With a new year comes new beginnings and new resolutions. While the majority of resolutions are about desires like becoming healthier, many people are making resolutions for a financially stable 2012. January is Financial Wellness Month, which creates the perfect opportunity for people to take strides in understanding and rehabilitating their financial condition.Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) January 16, 2012 Consumers should question their confidence in their financial future. There is a fine line between financial distress and a future that is financially stable. Unfortunately, some people are unaware that they are on the verge of financial ruin until it is too late. Becoming financially secure can only be accomplished by consciously recognizing that there is a financial issue. According to the Chief Adviser for Financial Resolution Center, The sooner people realize theyre having issues with debt, the better the chance they have at solution it and becoming financially secure for the future.Financial Resolution Center suggests that individuals make an honest assessment of the state of their financial affairs. Below is a list of warning signs. If at least three of these signs are true, individuals may be moving toward financial ruin.Balancing Bills and Paying Late FeesThe inability to pay bills on time and constant occurrence of late fees are signs of financial trouble. Incurring late fees as a result of a deficiency of money and living pay check to pay check can cause people to go further into debt. Also, only making minimum payments to keep accounts open will never pay off a balance on time or in full. Barely managing revolving debt will only lead to an increase in the balances.Relying on Future IncomeRelying on a future source of income, like a tax refund, is a quick way to create a negative financial situation. Hoping to run into money is an unrealistic way to handle personal finances. This approach will cause future financial problems. Dependent on CreditA consistent dependency on credit cards as a mean! s of add itional income is a financial mistake. Credit cards should be relied upon for big purchases and paid off monthly. Using credit cards to pay for everyday purchases or shifting balances to new cards is a bad financial decision. Should there be any unexpected changes in pricing or interest rates, people who depend on credit will find themselves in financial turmoil.Arguments Over FinancesRegular arguments with a spouse or partner over money are also indications of a poor financial condition. Fights amongst couples over finances are not unusual. However, fighting over finances means that unnecessary spending is being made with money needed to maintain the household.A Lack of Personal SavingsBudgets should allow small amounts of money to be set aside for savings. If there is no room in the budget for savings, the financial situation is not viable. Setting aside money for savings may be tough, but not saving can be detrimental to any financial situation. The Chief Adviser for Financial Resolution Center informs that to be in good financial shape, there should be some form of savings for emergencies. A dependency on credit cards is not a sound financial decision.Spending Money to Pay Overdraft FeesThere are several reasons why a person pays overdraft fees. If these fees are a result of frequently overdrawing an account, then the financial health may be poor. Having these fees occur often will only exacerbate a bad situation because it limits the amount of income available to cover debts.Depleting Retirement SavingsUsing retirement savings to pay for expenses is something frequently done by people in a bad financial position. Financial Resolution Center cautions against taking out more than one 401K loan. Borrowing more than once against a 401k loan can be detrimental to a sustainable financial future. It also threatens any growth potential of a retirement account. Let 2012 be the year to regain financial control. Use Financial Awareness Month as a motivator factor to take the correct steps to a better financial! outlook . For more information on eliminating debt issues, Contact Financial Resolution Center at toll free (888) 272-0227 or online at http://www.financialresolutioncenter.com.###Marketing DepartmentFinancial Resolution Center(888) 272-0227Email Information

Revenue: $148.1 million ($172.2 million in 2Q FY2011)EBITDA: $89.3 million ($109.6 million) and Net Profit: $65.4 million ($74.2 million)Earnings per share: 6.1 cents (7.0 cents)Interim Dividend per share: 4.0 cents (4.0 cents)All figures above are for the quarter except for figures in brackets which are for a year earlier unless otherwise statedSINGAPORE, Jan. 16, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SGX recorded revenue of $148.1 million ($172.2 million), net profit of $65.4 million ($74.2 million) and earnings per share (EPS) of 6.1 cents (7.0 cents) in 2Q FY2012. This brings SGX's net profit to $152.9 million for the six months ended 31 December 2011 (1H FY2012), 3% aloft than last financial year's $148.4 million. The Board of Directors has declared an interim dividend of 4.0 cents (4.0 cents) per share, payable on 14 February 2012.Mr Magnus Bocker, SGX CEO, said, "SGX reported a net profit of $65.4 million in difficult market conditions following a decline in securities turnover. We continue to expand our products and services, including the start of the world's first clearing of OTC Foreign Exchange Forwards. We also welcomed our first Catalist mineral, oil and gas listing. During the quarter, we effectively transferred customers' positions and margins following the collapse of MF Global. This demonstrates the importance of a strong and capable clearing house. We remain cautious and focused on cost discipline amid global economic challenges."Business HighlightsInvestor sentiment was affected by macroeconomic uncertainty and this led to lower securities trading volumes. Price volatility, on the other hand, led to increased risk management activities by existing and new customers in the derivatives market.Securities: Securities daily average trading value (SDAV) was $1.1 billion ($1.8 billion) and $1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) for 2Q and 1H FY2012 respectively. We expanded the range of investment products for customers by listing six new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and adding 15 Depository Receipts to our GlobalQ! uote pla tform. To support our members and educate retail customers, we conducted courses on the new requirements for the trading of "Specified Investment Products" effective 1 January 2012.Derivatives: Derivatives1 daily average trading volume (DAV) was up 11% to 274,757 contracts (248,325 contracts) with market share of our key contracts remaining steady. DAV for 1H FY2012 was 22% aloft at 298,796 contracts (245,025 contracts). "After-hour trading" contributed 16% (14%) of the overall volume this quarter. Chinese A50 futures DAV doubled year-on-year to 16,959 contracts (7,851 contracts) and was 36% aloft quarter-on-quarter. Year-on-year DAV of Nikkei options rose 39% to 10,202 contracts (7,318 contracts) and Rubber futures were up 24% to 1,118 contracts (898 contracts). The average monthly open interest of derivatives grew 44% year-on-year to 1,346,544 contracts (932,475 contracts).OTC Derivatives: We started clearing over-the-counter (OTC) Asian Foreign Exchange (FX) Forwards on 24 October 2011. This quarter, we cleared a total notional value of $17.2 billion in Interest Rate Swaps, leading to a cumulative value of $185.8 billion since the launch in November 2010. We also cleared 56,885 lots (41,268 lots) of OTC Commodities resulting in year-on-year growth of 38% while adding OTC coal (CFR China) and naphtha swaps (CFR Japan) to our product suite in December 2011.Membership: The total number of Securities and Derivatives Trading and Clearing Memberships grew 10% year-on-year, from 124 to 136.Equity and Debt Listings: We had nine new listings2, including Lonza Group (our first Swiss listing) and CMNC Goldmine (our first Catalist mineral, oil and gas company). A total of $2.4 billion ($7.3 billion) of equity funds was raised: $214.7 million ($4.9 billion) in IPO funds and $2.2 billion ($2.3 billion) in secondary fund raising. In addition, $19.0 billion was raised through 35 new bond issues ($41.6 billion and 69 new bond issues).Market Development, Risk Management & RegulationWe continue to remain vigilant an! d monito r our risk exposures closely given the market volatility and uncertain conditions. Our robust risk management enabled us to handle the bankruptcy of MF Global swiftly without impacting customers' ability to continue to manage their positions.In addition, in the Securities Market, we continue to uphold the integrity of our market through the enforcement of our Listing Rules.SGX hosted the Chief Regulatory Officers Conference for global market regulators, policy makers and self-regulated organisations to share their experiences on regulatory challenges and global regulatory trends on 1 and 2 December 2011. Valuable insights from the perspectives of Europe, US and the emerging markets were given.We are working on the ASEAN Trading Link, under the auspices of the ASEAN Exchange collaboration, to collectively promote ASEAN as a highly investable asset class.OutlookMarket activity will continue to be influenced by the global economic outlook. SGX's investments and initiatives will be paced accordingly.FINANCIAL PERFORMANCESGX's revenue and EBITDA were $148.1 million ($172.2 million) and $89.3 million ($109.6 million), respectively. On the back of the net profit of $65.4 million ($74.2 million3), SGX's EPS was 6.1 cents (7.0 cents).For the six months ended 31 December 2011, SGX's net profit was $152.9 million ($148.4 million3) with revenues of $326.5 million ($331.3 million) and EBITDA of $204.4 million ($209.3 million). The EPS was 14.3 cents (13.9 cents).Revenues from Derivatives, Depository, Market Data and Member Services and Connectivity grew 7% to $80.3 million ($74.8 million) while Securities and Issuer Services revenues were 31% lower at $67.5 million ($97.4 million). For 1H FY2012, Derivatives, Depository, Market Data and Member Services and Connectivity revenues grew 17% to $170.7 million although Securities and Issuer Services revenues fell 16% to $155.2 million.Expenses decreased by 4% to $68.9 million ($71.7 million). Staff expense was 9% lower at $25.5 million ($28.0 million) mainly due to the red! uced var iable compensation expense in line with lower profitability. This helped offset the increase in base staff costs. Headcount was 608 (584) on 31 December 2011. Technology expenses were 2% lower at $26.3 million ($26.8 million). Processing and royalties declined by 11% to $6.0 million ($6.7 million). The increase in royalties expense on aloft derivatives volumes was offset by lower securities processing costs. Cashflow generated from operations was lower by 6% to $77.2 million ($82.2 million). Capital expenditure amounted to $7.2 million ($23.6 million). Capital expenditure for FY2012 is expected to remain within the range of $40 to $45 million, as previously announced.SGX's total equity was $731.1 million ($720.9 million) on 31 December 2011. The unrestricted cash reserves were $486.7 million ($463.6 million), including the 2Q FY2012 interim dividend payable of $42.7 million ($42.7 million).PERFORMANCE REVIEWSecurities Revenue, 36% (47%) of SGX's revenueSecurities revenue declined by 34% to $53.2 million ($81.1 million) as the SDAV fell by 37% to $1.1 billion ($1.8 billion). The average clearing fees improved to 3.0 basis points (2.8 basis points).Table below summarises the metrics of our Securities market:Derivatives, 25% (20%) of SGX's revenueDerivatives revenue grew 11% to $37.7 million ($33.9 million). Derivatives volume was 8% aloft at 16.8 million (15.6 million) contracts or DAV of 274,757 contracts (248,325 contracts) this quarter on heightened volatility of the underlying equity indices. Futures & Options revenue dropped 3% to $24.6 million ($25.3 million) mainly due to aloft volume rebates on newer contracts and foreign exchange hedging costs. Of note, our Indian Nifty futures, Chinese A50 futures and Japanese Nikkei225 options accounted for 30% of overall volumes, compared to 25% a year ago. The average produce per contract was $1.46 ($1.62). Table below summarises the DAV and market share of key Asian Gateway equity contracts:Structured warrants revenue was steady at $1.2 million ($1.2 mil! lion). T he quarterly average daily trading value grew to $35.5 million ($24.2 million) and the proportion of trades above $400,000 was 57% (41%).Interest income, license and other revenue was 62% aloft at $12.0 million ($7.4 million) mainly driven by: (i) aloft collaterals held of $5.2 billion ($3.3 billion) given increased open interest positions and better management of collateral balances (ii) aloft royalty fees collected from increased DAV; and (iii) revenue from OTC Clearing.In 2Q FY2012, we cleared 56,885 lots (41,268 lots) of OTC Commodities and $17.2 billion ($4.8 billion) in notional value of OTC Financial Derivatives. Iron ore swaps clearing volume grew more than four times to 35,138 lots (7,893 lots) and was 46% aloft quarter-on-quarter. Market Data, 6% (5%) of SGX's revenueMarket data revenue was 13% aloft at $8.9 million ($7.9 million) mainly on increased subscriptions for price information and the revised fee for Derivatives Quote. The average number of securities and derivatives terminals was 44,487 (40,169) and 25,391 (23,576), respectively, in 2Q FY2012. Member Services and Connectivity, 7% (5%) of SGX's revenueMember Services and Connectivity revenue increased by 9% to $10.4 million ($9.5 million).Membership revenue was $1.9 million ($2.3 million) as only one member was admitted to our market compared to 14 members in the same quarter a year ago. Connectivity revenue rose 16% to $8.4 million ($7.2 million) primarily due to revenue from our new Co-Location services since 18 April 2011. The average securities and derivatives connectivity subscriptions were 182 (122) and 605 (604), respectively. Depository Services, 16% (14%) of SGX's revenueDepository revenue was $23.3 million ($23.5 million).Securities settlement revenue increased 7% to $17.3 million ($16.2 million) mainly driven by increased institutional settlement instructions as more institutions utilise SGX Prime, our pre-matching infrastructure, for post-trade settlement efficiency. Contract processing was 24% lower at $4.4 million ($5.8 m! illion) as the number of contracts processed declined 33% to 2.0 million from 3.1 million a year ago. Depository management revenue was flat at $1.6 million ($1.5 million). Issuer Services, 10% (9%) of SGX's revenueIssuer Services revenue was 12% lower at $14.3 million ($16.3 million). Listings revenue decreased 16% to $8.3 million ($9.9 million) as fund raising activities slowed. In 2Q FY2012, the total equity fund raising was $2.4 billion ($7.3 billion): $214.7 million ($4.9 billion) in primary funds raised by nine (12) new listings and $2.2 billion ($2.3 billion) in secondary funds raised. On the fixed income side, 35 new bond issues (69 new bond issues), raising $19.0 billion ($41.6 billion), were listed on SGX.Corporate action revenue was lower at $6.0 million ($6.4 million) due to reduced corporate action activities, 454 compared to 479 a year ago.Footnotes:1Excludes structured warrants, extended settlement contracts and OTC derivatives cleared.22Q FY12: 9 IPOs; 2Q FY11: 12 IPOs.3Excluding the one-off ASX-SGX transaction cost of $7.5 million, SGX's underlying net profit was $81.7 million and $155.9 million, respectively, in 2Q and 1H FY2011.For more information, kindly contact:Please refer to the Appendix for the Financial Highlights.

We are downgrading our recommendation on CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CNO - News) to Underperform from Neutral given continued deterioration in the premium revenue of its Bankers Life segment as well as the poignant underwriting as well as pricing risks. The top-line performance of the Bankers Life segment has been deteriorating over the past few years. The reduced earnings from annuities as well as health products are mainly responsible for the weakening performance of the segment. While annuities premium declined as a result of reduced money interest rates, premium from health products declined due to higher lapses of long-term policies as well as reduced prescription drug benefit as well as Private-Fee-For-Service collections. Moreover, CNO Financial has a risky business profile with about $269 million balance outstanding under its senior secured credit agreement as on September 30, 2011. Also, the company has to make high principal as well as interest payments on its outstanding indebtedness. Thus, the company requires poignant amounts of cash each year to fund its operations as well as repay debt. Additionally, the results for the last few quarters reveal that CNO Financial continues to face underwriting as well as pricing challenges in the long-term care business. The current interest rate environment, which is generating spread compression, will continue to exert pressure on the bottom line. However, on the positive side, the cash position of CNO Financial has strengthened over the years. The company has been able to improve its cash position due to substantial growth in cash flow from operating as well as financing activities. Additionally, the value of CNO Financials investment portfolio is steadily increasing. While the values of certain types of securities in CNO Financials investment portfolio, such as asset-backed securities supported by residential as well as commercial mortgages, vary with changes in capital market conditions, the company holds some trading securities to neutralize! the eff ects of interest rate fluctuations on the investment portfolio. Thus, the portfolio is substantially protected from market variations as well as can be expected to continue to grow in future. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNO Financials fourth-quarter 2011 earnings is currently 19 cents per share, up 4% year over year. For full year 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at 73 cents per share, up about 13% from 2010. CNO Financial competes with AFLAC Inc. (NYSE:AFL - News) as well as Torchmark Corp. (NYSE:TMK - News). Currently, the company carries a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. Zacks Investment Research More From Zacks.com Read the analyst report on CNO