Tennis - Caroline Wozniacki sails into third round in Miami

The Danish world number five secured a 6-0 6-1 victory inside an hour, saving both of the break points she faced.

[STORY: Rory McIlroy split was like someone dying, says Caroline Wozniacki]

Seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 champion, also progressed with 6-4 7-5 win over Anna Schmiedlova.

"I was in trouble, especially in that second set," said Radwanska. "But what was most important is that I was really playing good shots in the really key points, in the break points.

"I'm very glad that I could finish in two sets," she said.

Elsewhere, Russia's Ekaterina Makarova beat Karin Knapp 6-1 6-3 and Germany's Andrea Petkovic ousted Christina McHale in a 6-2 6-2 win.

Results from the Miami Women's Singles Round 2 matches on Thursday

26-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat Bojana Jovanovski (Serbia) 6-3 7-6(3)

8-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) beat Karin Knapp (Italy) 6-1 6-3

4-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat Madison Brengle (U.S.) 6-0 6-1

22-Alize Cornet (France) beat Elena Vesnina (Russia) 6-4 6-1

Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) beat 28-Varvara Lepchenko (U.S.) 6-2 6-4

Kristina Mladenovic (France) beat 19-Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) 7-5 6-2

9-Andrea Petkovic (Germany) beat Christina Mchale (U.S.) 6-2 6-2

14-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) beat Annika Beck (Germany) 2-6 6-3 6-4

12-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) 6-3 6-1

31-Irina Begu (Romania) beat Tereza Smitkova (Czech Republic) 5-7 6-4 6-4

7-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Slovakia) 6-4 7-5

Paula Badosa (Spain) beat Zheng Saisai (China) 6-1 7-5

see more at: https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/tennis-caroline-wozniacki-sails-third-round-miami-211514900--ten.html

GOP Consultants Become Campaign Issue

So Liz Mair is gone. The GOP consultant thrown under the bus that is the Scott Walker campaign. But before we get to the Mair story?

Once upon a time the people who worked for a presidential candidate were, believe it or not, longtime loyalists. Think JFK’s brother and campaign manager Bobby Kennedy. Ronald Reagan’s Ed Meese or Lyn Nofziger, Jimmy Carter’s Hamilton Jordan and Jody Powell, George W. Bush’s Karl Rove or, to go back even further in time, FDR’s Louie Howe.

The world changed. Long ago. Somewhere along the line the people working to elect candidates became “operatives.” In the vernacular “hired guns.” Racing around America and indeed the democracies of the world with a set of skills — good skills without question — with loyalty to no one except their own career and gaining professional reputations that in turn earned them a pretty penny. There was nothing necessarily wrong about this — the world turns.

But inevitably a problem has now surfaced. Perhaps inevitably, the media began making these people into “stars” or, as they say in the television interview world, a “get” or a “good get.” There they were, un-tethered from a candidate much less loyalty to anything other than their own career sitting on television panels as themselves and representing no one but themselves. As the Internet and social media gained speed some of them had web sites or even radio or TV shows. Twitter entered the picture. This combined to not only make some of them take themselves too seriously — the outside world took them seriously as representatives of whatever point of view they were spouting as themselves.

All of which, in turn, has led us to a point where their hiring by candidate X understandably brings to that candidate whatever separate political baggage the hired consultant has accumulated on their own. The results range from not good at best to terrible at worst. Creating for the candidate a whole new issue — a controversy over the hiring of a consultant — that he or she should never have to deal with in the first place.

This comes to mind as the Iowa campaign of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker found itself caught up in just this kind of controversy over Liz Mair. The Des Moines Register headlines this particular consultant headache for Walker this way:

read more: http://spectator.org/articles/62186/gop-consultants-become-campaign-issue

The case for less mechanical account management

Plenty of clients we speak to are dismissive of consulting firms’ ability to manage their account in a professional fashion',says Fiona Czerniawska, co-Founder of Source.

*******

“What would I advise a consulting firm to do? Spend more time on relationship development. We have a very, very good account manager: he sleeps, eats, and breathes our industry; he meets with us once a month just to have coffee and talk about the state of the business – it isn’t a sales call, just something he thinks is important to do. And the people he brings with him are just the same.”

This was the chief HR officer of a major manufacturing company, talking to us last year – and he’s one of the lucky ones. Plenty of clients we speak to are dismissive of consulting firms’ ability to manage their account in a professional fashion – even though, our latest research, shows three quarters of major clients say that the firms they work with the most have put in place some degree of formal account management.

These particular comments also tell us a lot about what sets the best account management apart. Familiarity with the client’s business and environment (“breathes our industry”); not being obviously motivated by sales (“just something he thinks is important to do”); consistency (other people are “the same”). But if there’s one thing that stands out here it’s the informality. The best account managers make the process seem less like a process.

That’s also the point which emerges from some recent research we’ve carried out. We surveyed around 200 senior executives in the US. Two thirds say that the major consulting firms they work with have a formal account management process in place, and that that means there’s usually one main point of contact (typically an account manager). These figures don’t vary much if we separate out upper mid-sized organisations (between 1,000 and 5,000 employees) from the very large (more than 5,000) – and that in itself raises the question of whether firms are making the best use of their finite resources. Does it really make sense to be expending effort on mid-sized businesses, even large ones, when the coverage of the very biggest organisations is incomplete? Although 84% of CXOs say there’s formal account management, only 72% of senior managers think this.

But that’s not the only problem. In general, account teams appear to be better at reacting to issues and/or opportunities than they are at taking a pro-active role. Three quarters of the people we surveyed say that consulting firms are good at referring them to experts outside the account team, but two thirds think that senior people only turn up when there’s a sales opportunity on the horizon. Moreover, fewer than half think that account teams take the initiative in coming up with concrete ideas for improvement and only a third sees the account team as being available for informal chats.

What this suggests is that account teams do better where they’re responding to a specific issue or opportunity. They perform well in a less structured environment – where they’re initiating the conversation or are simply around to listen and discuss embryonic matters. Consulting firms have invested millions in trying to establish consistent principles of account management – perhaps now’s the time to empower them more.

read more: http://www.consultant-news.com/article_display.aspx?p=adp&id=12896

UBS Rebrands Retirement Plan Consulting Business

UBS Wealth Management Americas has rebranded its retirement plan consulting business.

Formerly known as the DC Advisory Program, the retirement plan consulting business of UBS Wealth Management Americas has been renamed UBS Retirement Plan Consulting Services. UBS aims to better establish its service offering and commitment to the business and its plan sponsor clients.

UBS Retirement Plan Consulting Services provides sponsors with the following:

    Customized advice and direction for managing plan complexity;

    A retirement plan consultant who delivers advice through a firm with resources and capital; and

    Retirement plan consulting capabilities and financial experience to manage the challenges plan sponsors and participants face.

“Our goal is to help plan participants prepare for retirement by providing investment-related education that assists participants in making informed investment decisions,” says Gene Silverman, head of corporate retirement plans for UBS Wealth Management Americas.

Retirement plans and clients face a complex environment in light of ongoing regulatory changes, such as potential new Department of Labor fiduciary rules, UBS says. The consulting business conducted research within the industry, evaluating clients in order to better assist them. “As a result of plan sponsor demand for a consultant to help them manage their fiduciary responsibilities in this changing environment, our business is experiencing significant growth,” Silverman adds. “The retirement plan landscape has shifted, and plan sponsors today face heightened scrutiny.”

see more at: http://www.plansponsor.com/UBS-Rebrands-Retirement-Plan-Consulting-Business/

Five benefits of consulting with a PA for primary care

 When finding a home base for health care, patients are no longer considering a single doctor in their community.

In today's primary care setting, multiple professionals work together as a team. An integral member of the modern health care team, physician assistants, or PAs, are trained to work hands-on with patients, often serving as an extension of the primary care doctor.

PAs are licensed medical professionals who can perform an array of services including clinical examinations, diagnostic services, test result interpretations, counseling on preventive care, advising a treatment plan and more. In a primary care setting, PAs often take on specific roles, including preventive medicine and acute crisis management.

The thought of consulting with someone besides a medical doctor causes trepidation for some patients. Before insisting on an MD, consider these benefits to seeing a PA as a primary care provider:

■ PA students receive nearly three years of medical training and complete more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in areas including family medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, pediatrics and more.

■ PAs are closely tied to the doctor in primary care. Doctors trust PAs to carry out procedures, consultations and examinations on their own, but are available to the PA when complex medical questions arise.

■ PAs are trained to consider the whole patient and help advise patients about lifestyle and preventive care.

■ PAs take time to communicate with the patient. The PA's schedule often allows more time to ask questions and discuss health care matters.

■ Approval ratings are high for PAs. Studies show patient satisfaction increases when a PA is available.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/03/15/3747985/five-benefits-of-consulting-with.html

Why the return of low down payment mortgages is a good thing

 After reading some of the recent reports on HousingWire and other outlets on the limited return or the risk associated with low down payment mortgages, plus the comments accompanying those articles, a reasonable person would think a low or even zero-down payment mortgage is a very dangerous proposition.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I would suggest down payments as an indicator for mortgage performance is one of the most misunderstood factors in evaluating lending risk. 

The mortgage market today is very different than it was just before the start of the most recent housing crisis and the incremental moves taking place now to provide opportunity for homeownership to credit-worthy borrowers who are committed to doing what it takes to be long-term, successful homeowners are what the market needs. They’re good for consumers, for the housing and mortgage industries and ultimately a critical step in stabilizing many communities across the United States

The rate of job growth is strong and overall economic activity measured by gross domestic product also is positive. The housing market, however, has not fully recovered, despite the broader march of growth. Before the current conditions, no one would have believed that housing would be such a weak participant in the economic recovery if mortgage rates were as low as they have been for as long. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage has averaged below 4.5% for most of the past 18 months, and for much of that time has been below 4%.

For too long after the housing crisis, lenders kept the credit flow cut off for anyone but the most pristine borrowers, or to those who had the cash to put down at least 20% – often the borrower had to have both. Yes, lower down payment mortgages were available, but obviously not in large enough numbers to move the home sales market from just scraping by.

NeighborWorks America wants the housing market to do more than just scrape by. We want it to thrive because homeownership is a critical part of a strong community and a strong personal financial balance sheet. That’s why low down payment mortgages are so important.

see more: http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/33220-why-the-return-of-low-down-payment-mortgages-is-a-good-thing

The Top 3 Reasons Why Clients Don’t Buy

Handling a sales opportunity is like juggling five balls at once.

You’ve got to forge a relationship with the client, work through the client’s issue, conjure up a solution, draft a proposal, and sell the project.

With everything you must do to navigate a client’s decision-making process, it may seem like a mysterious journey to convert a prospective buyer into a paying client. But some things about the process are knowable, including why a client might not buy from you. It’s always helpful to keep in mind the three factors that will derail any sales process.

They Don’t Really Understand Your Offer

In my experience, a common reason clients walk away from a proposal is that they don’t thoroughly comprehend the ramifications of what you plan to do. To develop that understanding, clients need to actively engage with you in the design of the project.

Maybe this “truth” seems self-evident, but I’ve seen too many consultants drop the ball on this seemingly simple point. Most often, consultants befuddle clients’ understanding in one of two ways.

First, consultants fall into the knowledge trap. We see this problem in other fields too. Medical specialists, for example, routinely use incomprehensible language and images to brief patients. They make the flawed assumption that patients can follow along with highly advanced medical terminology that specialists spend years mastering.

Consultants often do the same thing. In meetings, they zip through the basics, dive into the detail, and lose the client’s attention (and the sale).

Second, some attempt to dazzle clients with their brilliance. I’ve been in meetings with consultants who have so much to say about themselves and their experience that the client has trouble getting a word in.

In both cases, clients end up scratching their heads after the meeting, and then go looking for help elsewhere.

In the early part of your sales process, focus on conveying a deep understanding and achieving consensus on three aspects of your proposed work: project outcome, its expected value, and your preliminary approach for completing the work. Preferably, you’ll achieve this consensus before you start writing a proposal.

see more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/top-3-reasons-clients-dont-buy/

Terms of reverse mortgages continue to be misunderstood

A new government report shows many seniors are taking out reverse mortgages on their homes without fully understanding the ramifications, leading to foreclosures among borrowers and a tangle of problems for heirs after the borrower dies.

“Consumer complaints tell us that the complex terms of reverse mortgages continue to be misunderstood,” said Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which last week released a report highlighting the top complaints the agency received about reverse mortgages over the last three years.

A reverse mortgage is a type of loan that allows homeowners age 62 and older to tap a portion of the equity in their homes. The money typically is paid out in a lump sum or in regular fixed payments, with fees and interest added to the balance each month. Unlike a home equity loan, the money does not have to be repaid until the borrower dies, moves out or sells the home.

The loans can be a life line for house-rich, cash-poor seniors struggling with daily living expenses. Reverse mortgages also have been used to help retirees improve their lifestyles, allowing them to buy the summer home they had always dreamed about, for example.

But problems and confusion are expected to continue as more baby boomers retiring with little or no savings turn to the loans for help getting by.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cited a 2010 Federal Reserve report concluding that in the 55-to-64 age group, 41 percent had no retirement savings. Even among those who had a nest egg, the average balance was only $103,200, the report said. Many complaints that the protection bureau received showed people were confused about the way reverse mortgages work.

“Many consumers struggle with understanding how quickly their loan balance will go up and their home equity will fall,” the report said. As a result, many borrowers who wanted to refinance their loans were frustrated because there wasn’t enough remaining equity in their homes.

One of the most common types of complaints involved the inability of a borrower’s family members to assume the loan in order to keep the house when the borrower died, according to the report.

Reverse mortgages prohibit loan assumptions because actuarial tables are used to help determine the loan amounts. Adult children may keep the home only by paying off the loan or by paying 95 percent of the current appraised value of the house.

Those rules can present problems for multigenerational households when family members are living in the home at the time of the borrower’s death.

Heirs also complained about what they believed were inflated appraisals that required them to pay more than they expected, the report said.

Another common complaint involved the shock of having to sell a home or face foreclosure when a spouse died because the surviving spouse’s name was not on the reverse mortgage. Some couples were advised to take a reverse mortgage in the older spouse’s name to qualify for a bigger loan.

“Some consumers report that their loan originator falsely assured them they would be able to add the other spouse to the loan at a later date,” the report said.

To help more seniors stay in their homes, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — which insures most reverse mortgages through its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program — implemented a new rule allowing surviving spouses who meet certain conditions to remain in the home regardless of their borrowing status.

The rule only applies to reverse mortgages originated through HUD’s program after Aug. 4, 2014.

see more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/personal-finance/2015/03/09/terms-reverse-mortgages-continue-misunderstood/24619519/

Men's tennis looks to keep hot streak rolling in New Mexico heat

As spring break quickly approaches, Penn men’s tennis is excited to depart frigid Philadelphia for New Mexico, a destination as physically hot as the Quakers’ recent play.

After a trio of 4-3 wins last weekend against Brigham Young, then-No. 73 Utah and then-No. 72 Boise State, the 39th-ranked Red and Blue (9-1) start up their action over break on Saturday with a home match against Radford. The matchup with the Highlanders (1-2) marks the Quakers’ only battle at home between Feb. 11 and March 21.

After wrapping up in Philadelphia, the squad will then head to Albuquerque to take on Georgia State (5-6) and No. 45 New Mexico, before stopping in Las Cruces, N.M. to compete against New Mexico State (2-5) and UT-Arlington (5-3).

While Penn preps to take on another challenging slate of opponents, the Red and Blue have every right to feel confident after last weekend’s sweep. Not only were the Quakers’ victories impressive in their own right, but the team’s current ranking is the highest national ranking in the program’s history.

Despite their success throughout 2015, Penn — only 10 matches into its spring schedule — knows that it cannot afford to become complacent.

“What our team has accomplished up to this point has been great, but we don’t want to rest on our laurels,” senior Jeremy Court said. “Everything we’ve done up to this point is building towards the Ivy League season, the most important part of the tennis season.”

In New Mexico, coach David Geatz finds himself in familiar territory. The fourth-year boss both played and coached for the Lobos in the 1980s.

And as the only ranked opponent on Penn’s trip, New Mexico (8-7) is expected to give the Red and Blue a run for its money.

“From (rankings) 15 to 50, there is a tremendous amount parity,” Geatz said. “Any one of those teams could beat the other on a given day.”

Even though five matches over the course of a week is a test of wills for any team, Geatz has set the bar high for the Quakers. When asked how he would define success over break, the expectation became abundantly clear.

“Win every match,” Geatz said.

Aside from the high number of matches, another challenge the Red and Blue will have to face on the trip is the absence of their No. 1 singles player, freshman Nicolas Podesta. With the rookie on the sideline, junior captain Vim De Alwis will be tasked with playing from the first singles spot.

“I think [Podesta] is almost worth two points,” Geatz said. “He wins all of his singles matches and nearly all of his doubles.”

read more: http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/03/penn-mens-tennis-preps-new-mexico-spring-break

Google is looking to bring a mortgage comparison tool to the U.S.

Ready to buy a house? Google would like to help you get a good mortgage: New job listings suggest that the search giant is looking to bring its mortgage comparison tool to the U.S. market as part of its Google Compare service.

Google has helped would-be homebuyers in the U.K. since late 2012 to find mortgages via Compare, which also helps U.K. residents to find deals on credit cards as well as travel and auto insurance plans.

Now, the company is looking to hire mortgage specialists in both the Bay Area and Seattle for Compare, with ads specifically spelling out that potential candidates have to have worked at least three years as licensed loan originators. A completed Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) exam is also encouraged, and candidates are advised that they “may not also be acting as the licensed individual for any other mortgage entity while working with Google Compare.” Google didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.

Google is currently only operating Compare as a credit card comparison tool in the U.S., but the New York Times revealed earlier this year that the company has plans to bring auto insurance comparisons to U.S. consumers as well. In addition to mortgage specialists, Google has also been looking to fill other positions to staff up the Compare team, with one ad reading in part:

    Come join the Google Compare team as we build comparison ads products that provide great answers to our users in the financial/insurance verticals. We operate as a startup within Google, exploring interesting new ideas around how to present more financial choice to users and save time by increasing access to financial information.

Financial information that Google could profit off, one should add. Compare is an ad product at its core, meaning that Google earns money every time a consumer takes an action based on its recommendations. The more money at stake, the higher is Google’s potential cut, which is why mortgages are especially interesting.

read more: https://gigaom.com/2015/03/02/google-compare-mortgages/

Average rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.80 percent

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates have edged up for a third straight week while remaining near their historically low levels reached in May 2013.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage rose to 3.80 percent from 3.76 percent last week.

The rate for the 15-year loan, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, ticked up to 3.07 percent from 3.05 percent last week.

A year ago, the average 30-year mortgage stood at 4.37 percent and the 15-year mortgage at 3.39 percent. Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve in October ended its monthly bond purchases, which were meant to hold down long-term rates.

In testimony before Congress this week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen made clear that the central bank isn’t ready yet to raise rates from record lows. The job market is still healing, and inflation is too low, she said. At the same time, Yellen signaled that the Fed is moving closer to a rate hike by sketching the steps it would take when it deemed the time was right.

A government report issued Wednesday showed that sales of new homes were basically flat in January, evidence that the relatively low mortgage rates and recent job gains have yet to spur the real estate market. Despite the increasingly favorable economy, home sales have been sluggish at the start of the year. Still, many analysts expect that the housing market will gather momentum with the start of the spring buying season.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

see more at; http://www.news-press.com/story/money/industries/realestate/2015/03/01/average-rate-year-mortgage-rises-percent/24087413/