SAN DIEGO–As more Americans opt for healthier diets that include fresh fruits and vegetables, new research presented at the Experimental Biology 2012 annual meeting reveals when price, waste and preparation time are considered, canned foods may offer a more affordable, convenient way to get needed-nutrients.

The study comes on the heels of a 2011 survey conducted on behalf of the Canned Food Alliance (CFA) that found US consumers underestimate the benefits of canned foods. In fact, nearly 40% of consumers surveyed said they think canned foods are less nutritious than frozen, and nearly 60% of those survey said they are not as nutritious as fresh foods.

For this study, researchers from Ketchum Global Health and Wellness conducted a market-basket study funded by CFA comparing the cost of obtaining key nutrients from canned, fresh, frozen and dried varieties of common foods. The market-basket study involved buying, preparing and analyzing canned, fresh, frozen and dried (where available) corn, green snap beans, mushrooms, peas, pumpkin, spinach, tomatoes, pears, peaches, pinto beans and tuna fish. The foods were cooked so that an accurate comparison could be made. All varieties purchased were with no added salt or sugar when available.

The foods were analyzed to determine the cost of several key nutrients, including protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C and folate. The nutrient content was obtained from the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory, Standard Release 24. The nutrients selected for comparison were included because they are either “nutrients of concern for children, adolescents and adults and/or are those commonly found in the foods.

Findings for pinto beans, tomatoes, corn and spinach were particularly interesting:

• Canned pinto beans cost $1 less per serving as a source of protein and fiber than dried beans because it takes about 6 minutes to prepare a can of pinto beans compared to 2½ hours (soaking and cooking) for dried beans to be meal-ready.
• It is nearly 60% more expensive to obtain dietary fiber from fresh tomatoes as from the same portion of canned tomatoes. Not only is the price of canned tomatoes lower than fresh for the same serving size, but fresh tomatoes take longer to prepare, adding to the real cost of fresh.
• When looking at purchase price alone, fresh corn is less expensive than canned or frozen. However, when the cost of waste (most notably the cob) is factored in, as well as time to prepare, canned corn offers the same amount of dietary fiber as fresh at a 25% savings.
• With a lower cost-per-serving than fresh or frozen, canned spinach provides vitamin C at an 85% savings when compared to fresh or frozen.

“With economic concerns at the forefront today, households are challenged to meet dietary recommendations within budgetary constraints, the researchers said. “This research should assure families they are getting needed nutrition regardless of whether they choose canned, fresh, frozen or dried varieties. They can be confident in buying those foods that best meet their budgets, schedules, cooking abilities and taste preferences and still obtain important nutrients.

Aaron Rakes says he saves hundreds of dollars per month by riding the bus, rather than driving each weekday from Chico to his job in Oroville.

It would cost me $300 a month for gas and upkeep if I drove a car, he said.

With the uptick in fuel prices, taking the B-Line Transit buses around Chico and other parts of Butte County is becoming an ever more popular way to travel. At he same time, this upsurge is helping the environment.

Riding the buses is economical and helps cut pollution by greatly reducing the number of cars on the road spewing carbon monoxide, said Jim Peplow, senior planner for the Butte County Association of Governments, which oversees the bus lines. Were on a pace to set the all-time record for the most bus riders ever this fiscal year.

Peplow said the previous record for ridership came during another spike in fuel costs back in 2008 and 2009.

However, he also attributed the increase in passengers to more efficient bus routes, times and schedules. In 2010, the B-Line began schedule changes that incorporated technology such as Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking. This permitted more exact stop times by identifying those that were running longer or shorter than their stated times.

This streamlining has helped the environment by cutting down the time buses spend idling at stops.

Another eco-friendly change came in 2011, with the purchase of 11 buses that run on clean diesel fuel. They replaced older, less fuel-efficient models. All B-Line buses now run on either eco-friendly clean diesel or compressed natural gas.

That same year, many stops shortened their intervals from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

More than 500 B-Line bus stops are now made daily throughout Butte County. The record ridership seen in the first eight months of the current fiscal year has also been enhanced by 75 new bus shelters built in the last two years countywide. Each has colored, easy-to-read route schedules.

For anyone who hasnt ridden B-Line, there will be an opportunity to do so for free during the upcoming Spare the Air Day on Thursday, May 3. The special promotion is meant to encourage new riders as well as thank current ones, Peplow said.

Regular rates are $1.40, students ride for $1, and the fares cost 70 cents for seniors and the disabled. Regional fees to travel from Chico to Oroville or Gridley cost $1.80. Frequent riders can save by buying a 30-day pass for $35 (or $43 for the regional pass).

Its great for commuters, and you dont have to worry about driving, breaking down, crashing, or wear and tear on your car, Peplow said.

A much-anticipated future improvement will be the GPS updates on the B-Lines website (go to www.blinetransit.com to learn more). Expected as early as this summer, the service will allow the public to view minute-by-minute updates on the exact whereabouts and expected stop times of their buses. This information will be available on smart phones, tablets, laptops or home computers.

If you missed your bus stop time, you can check the GPS updates, and if its running late youll know you can still catch it, explained Peplow.

In the meantime, riders like Rakes continue to enjoy the buses not only for the economical benefit, but also for the friendly service.

The drivers are extremely polite. My young son loves them, Rakes said. When we take our regular bus, he says, Hes my favorite driver! because the driver gives him candy each time.

In the end, it was a rather economical affair. In the 2012 Punjab Assembly polls, the average ?official? expenditure per MLA has come to a meager Rs 6.77 lakh ? just a little over 40 per cent of the permissible limit of Rs 16 lakh. Only 31 candidates have declared that they utilised at least 50 per cent of the permissible limit by declaring expense more than Rs 8 lakh.

A report prepared by the Punjab Election Watch in collaboration with the Association for Democratic Rights shows that while SAD MLAs spent the least, BJP MLAs spent the most.

The maximum expenditure of Rs 13.24 lakh was declared by Simarjit Singh Bains, Independent MLA from Atam Nagar in Ludhiana followed by Muktsar Congress candidate Karan Kaur, who declared that she had spent Rs 13.23 lakh.

Virsa Singh Valtoha of SAD, who contested from Khem Karan, has spent the least. He declared his expenditure to be only Rs 2.69 lakh. Close on his trail is the Food and Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, who officially spent only Rs 2.86 lakh on the election.

BJP candidate from Bhoa constituency, Seema Devi, managed to spend more money during elections than her total assets.

While her total expenditure is over Rs 9 lakh, her declared assets are worth only Rs 2.8 lakh.

Heet Mohinder Singh Sidhu of the Congress used almost 75 per cent of his total expenditure on public meetings while Darshan Singh Shivalik, SAD candidate from Gill in Ludhiana spent 78 per cent of his total declared expenditure on media.

… contd.

Women Want Small Economical, Men want Fast and Furious Cars

We have all heard the saying the need for speed and it seems when it comes to cars the classification between men and women are clear. The guys are looking at vehicles which are big, stand out and of course are fast. But, the ladies are looking at small imports that are fuel efficient and economical.

Many brands are looking at the models they have and are making changes that will appeal to both genders. The Volkswagen Beetle is a perfect example of the change that is being seen. In 2011, the VW came out with a new model that appealed to the guys as well as the gals and it was no longer a female car.

The mini car seems to be more popular with the ladies as well. Other brands that are great with the women are Mitsubishi, Honda, Kia and Nissan. Chrysler also makes the grade when it comes to female buyers as well while GMC has 73.5% of their purchases by the guys.

It appears that when it comes to fuel efficient the ladies are out shopping and when you are thinking of fast, flashy and eye catching you are going to be looking at the guys. One of the most popular cars for guys is the Porsche 911. The Ford F Series, Chevy Corvette and the Chevy Silverado are close to follow. For the ladies the Volvo S40 ranked the highest and the VW Beetle and Hyundai Tucson followed suit along with the Nissan Rogue.

Short URL: http://ewireinformer.com/?p=4140

Whichever way you look at it, 14 years is a long time in the film business – and that is how long its been since writer-director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days Of Disco) last graced us with a slice of dry-humoured, acutely-satirical comedy.

His new film, the East Coast college flick Damsels In Distress, is both a return to and a break from form. The budget is still low, and the characters still wrestle with toe-curling lapses in self-awareness, but this time around theres a new generation of pitch-perfect performers (Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody) giving voice to Stillmans dialogue.

The night before I was due to chat with the director, I caught one of his three London Qamp;A appearances, where he answered questions covering the racial make-up of his cast, his obsession with dance crazes, and his fondness for the lsquo;stupid, innocent comedy of Will Ferrell. With such a packed promotional schedule, I worried that all possible questions had already been asked. What could we possibly talk about?

Luckily, as he has proved in his films, Stillman is the master of looking at similar situations with different, fresh perspectives. When I arrived at the PR companys Soho offices, the director broke ranks, wandered out into the foyer, and suggested we conduct our conversation over coffee. And, amongst the Berwick Street bustle, Stillman proved to be a chatty fellow, full of anecdotes about his unrealised projects, advice about being an economical filmmaker and opinions on the current state of the film industry.

This is your first film in over a decade, and youre on a full blown promotional tour.

Yeah. Ive been on it, too, because I was doing it in the United States. Its quite nice, getting to show it.

It was interesting sitting in on a Qamp;A last night. Do you get asked the same questions over and over? For example, about the recent gap in your filmmaking career.

Well, theyre logical questions to ask. This story has to be told.

It would be naive to assume that there werent films in that break that you were developing. Or that you werent working on other projects in that period.

I see it as a ten year period of not making films, because The Last Days Of Disco was an elongated release period, because Warners wasnt terribly anxious to bring it out in their territories. So it didnt come out until a year later in continental Europe. And that gave me time to do one of my favourite things, which is supervise the translated and dubbed versions, which is like directing a new version of the film again. Like, half the film you get to redirect, and you get to do it in two weeks. So its a thrilling experience for a director.

And I also wrote this novel somewhat based on Discos story, called The Last Days Of Disco, With Cocktails At Petrossian Afterwards. That came out in 2000, and they had a promotional tour on that. And there was work on a translation in Spain. I was starting other film projects in that period, but until I finished all that stuff, I couldnt get down to it. So when I started getting back to it, I had two projects to start.

My first own project, coming out of Disco, was to do a film, because in Disco we put in some ska music, and I fell in love with all this 60s Jamaican music. And I wanted to to a film there, to show that music. A lot of people in London liked that. Disco did well in London, and people here liked the project, so they wanted to do that.

Then a producer came with a hot item, which had to come first: a memoir of the cultural revolution in China called Red Azalea by Anchee Min. Film4, who were interested in doing the Jamaican film, said lets do this Chinese film first, and then we can do the Jamaican film later. By the time I turned in the script… I turned in the script on not a fortuitous date. September 12th, 2001. And I sent in a second draft in January 2002. The option period ended at the end of January. Film4 was about to change regime. Paul Webster was going to leave. So that project, for various reasons, died.

But I went and got backing from BBC Films to do the Jamaica story. Then I decided to change the story, and put in this whole thing with funny angels and demons. I dont think that BBC Films is that keen on funny angels and demons. I got that impression.

What was so different about Damsels In Distress that saw it get made?

At the same time, Id been back in the States more to do the casting for Little Green Men, the Christopher Buckley novel. And I had a dream cast on that. Fantastic people. And some of them I hadnt even met, they just wanted to do it. So I had to be back to do that casting, and I talked to Castle Rock, the backers for my other films, about this idea, and they really liked it. So I started writing that while this other stuff was going on. And it went really very quickly for me. I turned in a script at the end of 2009, and in January 2010 they said they loved it, they just wanted to do a polish. And in March or so they said they wanted to go ahead with it.

And there was a question of whether we did things the industry way, which is start casting, Equity, investors, distribution deal, before we could start. And Id already done that on a couple of projects that hadnt gone ahead, so I said listen, I know a lot of people have been making films that look great, very inexpensively. I think that I can go back and do this film Metropolitan-style. And they said, well, if you could do the film for that reasonable a price, we can find people to write cheques.

And you made Damsels In Distress for around $3 million, is that right?

Much less. We have to be careful about that, because when you do foreign sales, some territories say theyll only pay four per cent of the budget, but if you make a film thats more valuable than the budget, which you try to do, then you get penalised. And if you make a stupid film for a big budget, theyre not going to buy it at all. So the producers cant be very honest about the real budget. Also, if you say a really low number, it kind of scares people, like its going to be very funky or ugly.

Whatever the final figure is, its still a remarkably economical budget for a veteran filmmaker, with such a great cast…

We made this much more cheaply than Barcelona. Much more cheaply.

But, as the director and producer, how did you keep costs down?

You dont do things the industry way. I was a little too maniacal about it, because I am such a cheapskate emotionally that I would get out of control where any expenditure upset me. But I felt we were a very comfortable production, because we could have a Dunkin Donuts coffee run twice a day. Theres one in the afternoon, too. So I felt that was quite luxurious. Having good coffee on set was quite a treat.

And there was a New York Times profile published earlier this year, which says you flew coach as opposed to first class to reduce costs.

Not only coach, but the cheapest tickets imaginable. Id stop off in Timbuktu if it would save ten cents.

All of your films to date have featured dance sequences, or have celebrated dancing in some form.

I do love it. Its true.

But at the end of this film, theres a proper, musical-style dance number, with a Gershwin tune and choreography that goes through across an entire college campus. Thats quite an ambitious sequence, and quite different from the use of dance in your other films. Did you have to put a lot of preparation into that?

It was amazing it came out so well, because I cant say there was much preparation at all. I mean, I think, you know, sometimes you hit an intersection where everyone does their job well. No very concrete plan, its just everyone knowing their ideas, doing their jobs pretty well, and keeping their wits about them, and adapting to the circumstances.

In that dance sequence, the cinematographer had the idea for those crane shots. He had the idea of shooting backlit by the sun, which is an effect he loved, which was wonderful. And the choreographer had rehearsed the actors, and then we saw the locations. I saw the bench, and said lsquo;can we do something with the bench? And it was just adapting it with Greta, Adam and the choreographer. He was brilliant, Justin Cerne.

The film does have a very striking look. Those backlit shots, with the sunlight cutting through the frame, are beautiful. And I dont think many cinematographers would do that.

Its amazing. Some people really criticise that. I think its fantastic. Its transformative. I think that digital photography, by people who know how to use it, has gotten far superior to film. Far superior. I love it. I mean, I saw a famous RED film last night on TV. It was one of the first big-budget films made on a RED. I dont know what they did wrong, but it looks so god-awful. And I think the RED wasnt very good when it started. And, also, I think on post-production, if people dont colour time it properly… You have to have proper people working at every stage.

I remember my first experience with a crew member that didnt work. It was on Metropolitan. And it was within the first two days they started the shoot. Metropolitan was actually made with no art director or production designer, and everybody was working for free essentially on the film. It was just volunteers. This art director rushed out to shoot the Park Avenue trees.

They have Christmas trees, and we thought they were going to stay up all of Christmas, or longer. But on January 17th, when our shoot was going to start, they started taking down the Christmas tree lights. And thats our big location! So we rushed out to shoot those scenes, and this woman spent half our art budget getting extra lights put on the trees, but the extra lights she got were on a circular circus, and it looked like an amusement park.

The production manager saw it before I got there, and he said lsquo;Whit, prepare yourself…. And he started laughing. [sings] lsquo;Its going to be a Coney Island Christmas! And we had to unplug those lights, which is half our art budget. And then the next day, Id been up all night shooting, and she wanted to have a meeting to discuss the art direction of Audreys room, and she had the idea of leather-bound editions of Jane Austen, and I said that, really, shed just have old paperback editions. Shed have an old, scruffed-up paperback copy that would have been her sisters. And we didnt really know what the room would look like, because we didnt have the location yet.

And she was very upset, and then she said to the production manager that she couldnt work that way. And she quit. And that was terrific. I really hate firing people, I really hate it. Its much better if they get into a situation like that, where they have a nervous breakdown based on nothing, and it was so good that she left, because she really was not into it. But then other people, like production assistants, stepped up and helped me do stuff. And the film looks really good.

And so… Im not sure what that story was about. But thats someone not working out.

Mr Stillman, thank you very much for your time!

Damsels in Distress is released on the 27th April.

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Technology makes it faster, easier and more economical to find the most qualified candidates for your company. In addition, it can help you anticipate future staffing needs and prevent bottlenecks from occurring when you have expanded production needs.
“We’ve come a long way since the days when the search for employees was limited to snail-mail, phone and fax,” says Jeremy Wilcomb, operations manager, The Daniel Group. “Today, you can be interviewing highly qualified candidates within days.”
However, there can be pitfalls.
“You can be a victim of information overload during the background screening process,” he says. “And you’re even at risk of offending candidates if technology goes awry.”
Smart Business spoke with Wilcomb about how companies can address these cautions while also taking advantage of the benefits that technology offers.

How has technology changed the way companies seek new employees?

In addition to traditional recruiting methods, technology enables us to utilize different search medians (eg, LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, Twitter, Indeed, etc.) to seek out candidates. Today’s technology helps companies get the best candidates to the hiring manager’s table quickly. Social networking lets us get to a larger audience faster. No longer do we have to call one person and wait for that person to call someone else. In addition, we have access to larger pools of candidates.
We’re not geographically limited, either. We can search domestically, even internationally. We can get very specific in our searches and the locales in which we want to search.

How can technology help companies that experience seasonal or other unique staffing demands?

Companies with those kinds of requirements can work with a staffing firm that can then develop an inventory of candidates for that particular client. The staffing firm can prescreen candidates and then, when the employer’s need arises, the firm can contact the people they’ve prescreened to see if they are still available. In some cases, the company’s needs can be met within 24 hours.
When done correctly, this can help a company prevent production bottlenecks. This approach really helps with seasonal work and/or from a production standpoint. It can give managers peace of mind that there is technology out there housing candidates, so that the candidates will be there when the company needs them.

Are there other benefits of working with a professional firm in terms of the technologies these companies use?

Most staffing firms can generate reports that help you develop a full view of your staffing needs from the financial side, the project management side and even the training side. You’ll see how much it costs to source the candidates and how much you’re saving through more efficient processes. The firm can identify where it’s helping and even point out staffing issues it thinks you’re going to face in the future.

What is your advice for using technology to learn more about a candidate’s background?

Technology can help improve the quality of candidates you find. We have more information available to us about everyone these days. But it depends on how you use the technology. If you use every ounce of information available, it can be counterproductive. On the positive side, it gives us a better opportunity to match a candidate to a culture. For instance, if you’re a company that makes hunting and fishing gear and you’re looking for a salesperson, you can find candidates who list hunting and fishing as interests. On the flip side, you can get too much information and talk yourself out of someone who might be a great candidate.

What are some of the newer technologies being used in the hiring process?

Video resume technology lets companies get a feel for candidates who might be located, say, in another state. You can hear how they would answer a few questions and visually experience how they present themselves, as opposed to just seeing them on paper and hearing them on the phone. A lot of people are interviewing over Skype now, too.
You still lose seeing the candidate in person, though. The candidate might not be as relaxed as he or she would be in person. The lighting or transmission might be poor. You have to take those factors into consideration.

Is the personal touch still important?

Indeed it is. And you have to be careful here. There is technology today that lets you develop a spreadsheet, press a button and do a mass email to a particular group of individuals in order to see if they are available for work. With this technology, you can even get to the point of hiring someone without ever talking to them. This can be offensive to some people, because mistakes occur. For instance, you could send a warehouse opportunity to a petroleum engineer.

Are there other drawbacks with technology?

Be careful what you do in the social area. Don’t overscreen and don’t bypass someone over a particular event. Also keep in mind that the laws in this area are changing all the time.
Finally, if you have technology available to you, make sure you are using it to its fullest capacity.

JEREMY WILCOMB is operations manager at The Daniel Group. Reach him at (713) 932-9313 or jwilcomb@danielgroupus.com.

Insights Staffing is brought to you by The Daniel Group

WATERLOO, ON, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
The Economical Insurance Group today issued the following statement in response to an April 14 article
in the Financial Post which contains significant errors of fact and demonstrates a
fundamental misunderstanding of the demutualization of property and
casualty (P&C) insurance companies.

Economical believes its stakeholders deserve to hear the facts directly
from the Company.

The decision to demutualize
The Board of Economical Mutual Insurance Company announced its intention
to pursue demutualization in December 2010 because it believed such a step was in the best long-term interests of
the Company. Among other advantages, demutualization will provide
Economical with greatly enhanced access to capital markets to fund
growth and to compete more successfully against non-mutual P&C
companies operating in Canada. (The Post incorrectly reported that the decision was made in May 2011.)

Distribution of demutualization benefits
The Post mistakenly implies that demutualization could result in the distribution
of all the Company’s mutual policyholders’ equity or “surplus” and that
this could amount to more than $1 million to each mutual policyholder.
Neither is the case.

Demutualization makes no change to the Company’s equity or surplus.
Mutual policyholders would receive common shares of a new stock
company. They can choose to keep those shares and remain investors or
sell them to another investor. What proceeds they receive for their
shares are paid by the buyer, not out of the surplus of the company.

Whether through an initial public offering or a sponsored
demutualization, mutual policyholders would receive an allocation of
the total transaction proceeds, which would be dictated by capital
market conditions. As the Company has previously stated, whatever the
total proceeds, they would be allocated through a formula developed by
Economical to be approved by regulators and that will include both a
fixed portion and a probably much larger variable component that would
consider a number of factors including how long each individual has
been a mutual policyholder with the Company. There will be significant
variation between what is received by longer-term and shorter-term
mutual policyholders. At this time, it is not possible to estimate the
size of the distributions.

The composition of Mutual Policyholders
There are 943 Economical mutual policyholders. The Post misstates Company figures by claiming one-third are “company executives
and brokers”. In fact, employees – at all levels in the Company -
account for only about 17%.Brokers represent just 3%. The vast
majority of mutual policyholders are long-term customers with no
employment or other business affiliation with the Company. Over 75% of
mutual policies have been in place for more than 10 years, and 45% have
been in place for more than 20 years.

The number of mutual policyholders reflects the reality that mutual
policies have had limited appeal to customers over the years. Until
2008, mutual policyholders were required to sign a promissory Premium
Note that exposed them to financial risk that cash policyholders did
not face. Mutual policies were only offered for homeowners’ fire
coverage on a principal residence, to customers who were claims-free
for five years, and who were prepared to make a three-year policy
commitment and sign the promissory note. The restrictions related to
the type of coverage and the form of promissory note was the common
practice due to historical provisions in the Insurance Act (Ontario).
Because homeowners’ insurance represents only 18% of Economical’s
outstanding policies, it is misleading to compare the number of mutual
policies to the entire universe of Economical policies.

Economical’s mutual policyholders are the owners of the Company, as
determined by law, the Company’s by-laws and by the precedent of the
mutual life companies which were allowed to demutualize in the 1990s.
As the legal owners, Economical’s mutual policyholders have the right
to vote on the demutualization proposal and to share in the allocation
of its benefits.

Claims from CAMIC
Economical is not a member of the Canadian Association of Mutual
Insurance Companies (CAMIC) which is quoted extensively in the Post article and has stated its opposition to demutualization on behalf of a
relatively small segment of the P&C insurance industry.

Economical’s decision to demutualize affects no one but Economical. No
other mutual insurance company is required to follow our lead and they
can simply choose not to. CAMIC members can remain mutual companies if
they believe that is in their best interests. Economical believes its
best interests lie in demutualization.

The president of CAMIC is quoted asking how an individual can purchase
an Economical mutual policy. Economical has previously announced it
placed a moratorium on new mutual policies in November 2010, prior to
the demutualization decision. He also questions how individuals would
know mutual policies even existed if they were not “connected” to the
Company. In fact, Economical made significant efforts over several
years to increase the number of its mutual policyholders which, at one
time, had declined to approximately 100. Its experience was that, even
among qualified customers with principal residence fire coverage, the
disadvantages of longer terms, added administrative burden, and
potential financial risk outweighed any advantages of mutual policies.

It is also inconsistent to question mutual policy ownership among the
board and employees when it is a basic tenet of good governance that
the interests of a company’s leadership should be aligned with the
interests of its owners, whether they are shareholders or mutual
policyholders. As part of its preparation for demutualization,
Economical has taken major steps to put its governance in line with the
best practices of Canadian public companies.

Progress on demutualization regulations
We have worked closely with the Department of Finance and other
regulators since announcing our intention to demutualize. We recognize
the challenges in developing a fair and transparent regulatory
framework that is needed to give P&C companies the strategic option to
demutualize should they choose to do so.

Based on our experience, we see no reason to doubt the stated commitment
of the Federal government to develop demutualization regulations as
soon as practically possible.

Economical’s commitment
Economical is committed to pursuing demutualization, provided that
regulations can be developed that allow it to proceed in the best
interests of the Company. The path we have chosen and our approach to
it is correct in law and is good public policy: it encourages
competitiveness, financial strength and innovation in Canada’s P&C
industry. Demutualization is in the best interests of the communities
we serve across the country.

About The Economical Insurance Group
Founded in 1871, The Economical Insurance Group is one of Canada’s
largest property and casualty insurers, with $1.7 billion in premiums
and $4.6 billion in assets. Based in Waterloo, this Canadian-owned and
operated group services the insurance needs of more than one million
customers through 19 branches and service offices across the country.
In 2010, Economical announced its decision to become the first
federally-regulated mutual property and casualty insurance company to
demutualize. Economical is currently reviewing strategic options and
will submit a comprehensive demutualization proposal for mutual
policyholder approval after the federal government’s development of
regulations and regulatory approval.

The Economical Insurance Group’s member companies include: Economical
Mutual Insurance Company® (including Western General® Farm Division),
Waterloo Insurance Company®, Perth Insurance Company®, The Missisquoi
Insurance Company®, Federation Insurance Company of Canada(TM), Family
Insurance Solutions and The Mattei Companies.

SOURCE Economical Insurance Group

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article:

Islamabad

As the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is facing worst financial crisis, its Engineering Wing has found an economical way to resolve traffic and parking problems at various places in the metropolis.

The Machinery Pool Organisation (MPO) and CDA Road Directorate have mobilised heavy machinery for widening of crossings, service roads and to create new parking spaces and expand the existing ones. “We are already facing a big cut in discretionary funds of CDA Member Engineering but still the work to facilitate motorists and the general public is in progress,” an official of the CDA Engineering Wing said.

Member Engineering Sanaullah Aman, when contacted, stated that recently they have created a new parking space in Markaz F-10 by levelling the unused green area, saying that it would remove the longstanding car parking problem. Similarly, the parking space in Jinnah Super Market has also been expanded.

At present, the CDA workers are busy in expanding the service road of the Food Mall in Blue Area where traffic jams had become a routine matter during rush time after sunset.The CDA Engineering Wing, however, needed to improve condition of roads in sectors I-9 and I-10, I J Principal Road and the old I J Principal Road.

The road-users have also complained of unnecessary speedbreakers which have been created in the streets of various sectors. “The speedbreakers should be created where required and should have proper design to avoid accidents and damage to vehicles,” a motorist said.

NEWBURY PARK, CA, May 01, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Sauer Energy, Inc. (“SEI”)

/quotes/zigman/623220/quotes/nls/seny SENY
0.00%

, a developer of home and
enterprise scale vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) systems, is
pleased to announce its development of Community Wind Projects
featuring its wind turbine products. The concept is to generate
energy from a strategically placed cluster of turbines in a low wind
area while remaining close to an existing grid.

In response to the consumer’s needs, Sauer Energy is developing
economical ways to generate electricity on a larger scale. Utility
companies are mandated to produce electricity by renewable means.
From wind, it has been primarily generated by large scale megawatt
horizontal turbines. Sauer Energy intends to provide a more compact
and more easily affordable alternative, on a commercial scale, that
can be privately owned and placed closer to the areas where more
energy is consumed with less of a loss due to distance between the
power producer and the grid. Utility companies can benefit by
purchasing the energy generated to meet their quotas or by offsetting
usage. Private owners can benefit by utilizing the energy generated
or by selling it to the utility company.

A Community Wind Project is an asset that can be owned by an
individual or a small local group. A Project can contain a few units
or a considerable number of units which can affect the amount of
energy generated. The frequency of wind and wind speed will likewise
help determine the break-even point. The 30% federal incentive in
place now has no limit as to the number of turbines on one parcel of
land. The state and local incentives may vary. Therefore, the return
on investment (ROI) will vary in correlation to all pertinent
dynamics.

The benefits of a Community Wind Project will include a source of
clean energy that displaces CO2 emissions and provides
environmentally friendly, energy independence and protection from the
volatile prices of fossil fuels. It can transform rural or urban land
into a revenue stream and foster hope for the future by expanding
entrepreneurial ingenuity.

“Sauer Energy will be accelerating the early adoption of wind energy
with technical approaches to low wind areas. Community Wind Projects
come at a critical stage for local municipalities to meet future
demand, secure jobs and present the potential for the spirit of free
enterprise to prosper. We are working relentlessly to bring this
opportunity to market in the near future. Follow our progress on our
website,” stated Dieter Sauer, CEO and President of Sauer Energy.

About Sauer Energy

Sauer Energy is a technology developer and manufacturer focused on
the emerging renewable energy market. We believe that because it
requires few parts, SEI’s technology, which provides a new direction
for wind capture, will easily scale from residential to small
community and up to large industrial scale. The market opportunity
for a new, innovative technology is unlimited. Sauer Energy has
created the WindCharger(TM) model to provide a better solution for
the use of wind capture for residential or small building use.

The WindCharger(TM) is one of Sauer Energy’s key innovation
priorities. With several patents in place and many more pending, SEI
is engaged in manufacturing and commercialization now, and plans to
see a financial return on its investments. To learn more about Sauer
Energy and this revolutionary wind turbine system, please visit:

www.SauerEnergy.com

Sauer Energy… the future of energy!(TM)

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking statements made pursuant
to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. While these statements are made to convey Company
progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are
cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management’s
opinion. Whereas management believes such representations to be true
and accurate based on information and data available to the Company
at this time, actual results may differ materially and are subject to
risk and uncertainties. Factors that may cause actual results to
differ include without limitation: dependence on key personnel and
suppliers; SEI’s ability to commercialize its wind turbine
technology; ability to defend intellectual property; wind turbine
material and component costs; competition; economic conditions;
consumer demand and product acceptance, and availability of growth
capital.

Additional considerations and risk factors are set forth in reports
filed on Form 8-K and 10-K with the SEC and other filings. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking
statements; historical information is not an indicator of future
performance. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly
any forward-looking statements.

Contact Information

Sauer Energy, Inc.
Dieter Sauer
President/CEO
(888) 829-8748

www.SauerEnergy.com

SOURCE: Sauer Energy

http://www.sauerenergy.com/

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

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Add to portfolio

SENY

Sauer Energy Inc.

US

: OTCBB

$
0.34

0.00
0.00%

Volume: 130,297
May 1, 2012 3:32p

P/E RatioN/A
Dividend YieldN/A

Market Cap$26.97 million
Rev. per Employee$0.00

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FREMONT, Calif. & MUSCAT, Oman, May 01, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
GlassPoint
Solar, the global leader in solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR), was
awarded a Special
Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation (MEAs) in the EOR/IOR
category by Hart Energy’s E&P
magazine, the oil and gas industry’s leading publication on
exploration and production. The MEAs honor the world’s best commercially
available tools and techniques for finding, developing and producing
hydrocarbons.

GlassPoint’s solar EOR solution was selected for both its technical and
economical achievements, delivering fixed-price, zero-emissions steam
for thermal recovery projects worldwide.

“In the Middle East, scarcity of natural gas is limiting the production
capacity of many oil fields. At a time when operators want to increase
production they find themselves unable to do so for lack of natural gas
supplies,” said Rod MacGregor, CEO and president of GlassPoint.
“GlassPoint steam generators supply steam for EOR enabling operators to
expand production without consuming additional natural gas.”

“Operators in North America are facing similar problems where production
expansion is limited by an increasingly challenging regulatory
environment,” MacGregor added. “By using GlassPoint steam generators,
our customers in North America can increase production without
increasing emissions of any kind.”

GlassPoint’s enclosed trough technology produces solar steam for costs
competitive with gas-fired steam production. Designed specifically for
operation in rugged and remote oilfield environments, GlassPoint’s steam
generators allow operators to expand production in fuel or emissions
constrained environments.

In its 42nd year, the MEA winners are chosen by a team of
independent judges drawn from the oil and gas industry, including
technology experts, senior managers and engineering consultants with
field operations experience. This year’s nominees were judged on the
technology’s commercial practicality, ability to improve efficiency and
safety of operations and enhance profitability. Other 2012 recipients
include Weatherford International, Halliburton and Schlumberger.

In 2011, GlassPoint was awarded Commercial Technology of the Year by Platts.
For more information on E&P magazine and the MEAs, visit
http://www.epmag.com/mea/index.php .

About GlassPoint Solar

GlassPoint is the leading provider of solar steam generators to the oil
and gas industry. When used for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), GlassPoint
solar steam generators reduce natural gas consumption by up to
80%, redirecting gas resources to higher value applications such as
electricity generation and export. GlassPoint’s solar EOR solution
delivers steam at a lower cost than steam produced by burning natural
gas, enabling producers to economically recover more oil. GlassPoint
drives lower costs by enclosing lightweight components within a
glasshouse to seal the system from sand, dust, dirt and high humidity
typical of oilfield environments throughout the world. The company is
headquartered in Fremont, California with offices in Bakersfield,
California, Muscat, Oman and Shenzhen, China. For more information,
visit glasspoint.com.

SOURCE: GlassPoint Solar

Antenna Group for GlassPoint
Jan Helbing, 415-977-1912
glasspoint@antennagroup.com

Copyright Business Wire 2012

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article: