Russia Bans Agricultural Imports from US, European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway

Russia on Thursday August 7, 2014 announced that they will be banning imports of agricultural products and food from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway as retaliation to ill-advised Western sanctions against Russia.

Russia Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said that they will ban importation of pork, beef, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway for one year.

Russia is one of the largest market for agricultural exports that amounted to 11.8 billion euros ($15.7 billion) in 2013. That will be a massive lost on the European economy, which is struggling with recession right now.

Russia imported $6.7 billion of meat and meat products in 2013, and most of them were imported from countries that are included in the ban like Denmark (6.6%), Germany (6.4%), USA (5.3%), and Canada (3.8%).

As for Canadian, their $500-million Russian market for pork will be hard to replace. Ireland exported €150m of food and drink to Russia in 2011, and now that market is gone. Irish economy will definitely feel the pain.

European shares dropped as an effect of this ban. In Finland, they are worried that their struggling economy is headed for disaster. 

Russia is still thinking about banning flights over Siberia that will have huge effects on European and American airlines routes to Asia.

Clearly, Barrack Obama and the European Union puppets didn't think this through. Why would you impose sanction on Russia for the Ukraine crisis? US didn't get sanctioned when they invaded Iraq. European Union should have shrugged Barrack Obama's pressure on hitting Russia just because he didn't get what he wants. Barrack Obama is like a spoiled child who throw tantrums when he don't get what he wants, and the European Union leaders are like his nannies who want to please him all the time even though their people will suffer in the end. U.S. Government should just stop sticking their nose on things that doesn't concern them. This is an epic failure on Barrack Obama's foreign policy. If the European Union goes into deep recession, they just have to look at the mirror and blame the gullible moron standing in front of them.

Obamacare Premiums Rising

California officials said that the more than 1.2 million consumers in the Obamacare insurance exchange can expect an average rise in premiums of more than 4.2% in 2015 on California's health insurance exchange.

In other major urban areas will have higher increases than the average, San Francisco had the highest average increase of 6.6%. Orange County is at 6.3%, while Los Angeles was at 4%.

You can check your coverage if it will be affected by the new rates at Covered California's online rate calculator.

The average premium increase for 2015 for the 24 states and the District of Columbia will be at around 7.5% based on the findings and analysis of PwC's Health Research Institute.

Covered California will have 10 insurers next year, including major insurers such as Blue Shield of California and WellPoint Inc.

Insurance Company Refused to pay Operation for Baby's Brain Tumor

Doctors discovered a life-threatening brain tumor in the left temporal lobe of Savannah Snodgrass when she was just 4 months old and she was immediately sent to the Texas Children's Hospital. The doctors decided to observe her since she was too fragile and just too young to undergo a brain surgery. Doctors watch if the tumor is growing. Now the doctors decided to do an emergency surgery last Tuesday July 8 but it was cancelled because Superior HealthPlan Texas HMO, denied their coverage for the operation.

Her mom Tessa Snodgrass, 38 is a retired U.S. Army major, she received the letter of denial from their HMO. She told Fox news that her baby was having seizures that started last March, and was brought to the hospital after having 15 seizures in a 24-hour period.

This is a really sad news, shame on the Superior HealthPlan for making it difficult for their members to get treated. The mother said that the company's reason for denying their claim is that the Texas Children's Hospital is an out-of-network provider and they need to transfer to a new hospital in Austin, Texas which is an hour drive. This is just ridiculous. I hope the HMO company come to their senses and make things right for this angel.

Read the whole story here on Fox News.

Cars that tops the JD Powers 2014 Initial Quality Study

Highest ranked small car: Hyundai Accent

Highest ranked small SUV (tie): Kia Sportage

Nissan Juke (tie)- Highest ranked small SUV

J.D. Power and Associates conducted released their 2014 Initial Quality Study on vehicle brands and Porsche topped the list. They have also noticed the increasing number of issues in all cars overall due to new technologies.
The survey ranks brands and individual models in terms of the number of problems a vehicle incurred per 100 within the first 90 days of ownership, the fewer the better. The survey is the auto industry's number one guide for new cars quality and meet customers expectation.

Porsche which is number 1 had 74 problems per 100 vehicles within the first 90 days of ownership, followed by Jaguar in second with 87 problems. The third is Lexus with 92, and then Hyundai with 94.

You'll noticed that Hyundai has improved tremendously taking the number 4 spot, they were at 10th in 2013. Also Hyundai is considerably cheaper than the high end brands in the top 3. Hyundai’s philosophy has paid off, "Go after the big ones; make measurable improvements."

Dave Zuchowski the CEO of Hyundai Motor America said that, their stunning climb in the survey “speaks to our long-term commitment to quality.” Hyundai vehicles got 3 top awards on the JD Powers 2014 Initial Quality. Hyundai Accent got the highest ranked small car, Elantra got the highest ranked compact car, and their Genesis sedan bagged the highest ranked midsize premium car.

2014 BRAND RANKING

*Average problems per 100 vehicles of brand's whole line:

1. Porsche 74
2. Jaguar 87
3. Lexus 92
4. Hyundai 94
5. Toyota 105
6. Chevrolet 106
7. Kia 106
8. BMW 108
9. Honda 108
10. Lincoln 109
11. Audi 111
12. Chrysler 111
13. Cadillac 115
14. Mercedes-Benz 115
15. Volvo 115
16. Ford 116
17. GMC 116
18. Ram 116
19. INDUSTRY AVERAGE
20. Buick 120
21. Nissan 120
22. Dodge 124
23. Land Rover 127
24. Infiniti 128
25. Volkswagen 128
26. Acura 131
27. Mini 133
28. Subaru 138
29. Mazda 139
30. Scion 140
31. Mitsubishi 145
32. Jeep 146
33. Fiat 206

BEST INDIVIDUAL MODELS BY TYPE

Small car: Hyundai Accent, Mazda2, Kia Rio
Compact car: Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic
Compact premium car: Lexus ES Acura TL, Acura ILX (tie), BMW 4 Series (tie)
Compact sporty car: Mazda MX-5 Miata, Volkswagen GTI, Scion tC
Compact premium sporty car: Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman, Nissan Z
Midsize car: Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry
Midsize sporty car: Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro
Midsize premium car: Hyundai Genesis, Lincoln MKS, BMW 6 Series (tie), Lexus GS (tie), Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class (tie)
Midsize premium sporty car: Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type
Large car: Kia Cadenza, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon
Large premium car: Porsche Panamera, Lexus LS, Hyundai Equus
Small SUV: Buick Encore (tie), Kia Sportage (tie), Nissan Juke (tie)
Compact SUV: GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota FJ Cruiser
Compact premium SUV: Infiniti QX50, BMW X3, Audi Q5
Compact MPV: Mazda5, Kia Soul, Ford C-Max
Midsize SUV: Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe (tie) Nissan Murano (tie)
Midsize premium SUV: Lincoln MKX, Porsche Cayenne, Infiniti QX70
Midsize pickup: Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier (tie) Toyota Tacoma (tie)
Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country, Toyota Sienna, Dodge Grand Caravan
Large SUV: Chevrolet Suburban (tie) GMC Yukon (tie), Chevrolet Tahoe
Large premium SUV: Infiniti QX80, Cadillac Escalade
Large light-duty pickup: Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra, Ram 1500
Large heavy-duty pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Sierra HD

Car insurance Guide

If you want to save on your Car Insurance you need to do your research and compare each of them. Insurance premiums are rising, it is up by 10% since 2008 which is big since before 2008 auto insurance premiums average increase is just 1% annually.

Most companies uses credit-based insurance scores to determine premiums. So if you have bad credits, you will have higher insurance premiums. Some companies even use firms that mine databases for personal policyholder information, insurance companies can use it to look for your personal information about your family, your marriage, your work and other information that is relevant and could increase your risks level this could lead to higher premiums.

There are insurance companies that requires their policyholders to have their car restored at their accredited repair shops so that they can cut cost. Some of them even use cheap aftermarket replacement parts.

There are factors that you don't have the power to change however, there are still ways to cut on your premiums for your auto insurance coverage.

1. Regularly (every 6 months) check rates from other insurance companies by getting quote from them online or by other means. However, if you have been with the same insurance company for a long time. They usually gives discount for longevity so your premiums with them will be hard to beat.

You can use Insurance Premiums comparison site to compare premiums. You can check out www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm to find a link to your state's agency. If you live in California use this link:

https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/survey/survey?type=autoSurvey&event=autoStart

If you also compare through Answer Financial, Insure.com, InsWeb, and NetQuote. Sometimes you will not get an immediate results but they will email you the quote.

2. Check the background of the insurance company through research online, because some company charge less premiums but they will low-ball and cut corners when your car needs repairs. Some companies also increase premiums too much after an accident.

3. Your deductible should be just the right amount. If you choose a high deductible you will have a lower premium however you will have higher out of pocket cost when you have a claim. However, if you have a good driving record and you travel less having a higher deductible will be a good move.

4. The liability coverage covers property damage and bodily injuries that you caused in an event of an accident. If you reduce this and had an accident it can hurt you financially. Make sure that you purchase the standard coverage $100,000 per person for bodily injury, $300,000 per accident, and property damage up to $100,000.

5. Protect yourself from uninsured drivers make sure that your plan have uninsured/underinsured motorist protection. If you got hit by an uninsured driver you will be the one to pay for the damages and suit the driver who hit you in court to recoup what you paid for which will take time and more money.

6. If you are driving an old car and the yearly cost of your premiums equals or over 10% of your car's book value, just let go of the collision or comprehensive coverage. You will be paying more in premiums than what you will get to repair or replace your car.

7. If you have two cars, don't get the rental-reimbursement coverage.

8. If you have auto-club membership remove the roadside assistance coverage.

9. If you have a reliable health coverage then you don't have to get the personal-injury protection and medical-payments coverage.

10. Make sure that your Auto Insurance company will use shop that you trust and use original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts.

11. Always ask for discounts. Insurance companies usually gives discount if you also buy your other insurance from them like life-insurance or homeowners insurance.

Life insurance For New Parents

We want the best for our children however, we cannot predict the future and in an event of an untimely death there will be tons of financial headache like  medical bills, funeral bills, or home mortgages. Don't worry you can plan ahead and have a financial safety net to ensure there’s money available for these expenses. Life insurance can be your safety cushion to save you from this financial disaster.

There are two kinds of Life insurance policy, Term insurance and Whole Life Insurance (permanent insurance or universal insurance).

Term insurance - insurance gives you coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time. You pay premium for 10 years or 20 years and it entitles you to a specific amount of money. In an event that the policyholder dies during the policy term the beneficiaries are entitled to the payout.

After that period term expires any premiums paid are lost. However, there are policies that allows they term insurance to be extended but the coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed.

This insurance is cheaper than the Whole Life Insurance.

Whole Life Insurance - this gives you coverage for the duration of your life. It also acts as a savings where the policyholder can access a portion of the money paid as premiums when it is needed.

Whole Life Insurance premiums are higher than Term insurance.

To make sure you do not overpay for an insurance, since the insurance agent may oversell you their products that you don't need use Life Happens insurance calculator to compute your life insurance needs.

Another tip, life insurance is cheaper while you are younger.

Need Auto Insurance? Go to Comparenow.com to compare prices

Value for money is our ultimate goal, and every cents counts. If you can get the same topnotch service for less price you will definitely grab it. All insurance company promise that they offer the lowest price and that you can save money on your car insurance if you buy their insurance. How can you know for sure if you don't compare it with other insurance company. Going to one Insurance company website to another will take so much time since there are about 400 insurance companies in the US.

You can use Comparenow.com to get an instant auto insurance quote for your car by signing up for a free account and entering the basic information that insurance providers need to calculate their coverage costs.

Comparenow.com can help you search for the car insurance that will really saves you money. All you have to do is go to their website, enter your zipcode and click on "Start Comparing". It will then ask you for information about the car and how you use it. Then it will ask you for your address, and other information. Then it will ask you about the car's current coverage. Then after that it will ask you to create a log in using your email address.

Once you have an account you will be asked to Select the package that best meets your coverage needs and then they wil retrieve your quote. Your coverages can be customized by clicking on the "Customize Coverages" link. Then it will ask you to wait for 30 seconds as they retrieve your quote.

The great thing about Comparenow.com, you can get the insurance that will give you the most value for your money. However, please do note that most of the time the insurance companies  cannot offer a quote immediately since they need more time to process your information. What will happen is that they will email you your quotes.

Comparenow is doing what other online price comparison websites like Priceline.com is doing, get shoppers that wants value for their money.

Comparenow is owned by Admiral Group PLC, which is a British insurance company they also owns Henrico-based auto insurer Elephant Insurance Services LLC.

Other price comparison websites for car insurance is AutoInsurance.com which has partnered with Walmart.