| Jody Heymann tells Senators social equality leads to better health
Dr. Jody Heymann, Director of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, adjunct professor at Harvard University and internationally respected voice on the connections among government policy, working conditions and public health, testified before the Canadian Senate Sub-Committee on Population Health in Ottawa today. Both an MD and a PhD in public policy, Dr. Heymann told the Committee, "Poverty and inequality remain an obstacle to good health for millions of Canadians," adding that, "In Canada, it has been estimated that the majority of the variation in life expectancy is due to socio-demographic factors. These social conditions range from education to employment, from living conditions to social networks." Dr. Heymann said there were only three real routes to lift families and individuals out of poverty: "Improve wages and working conditions, improve educational opportunities so people obtain better jobs, and transfer income.
New Survey Shows Asian Leaders Feel Ill Prepared to Deal with ...
U.S.-based AARP, the world's largest membership organization for people 50+, will bring together an international group of leaders and decision-makers from government, academia, non-governmental organizations, and business to explore how Asian societies are dealing with the critical issues of retirement, aging populations, and the quality of life for retirees and older workers. An AARP survey of opinion leaders in Asia and Oceania, which will be released at the conference, reveals that most believe their countries are ill prepared to deal with the challenges of an aging population. The conference, Reinventing Retirement Asia: Enhancing The Opportunities of Aging, will be co-hosted by AARP, Nikkei, and the Japan NGO Council on Aging (JANCA) and will take place March 15-16 at the United Nations House in Tokyo.
Sequoia Invests in SKS Microfinance
SKS Microfinance, a new generation microfinance institution (MFI), announced its latest equity investment of US $11.5 million (Rs.50.6 crores) with Sequoia Capital as its lead investor. Other investors include Unitus Equity Fund, Vinod Khosla, Ravi Reddy, Odyssey Capital, andfrom a previous roundSIDBI. The funds will provide the stimulus that SKS needs to achieve its ambitious goal to provide financial services to over 5 million poor families by 2010.
Sequoia Capital has a track-record of providing venture capital to the most promising emerging companies and has invested in Google, Yahoo!, and You Tube among others. SKSknown as the Starbucks of Microfinanceis one of the fastest growing MFIs in the world with an outreach of nearly 600,000 women borrowers in 7,200 villages in 11 states of India.
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Announces 1st Quarter Earnings ...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) , a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services, will release 1st quarter 2007 earnings after the close of regular market trading on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. A conference call will follow on Thursday, April 26, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Those wishing to participate via the webcast should access the call through FNF's Investor Relations website at http://www.fnf.com/. Those wishing to participate via the telephone may dial-in at 888-428- 4472(USA) or 612-332-0932(International). The conference call replay will be available via webcast through FNF's Investor Relations website at http://www.fnf.com/. The telephone replay will be available from 1:30p.m.
Nigeria: Edo - On the Soapbox With Oshiomhole
With less than ten days to the April 14 governorship election, Edo state appears set to produce one of the greatest upsets, in the political history of the country. Everything points towards one direction; the fall and demystification of godfatherism in the state and the emergence of a new power bloc backed strongly by the will of the people. This is the trend, the cry for change, in every part of the state, from the hilly Afemai region through the dusty towns of enlightened Ishan people down to the thick forest of the Binis. Never in the history of the Edo people, had there been this strong desire for a change; change in leadership and in governance in the state In all the streets, markets and offices, there is deep expression of pains and agonies on the faces of the people of Edo state.
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