a share in turnover of around 90 per cent, it is the largest of the German stock exchanges.

Deutsche Borse AG operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

In 2001, Deutsche B�rse tried to merge with the London Stock Exchange, followed in 2006 by a takeover bid, both rejected by LSE.

7. Borsa Italiana: $1.59 trillion share trades

The Borsa Italiana S.p. A., based in Milan, is Italy's main stock exchange. It was privatised in 1997, and was acquired by the London Stock Exchange in October 2007.

Borsa Italiana has managing responsibility for Italy's derivatives markets and its fixed income market.

Milan's Borsa di Commercio (Commodities Exchange) opened under a vice-royal decree on 16 January 1808 and it operated under public ownership until 1998.

It was sold to a consortium of banks, and operated under a S.p. A. holding company between January 2, 1998 and an all-share takeover by the London Stock Exchange on October 1, 2007.

8. SWX Swiss Exchange: $1.40 trillion share trades

SWX Swiss Exchange is Switzerland's stock exchange, based in Zurich.

The main stock market index for the SWX Swiss Exchange is the SMI. The index consists of the 20 most significant equity-securities based on the free float market capitalisation.

The exchange also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as stock options.

The SWX is the first stock exchange in the world to incorporate a fully automated tradingsystem in 1995..

The SWX is the joint owners of the Eurex, world's largest futures and derivatives exchange along with their German partners Deutsche Borse. In July 2004, the Swiss Stock Exchange rejected a proposal of merger from the German company.

In September 2006, the Swiss Market Index crossed its previous all time high set nearly eight years ago.

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Web Hosting Providers - Rank

Top 10 Web Hosting - Best Web Hosts (2008)

Independent review of top 10 web hosting providers. Cheap professional web hosting services under $10 a month; all hosting plans include at least one free domain name registration and 30 day money back guarantee. Rate and review your hosting provider!

Rank	Web Hosting Provider	Features	Bonus Features	Hosting Review
1	Bluehost Editor's Choice Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $6.95	Free Domain Forever, Host Unlimited Sites, $50 Yahoo Credit, $50 Google Credit	Bluehost Review Host Rating: 98% Review Bluehost
2	Inmotion Business Web Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $8.95	Free Domain Name, Host 6 Websites	Inmotion Review Host Rating: 97% Review Inmotion
3	HostingPad Cheap Reliable Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $4.95	Free Domain Forever, Host Unlimited Sites, $25 Yahoo Credit, $30 Google Credit	HostingPad Review Host Rating: 97% Review WHP
4	Yahoo Trusted Web Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $11.95	Free Domain Name, $100 Yahoo Credit, $50 Google Credit	Yahoo Review Host Rating: 97% Review Yahoo
5	Hostmonster Cheap Unix Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $6.95	Free Domain Forever, Host Unlimited Sites, $50 Yahoo Credit, $50 Google Credit	Hostmonster Review Host Rating: 96% Review Hostmonster
6	Globat Reliable Web Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $4.44	Free Domain Name, Host 10 Websites, $25 Yahoo Credit, $30 Google Credit	Globat Review Host Rating: 95% Review Globat
7	Vistapages Cheap Web Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $4.95	Free Domain Name, Host Unl. Domains, $25 Yahoo Credit	Vistapages Review Host Rating: 95% Review Vistapages
8	Lunarpages Cheap Shared Hosting	Space: 1.5Tb Traffic: 15Tb Price: $4.95	Free Domain Forever, Host 11 Websites	Lunarpages Review Host Rating: 94% Review Lunarpages
9	Dot5Hosting Cheap Unix Hosting	Space/Traffic: Unlimited Price: $4.95	Free Domain Forever, Host 25 Websites, $50 Yahoo Credit, $50 Google Credit	Dot5Hosting Review Host Rating: 93% Review Dot5Hosting
10	FastNext Cheap Web Hosting	Space: 500Gb Traffic: 5Tb Price: $6.95	Free Domain Name, Host Unlimited Sites	FastNext Review Host Rating: 92% Review FastNext

Editor's notice: Web hosting packages ranked by the best value/price. Host reliability, uptime, key features, bonus features, customer support, past and current user feedbacks, user-friendliness and hosting awards have been taken into account as well.
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