Read the text below entitled “Recent developments” in order to answer questions 27 to 30:

Recent developments
Source: www.bls.gov (Adapted)
Jan 28th, 2010

    The recent financial crisis has resulted in large losses for the insurance industry. Industry conditions in the near term remain tenuous, particularly as many companies will continue to experience declining revenues, investment losses, and credit rating downgrades, which can affect an insurer’s ability to repay debt by having to pay a higher interest rate. Additionally, insurance companies that were trading in credit default swaps and other risky instruments without sufficient hedging suffered especially hard, and some companies even became insolvent. Companies with prudent risk management strategies also suffered large losses, because most investment instruments owned by insurance companies experienced falling values as they were being sold or marked down as the stock market deteriorated in late 2008. Nonetheless, as insurers rebuild capital and adhere to stricter Federal regulations, the insurance industry is likely to stabilize.
    The Internet is an important tool for insurance carriers in reaching potential and existing customers. Insurance carriers use the Internet to enable customers to access online account and billing information, view insurance quotes, and purchase policies.

Read the text below entitled “Recent developments” in order to answer questions 27 to 30:

Recent developments
Source: www.bls.gov (Adapted)
Jan 28th, 2010

    The recent financial crisis has resulted in large losses for the insurance industry. Industry conditions in the near term remain tenuous, particularly as many companies will continue to experience declining revenues, investment losses, and credit rating downgrades, which can affect an insurer’s ability to repay debt by having to pay a higher interest rate. Additionally, insurance companies that were trading in credit default swaps and other risky instruments without sufficient hedging suffered especially hard, and some companies even became insolvent. Companies with prudent risk management strategies also suffered large losses, because most investment instruments owned by insurance companies experienced falling values as they were being sold or marked down as the stock market deteriorated in late 2008. Nonetheless, as insurers rebuild capital and adhere to stricter Federal regulations, the insurance industry is likely to stabilize.
    The Internet is an important tool for insurance carriers in reaching potential and existing customers. Insurance carriers use the Internet to enable customers to access online account and billing information, view insurance quotes, and purchase policies.

Read the text below entitled “Recent developments” in order to answer questions 27 to 30:

Recent developments
Source: www.bls.gov (Adapted)
Jan 28th, 2010

    The recent financial crisis has resulted in large losses for the insurance industry. Industry conditions in the near term remain tenuous, particularly as many companies will continue to experience declining revenues, investment losses, and credit rating downgrades, which can affect an insurer’s ability to repay debt by having to pay a higher interest rate. Additionally, insurance companies that were trading in credit default swaps and other risky instruments without sufficient hedging suffered especially hard, and some companies even became insolvent. Companies with prudent risk management strategies also suffered large losses, because most investment instruments owned by insurance companies experienced falling values as they were being sold or marked down as the stock market deteriorated in late 2008. Nonetheless, as insurers rebuild capital and adhere to stricter Federal regulations, the insurance industry is likely to stabilize.
    The Internet is an important tool for insurance carriers in reaching potential and existing customers. Insurance carriers use the Internet to enable customers to access online account and billing information, view insurance quotes, and purchase policies.

Read the text below entitled “Recent developments” in order to answer questions 27 to 30:

Recent developments
Source: www.bls.gov (Adapted)
Jan 28th, 2010

    The recent financial crisis has resulted in large losses for the insurance industry. Industry conditions in the near term remain tenuous, particularly as many companies will continue to experience declining revenues, investment losses, and credit rating downgrades, which can affect an insurer’s ability to repay debt by having to pay a higher interest rate. Additionally, insurance companies that were trading in credit default swaps and other risky instruments without sufficient hedging suffered especially hard, and some companies even became insolvent. Companies with prudent risk management strategies also suffered large losses, because most investment instruments owned by insurance companies experienced falling values as they were being sold or marked down as the stock market deteriorated in late 2008. Nonetheless, as insurers rebuild capital and adhere to stricter Federal regulations, the insurance industry is likely to stabilize.
    The Internet is an important tool for insurance carriers in reaching potential and existing customers. Insurance carriers use the Internet to enable customers to access online account and billing information, view insurance quotes, and purchase policies.

Read the text below entitled “A world of connections” in order to answer questions 24 to 26:

A world of connections
Source: www.economist.com (Adapted)
Jan 28th, 2010

    To sceptics all this talk of twittering, yammering and chattering smacks of another internet bubble in the making. They argue that even a huge social network such as Facebook will struggle to make money because fickle networkers will not stay in one place for long, pointing to the example of MySpace, which was once all the rage but has now become a shadow of its former self. Last year the site, which is owned by News Corp, installed a new boss and fired 45% of its staff as part of a plan to revive its fortunes.
    Within companies there is plenty of doubt about the benefits of online social networking in the office. A survey of 1,400 chief information officers conducted last year by Robert Half Technology, a recruitment firm, found that only one-tenth of them gave employees full access to such networks during the day, and that many were blocking Facebook and Twitter altogether. The executives’ biggest concern was that social networking would lead to social notworking, with employees using the sites to chat with friends instead of doing their jobs. Some bosses also fretted that the sites would be used to leak sensitive corporate information.