4 Billion in 2008 The US is followed by EU Canada andJapan

Munich Re closed up 6 percent to 104.34 euros, lagging a 7.9percent gain in the DJ Stoxx index of European insurance shares.SXIP Allianz (ALVG.DE) closed up 7.5 percent. "The result is naturally not good compared with the yearsbefore the financial crisis," Schneider told Handelsblatt in aninterview released ahead of publication on Tuesday. "We've had to take writedowns of a considerable size in thefourth quarter," he said, also confirming the dividend for 2008would remain stable at 5.50 euros. Schneider said 2008 was a normal year for operatingbusiness, though losses from natural catastrophes wererelatively high. Munich Re last year said it did not expect net profit toreach 2 billion euros in 2008, after posting record net profitof 3.9 billion euros in 2007. "Given the dizzying losses around us, we can be satisfiedwith our own profit," Schneider said.

Munich Re had equity exposure of between 6 billion and 7billion euros at end-September, and the 20 percent fall inshares since then would have worked out to about 1.3 billioneuros, he said. "But we didn't just sit there, we cut the holdings massivelyand hedged even more strongly, so the actual writedowns will befar lower," he said. Munich Re expects to remain profitable in 2009, despite therecent worsening of the business environment, Schneider said. The company is due to release its full-year 2008 results onMarch 3 (Editing by Andrew Macdonald). Trail Blazer president Larry Miller just finished up an interview on Courtside tonight and had a few updates for Blazer fans. No, it did not include a deal getting done with LaMarcus Aldridge, nor did it include a game distribution agreement with Comcast, Dish Network, and DIRECTV.But it did include this committment: All games on KGW will be streaming live online and Comcast games should be streaming by the end of 2009.In a frustrating time for many Blazer fans, this is good news. An opportunity to finally get Blazer games without having Comcast.

I know some people aren't ready to watch their games on a computer, but at this point, you take what you can get rightAnyway, for those of you with or without guaranteed Blazer games, what are you going to do For me, after getting my latest Comcast bill, I'm going to strongly consider going to live streaming and find lower a priced television option. This article is also featured on Bust a Bucket - A Portland Trail Blazers Blog. Recently rumors have surfaced that Owner Al Davis has called teams around the league in order to conduct a fire sale of his oh so precious Raider football team. He supposedly mentioned he will only be keeping the young talented players. Here is a list of who should stay:1 Nnamdi Asomugha2 Sebastian Janikowski3 Shane Lechler4 Rashad Baker5 Tyvon Branch6 Ricky Brown7 Desmond Bryant8 Greg Ellis9 Michael Bush10 Richard Seymour11 Darren McFadden12 Justin Fargas13 Robert Gallery14 Johnnie Lee Higgins15 Michael Huff16 Thomas Howard17 Chris Johnson18 Zach Miller19 Nick Miller20. According to "Aerospace Industry Forecast to 2013", our latest research on theglobal aerospace market, growing air travel and wars around the world aredriving the global aerospace industry. Civil aerospace segment is expected togrow at a faster pace than the defence segment. It is estimated that by the year2027, the world's airlines will take delivery of 29,400 civil airplanes with atotal value of US$ 3.2 Trillion to keep pace with the growing demand for airtravel.

The US represents the biggest aerospace market, with total sales estimated tohave closed at US$ 204.4 Billion in 2008 The US is followed by EU, Canada andJapan. But in future, developing economies such as China, India, Mexico andBrazil are expected to emerge as huge marketplace for aerospace products. The Chinese aerospace sector ranks among the world's most dynamic sector due tothe massive investment injected by the country. Chinese aerospace companies arefast showing their presence in global aerospace industry.