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Monthly Archives: August 2011

How to deal with power outages, fallen trees and wires; tips to save electricity during an outage

Con Edison is taking all the necessary steps to prepare for the potential impacts of this storm. Customers can report power interruptions or service problems as well as view service restoration information online at www.conEd.com and on their cell phones and PDAs.~ They may also call Con Edison at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) or your local energy and lighting company.

In the event of major flooding, the company said that it would have to wait for waters to recede before workers could even enter some facilities to begin assessing damage to equipment. The company is advising its customers to pay close attention to evacuation orders from city and municipal officials. Con Edison will continue to provide updates through the media as the storm moves closer.

In addition, important information will also be posted on the company’s Web site, www.conEd.com. The company is in constant communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services and company personnel are working closely with city and municipal emergency officials. In the event that the hurricane impacts our area, Con Edison offers the following safety tips:

·~~~~~~ If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.

~~~~~~ Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.

·~~~~~~ If your power goes out, turn off all lights and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored.

·~~~~~~ Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are in working order.~ Also, make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on power outages can be heard on most local radio and television stations.

·~~~~~~ Avoid opening your freezer to see if food is still frozen. Every time you open the door, room-temperature air enters and speeds the thawing process. Most fully loaded freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 36 to 48 hours; half-full freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours.

[Con Ed]

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THE BOW TIE DIARIES: JIM ROGERS ARGUES AGAINST HURRICANE SHELTERS

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Tell this Dr. Bernanke to stop printing money to fund hurricane shelters. It’s another stupid bailout. Why should we bail out some 29 year old investment banker from a hurricane? If those bankers were smart, they would be safely farming crops in the midwest now anyway. I say let them drown, and then we can start with a strong base of humanity and build from that.

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These Firms are Pwning the Hurricane Panic

Hurricane Irene sent East Coast shoppers into stores to stock up on essentials this week, instead of the clothes, notebooks and other supplies that retailers were counting on selling as children get ready to go back to school.
Chains such as Home Depot Inc (HD.N) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) were doing brisk business on Friday, selling water, flashlights, batteries and other goods in states standing in Irene’s potential track from the Carolinas to Massachusetts.
“Most probably, the biggest demand right now is for generators, obviously,” said Suzanne Roche, manager of a Sears (SHLD.O) store in Wilmington, North Carolina. “We have got customers calling nonstop.”
Irene is due to make its first U.S. landfall in North Carolina on Saturday. The storm, which battered Atlantic and Caribbean islands including the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, is then expected to head to the densely populated Northeast.
Those who were not trying to squeeze in one last summer stay on the New Jersey shore or Long Island beaches may have been planning to go to shopping malls to buy clothes, shoes and other items for children who will soon head back to school. Now those plans will be on hold.
“Nobody is going to go to a mall to buy a pair of jeans,” said Richard Hastings, consumer strategist at Global Hunter Securities.
The back-to-school shopping season is the second-largest spending time for U.S. shoppers, behind the winter holidays.
The storm may dent the upcoming index of August sales at stores open at least a year by 1.5 percentage points, Hastings said.
About two dozen retailers, including department stores and apparel chains, are due to report monthly same-store sales on September 1. Analysts were expecting a 4.8 percent rise for August, Thomson Reuters said on Friday.
The storm could hurt retailers like Saks Inc (SKS.N) and Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) if airports stay closed for too long or people cancel trips, said Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand. The hurricane hitting on a weekend worsens its impact, he added.
That pain may be compounded following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that New York City’s subways, buses and commuter lines, which serve 8 million riders a day, will shut down around noon on Saturday.
Chains such as Target Corp (TGT.N) planned to keep their stores open as long as it is safe for shoppers and workers, and to comply with any evacuation orders.

Walgreen Co (WAG.N) said it would keep many stores open 24 hours a day to meet demand for supplies. It was still deciding which stores may close because employees might not be able to get to work.

Retailers kept shoppers informed online.

Home Depot, Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) and other chains posted details on their websites.
Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O), known for its array of organic and natural products, was communicating with customers through local stores’ Facebook pages and other social media.
After rumors spread in West Hartford, Connecticut, that all local stores were out of water, employees of a Whole Foods there took pictures of all the water they had in the store and posted them on the Facebook page, a spokeswoman said.
POTENTIAL MARKDOWNS
If retailers have excess merchandise because they lose out on a weekend of the back-to-school shopping season, it “could lead to markdowns in September and October,” said Keith Jelinek, a director of AlixPartners’ global retail practice.
Hastings expects Home Depot to do well, as it has 35 percent more stores than Lowe’s Cos Inc (LOW.N) in the affected region. He also expects Newell Rubbermaid Inc (NWL.N) to benefit from demand for storage containers.
Newell shares rose about 1 percent on Friday. Among battery makers, Energizer Holdings Inc (ENR.N) was up almost 2 percent, and Spectrum Brand Holdings (SPB.N) gained nearly 3 percent.
Drugstores and grocery stores should also see a sales lift.
“It helps the supermarkets most because people really stock up,” said BB&T Capital Markets analyst Andrew Wolf, noting Supervalu Inc’s (SVU.N) strength in Boston and Philadelphia, and Safeway Inc (SWY.N) and Ahold’s (AHLN.AS) big presence in Washington.
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co Inc (GAPTQ.PK) is stocking extra water, ice, bleach and other goods at its A&P, Waldbaum’s and Pathmark chains.
WATER GOING QUICKLY
In particular, Irene could affect companies with a strong presence on the East Coast in terms of higher sales before the storm and potential closings once it hits.
BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ.N) said 96 of its 190 stores are in the storm’s expected track. They are receiving extra deliveries of items such as batteries, flashlights, generators and groceries, and the Massachusetts-based company’s buyers are working to get water delivered to those locations.
Wal-Mart, which has an emergency operations center in its Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters, is tracking how the storm may affect roughly 600 of its stores and distribution centers.
It has also offered its help to governments in states such as New York, where hurricanes are less common.
“This is obviously not something that they probably plan for on a regular basis,” said Mark Cooper, Wal-Mart’s new senior director of emergency management, “so we just want to make sure that they know we are available to assist.”

SOURCE: REUTERS

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Here’s How Hurricane Insurance Works

As Hurricane Irene hits the East Coast, nervous residents are reaching for their home insurance documents to better understand how well they’re protected against damages.This is particularly true in the Northeast, where tropical storms are rare and Irene could shape up to be the fiercest hurricane to hit since 1938. Irene is projected to grow to a Category 3 storm that could cause billions of dollars in damages.

Understanding the basics of how you’re protected can provide some peace of mind now and inform decisions when you seek insurance quotes in the future.First, the good news: wind damage often is covered under the standard homeowner insurance policy. So if shingles are torn off, trees knocked down or windows shattered, the resulting damage to structures included in the policy likely will be covered. And unless you live in a high-risk area with special hurricane deductibles – based on a percentage of the home’s replacement cost – the standard dollar deductibles apply.However, it’s important to note that a standard home insurance policy may not cover wind or wind-blown water damage if you live near the coast. In such circumstances, you may be required to purchase a separate windstorm policy. Now the bad news: flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners insurance. This often comes as an unpleasant surprise to homeowners.”This is the biggest misperception that homeowners have,” says Michael Barry, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute (III).Got flood insurance?That means that, should rain enter as a result of wind damage, any water damage should be covered under your homeowner insurance policy or a separate windstorm policy. But if the water damage is the result of a flood, homeowners will need flood insurance, which typically is sold separately through a federal insurance pool.When is water damage the result of a flood? Basically, it’s when water enters from the ground. It could come in the form of a storm surge, a swollen river or heavy rain from the likes of Hurricane Irene. If it’s the ground that’s saturated, and the water rises or seeps into your home, it’s a flood.However, when it comes time to file a claim, the issue can get muddy. Following Hurricane Katrina, many disputes arose about whether water intrusion was the result of wind damage or flooding.”You want to get a flood insurance policy so there’s no dispute over the origins of the water damage,” says Barry.Flood damage is extremely costly. As a result, private insurers largely have gotten out of the business. Flood insurance is available from the government-backed National Flood Insurance Program, with a 30-day waiting period in most cases. For more information, see FloodSmart.gov.Flood polices still “are available from some private insurance companies around the country,” says Jeanne Salvatore, senior vice president at the III.Hurricane or wind?After Hurricane Andrew, a rare Category 5 that struck southern Florida in 1992, insurers won permission to create separate, higher hurricane deductibles in high-risk coastal states, such as the Carolinas.These deductibles are based on a percentage of the home’s insured value and can be as high as 10 percent (or, with special permission, even higher), although they are often lower. A homeowner with a 2 percent hurricane deductible on a home insured for $300,000, for example, will be responsible for the first $6,000 of repairs.Separate windstorm insurance deductibles may also exist. The dollar amount of the hurricane deductible is pre-calculated and is spelled out on the declarations page of your policy.Insurers typically have different standards for hurricanes and tropical stores, says Salvatore.  “Deductibles vary from company to company and state to state, so everyone needs to read their policy or speak to an agent or company representative to find out exactly what the hurricane deductible is and when it applies,” Salvatore says.

SOURCE: Insure.com

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FLASH: NEW YORKERS STAY PUT, TELL BLOOMBERG TO GO HAVE A SMOKE AND RELAX

The city that never sleeps started shutting down at midday on Saturday, with nearly all businesses except a smattering of food and liquor stores closing and public transportation coming to a halt ahead of Hurricane Irene.With the 530 mile-wide storm moving up the East Coast unleashing winds of 85 miles per hour and due to hit New York City late on Saturday or early Sunday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered an unprecedented evacuation of 370,000 people from low-lying areas.But many appeared to defy the evacuation order. Only 1,400 people had checked into emergency shelters, and an unknown number chose instead to stay with family and friends outside the evacuation zone, Bloomberg said.Despite the persistent warnings and ominous skies, the neighborhood around Brooklyn’s Coney Island — within the danger zone — was calm. Parked cars lined the streets, and there was no sign of a mass Exodus.

FULL STORY HERE BY REUTERS

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