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The development of alternative coatings systems was generated by the need to comply with stricter regulations for emissions reduction in the paint and coatings industry. Acrylic urethane hybrid polymers that improve applications over polyurethane and polyacrylate combinations have been produced. The special synthesis process for such polymers allows greater interaction, which is not possible with traditional blending., Introduction Alternative coatings systems, particularly water-borne coatings, are gaining increased acceptance within the paint and coatings industry as environmental and safety, worker right-to-know, and hazardous-waste regulations drive efforts to reduce [...]

The search for a low level of volatile organic compounds (VOC) containing minimum order in the coatings industry is an offshoot of the desire to provide more environmentally friendly products. Specific research was conducted to compare solvent-based systems with those based on latex. Results have shown that an emulsion consisting of vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride and ethylene terpolymer can help in formulating high-performance, low-odor and low-VOC paints., Introduction INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL regulations and the desire to produce more environmentally friendly products are driving the coatings industry to new and improved technologies. Although solvent-based systems have received the most [...]

After a decade to runaway increases, real estate prices have stabilized and even fallen in many parts of the country. Some analysts assert that residential real estate is no longer [...]

The entire coatings industry is undergoing a rapid shift in technology in an effort to reduce levels of organic volatiles. While the solvent-based systems are experiencing the most significant changes [...]

There are an estimated 100,000 people in the US who call themselves financial planners. A good financial planner can double the profits of a small firm or help save a company from bankruptcy. A financial planner must be carefully selected, because some people who pass themselves off as financial planners are either incompetent or unscrupulous. Prior to engaging a financial planner, the client should ask about the planner's background in finance and accounting, the characteristics of the planner's other clients, the types of problems that the planner has solved for other clients, whether the planner is compensated through client fees or brokerage commissions, and what industries the planner has worked in. Financial planners should be well-informed about recent changes in tax laws and business regulations. Reputable professionals will often be certified by a professional society such American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The Maryland Mass Transit Administration's (MTA) Access to Jobs program funds three privately served bus routes that provide reverse commuting services to Baltimore residents. Two minority-owned companies, Eatman Bus Service and Nixon Bus Service, serve the three routes. The companies, which must meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and refrain from direct competition with MTA services, receive $.35-per-mile subsidies.

Disability insurance guarantees a monthly benefit to covered workers during the period when they are unable to go to work due to an illness or injury. It is a standard practice for disability insurers to offer riders to disability policies, one of the most common of which is the tying of the monthly benefit to a cost-of-living adjustment formula. Two new riders that should be of interest to employers and individual policy buyers alike are the long-term care insurance offered by UNUM Life Insurance Co and CNA Insurance Cos, and the option to raise monthly benefits offered by the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Long-term care insurance provides policyholders with a way to pay for nursing-home costs in the event that they incur a chronic disabling illness. Guardian Life's Future Increase Option allows policyholders to boost the monthly benefit they are getting considerably after they have become impaired.

Increasing concerns among investors about the moral and ethical aspects of the behavior and products of corporations have led many people to place ethics in front of personal gain when selecting their investments. In response, several investment management companies have taken steps that include establishing 'socially responsible' mutual funds for tax sheltered annuities, offering guidance for investors to investments that agree with the investors' moral and ethical principles, and maintaining lists of companies that do not qualify for consideration. Institutions such as universities and religious organizations also offer guidance for their employees or members to socially responsible investments. The elimination of a large number of corporations as undesirable has not hindered portfolio mangers. Even the most restrictive requirements omit only 15% of companies that might otherwise have been selected.

Investors in mutual funds should take care when using financial publications to help them select and monitor their investments, because each publication presents the financial statistics from its own perspective. A general rule to follow when analyzing mutual fund performance in financial publications is to not depend too heavily on the past performance of funds. Future mutual fund performance is often inversely proportional to past performance. The best measure of a fund's results over a year or longer is its total return. The better publications to use to observe total return include The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and Investor's Daily. When selecting funds, the better publications to use include Business Week, Forbes, and Money.

The debit card can provide users with electronic access to their bank accounts. In businesses offering debit card service, customers insert their debit cards into a card reader, key in their personal identification number (PIN), and if available, purchase funds are automatically transferred from the buyer's account to the seller's. Several regional and a national debit card system are established and growing. The precautions consumers should take when using the new systems include: not writing PINs on cards; choosing PINs that are easy to remember; and keeping PINs secret.

People running their own unicorporated businesses and those earning money moonlighting can realize tax savings by putting money annually in a Keogh plan or a simplified employee pension (SEP). Self-employed people can determine which kind of plan is best by determining how much of earnings can be spared for retirement: if the limit is 15%, a SEP is best; if the limit is 20% or more, Keogh plans are best. Keogh plans come in four varieties: a profit-sharing plan, a money purchase plan, a combination plan, and a defined-benefit plan. Defined-benefit Keogh plans are more complex and are expensive to start-up and maintain due to the legal and actuarial help needed. Less complex profit-sharing and money-purchase plans are much less expensive to start-up and maintain.

Married couples need to understand the tax advantages and legal protection afforded by different types of ownership, including joint tenancy and tenancy in entirety. Under joint tenancy, property can be seized by creditors to satisfy the debts of an individual spouse. Tenancy in entirety makes ownership indivisible: the property can not be liquidated by creditors if the debts are individually and not jointly held. Married couples owning property can receive partial tax relief from capital gains after the death of a spouse. Married couples should see estate lawyers or tax accountants for advice concerning property, capital gains, and estate taxes.

Individuals should avoid using credit to offset day-to-day living expenses as this almost always leads to unsustainable personal debt levels. Ideally, the decision to borrow should be made only in certain justifiable circumstances, depending largely on an individual's personal goals. Most people, for example, would consider using credit to invest in residences, household appliances or vehicular transport as fairly justifiable. Using credit to pay off important educational and medical expenses is often necessary and can also be justified if carefully planned. However, using credit to start a business is fairly risky and should be carefully evaluated before any borrowing decision is made. In such a case, it would be wise to test the business proposition rigorously, by assessing whether an adequate return could be generated, relative to the cost of credit used to start the venture.

The low probability of long-term residency in nursing homes dispels fears of risks of impoverishment. Such fear is driven by the cost of custodial care of severely ill persons in nursing homes, ranging from $20,000 to $85,000, easily draining personal financial coffers. Financial burden will only be handled by Medicaid once savings are all used up. A study showing that the average nursing home stay is only three months and not the exaggerated three years dissipates such financial anxieties. Nonetheless, certain risks remain. Long-term-care insurance can be availed of by those who are still in fine health. To protect the finances of the aged overtaken by grave illness, they may divest their assets to their children in order to qualify for Medicaid after 30 months. However, several states have promulgated laws that allow eligibility for Medicaid without having to do away with their assets.

It is predicted that economic opportunities for employees, investors and for businesses themselves will come from the small-business sector rather than from Fortune 1000 companies in the coming years. Start-up businesses have been generating scores of new jobs while large firms across the country have been implementing massive workforce reductions since the 1980s. Small companies offer employees the opportunity to employ their skills, energy and initiative in helping a new business grow. To investors, small business represents a means for making their money grow. To companies, these start-ups could mean new customers since small firms require the same products and services that larger companies need, including accounting services, security systems and retirement plans.

Individuals who fail to draw up legaldocuments containing instructions on how to manage their accumulated wealth after their death give the state the authority to decide on the matter. The state usually gives a significant portion of the deceased's after-tax estate to the immediate family. If there are no claims from any blood relatives the property goes to the state. Those who would like to decide for themselves who gets what of their wealth has three options open to them. They may write a will, put up a trust or name their beneficiaries. A will or a trust offer several advantages, including availing of estate-tax exemptions and having the opportunity to choose heirs.

The current poor performance of stocks has resulted in increased demand for high yielding convertible bonds. Convertibles are corporate bonds that yield a fixed interest rate for the life of the bond, or when it is called in by the issuer. These bonds usually gain appromixately two-thirds as their underlying common shares. When the market falls, convertibles only lose about 50% of the value of their underlying stock. These instruments can be traded for a given number of shares of common stock issued by the same company. Although convertible bonds have high yields, small investors planning to buy such bonds should exercise caution. The cost of individual issues can be high due to the thin market for unrated bonds. Investing in mutual funds would be a more prudent move for small investors.

Investors seeking a better return on their investible funds may place their money in either savings bonds, mortgage funds or short-term bond funds. Investors who opt for five-year savings bonds can avail of an interest rate of 6.3% on bonds bought before May 1992. Investors who choose to place their money in mortgage funds can take advantage of yield rates of around 7.5%, while investors who invest in short-term business bond funds should have returns of just over 8.0% on selected portfolios. These three investment alternatives compare quite favorably with the money-market deposit accounts offered by banks which currently pay an average rate of just 4.2%.

Falling interest rates have considerably lowered the income of people relying on safe investments such as municipal bonds, corporate bonds, and certificates of deposit (CDs). Most municipal and corporate bonds carry call privileges that allow the issuing agency to pay off the bonds early, thus reducing the overall yield. The yields of CDs are also decreasing, with new five-year CDs yielding lower than 7% by the end of 1991. This development provides several valuable lessons for investors. First, it is important to search for ways to prevent early redemption of bonds. Second, the true yield on a callable bond should be determined. Third, bond portfolios should be designed in such a way that at least one issue outlive its call protection annually. Finally, investors should also consider stocks instead of limiting themselves to bonds and CDs.

A living trust is a legal document that serves the same purpose as a will, but without the need for probate. It is revocable, hence, it can be terminated or changed any time. Proponents cite speedy settlement of estates, ready access to cash and securities, and privacy, as just some of the advantages of living trusts. Those that do not favor these documents say that living trusts can be costly and can delay settlements. The usefulness of living trusts may depend on the persons who create the trusts (grantors or settlers), the states where they live, and the purposes for setting up the trusts.

Insurance buyers and their advisers should consider financial stability and investment quality in the selection of an insurer for whole life insurance or annuities. The collapse of Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co is an example of what insurance buyers must avoid when shopping for an insurance company. The company left its policy holders unable to pull their money out of the insurance firm. Guaranteed investment contracts, a favorite investment of 401(k) and 403(b) plan participants, have been frozen indefinitely as a result of the insurer's collapse. State regulators have enforced stopgap measures aimed at continuing payment of benefits to policy holders.