04.04.2007

• French train sets speed record
• The record broken was for conventional rail trains, in contrast to maglev (magnetic levitation) trains.
• The train is a V150 with three double deck cars with 25000 horsepower engine. It is called TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse).
• It reached 357.2 miles per hour and surpassed the world record of 32.2 mph set in 1990 by another French train.
• Japan’s maglev trains hit 361 mph in 2003.
• What are CMOs?
• They stand for Collateralized Mortgage Obligations.
• It is a special purpose debt vehicle, which is the legal owner of a pool of mortgages with different banks and housing finance companies. Investors in a CMO buy bonds issued by the entity and receive payments according to a defined set of rules. In a CMO, the mortgages are called the ‘collateral’, and the bonds are called ‘tranches’ (also called ‘classes’), and the set of rules that dictates how money received from the collateral will be distributed is called the ‘structure’.
• A major problem with CMOs is the long lock-in period. A borrower could pay off the loan earlier than the mortgage period, and will usually do so when rates are down, forcing the investor to reinvest his money at lower interest rates, something he may have not planned for.
• Trading in life insurance policies is not good for the following reasons:
• Remember we covered the issue of Policy Trading on 28.03.2007. Let’s look at some more reasons on why it is bad.
• It reduces the focus on protection
• Violates the principle of insurable interest
• Brushes fundamental issues such as misselling and poor product design under the carpet.
• Michael Phelps and some cause for celebration
• You know back in 1935, Jesse Owens broke three world records in any sport and equaled a fourth – all in a span of 45 minutes.
• That record achievement was not re-written so far. That moment belonged to Michael Phelps in the recently concluded World Aquatic Championships in Melbourne.
• If you are a swimmer, you will know how important it is to have a large wing span. You know Michael Phelps’ wing span is reportedly 6’ 7” (that is six foot seven inches). This is larger than what he measures in length (height). His height is 6’ 4”. And he has a long torso. Such a body is naturally built for speed in water.
• His performance which yielded Gold medal in individual and team events
• 200 M Freestyle: 1:43.86 (World Record)
• 100 M butterfly: 50.77
• 200 M Butterfly: 1:52.09 (WR)
• 200 M Individual Medley: 1:54.98 (WR)
• 400 M Individual Medley: 4:06.22 (WR)
• 4x100 M Freestyle: 3:12.72 (Championship Record)
• 4x200 M Freestyle: 7:03.24 (WR)
• 12^th FINA World Championships at Melbourne, Australia
• Held from 18^th March to April 1^st.
• Final medal tally of top five countries
• Gold Silver Bronze
• USA 21 14 5
• RUS 11 6 7
• AUS 9 7 10
• CHN 9 5 2
• FRA 3 2 2
• Official mascot: ‘Penny’ the Penguin. Scientific name: Eudyptula minor. When the Penguin is at sea, she can swim up to 10km/hour and dive to depths of up to 65 metres in search of food!
• You can download all the results of the Championship here.