Reliance Partnership with BP in $7.2B

The deal with Reliance Industries, potentially worth up to $20bn and subject to government approval, comes on the heels of a $16bn share swap with Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, and marks the latest stage of BP's recovery since last year's Gulf of Mexico disaster.

It also represents an endorsement of the prospects for continued rapid expansion of the world's second-fastest growing major economy.

"This partnership will help unlock the huge potential of India's vast but under-explored acreages," Mr Ambani told reporters while unveiling the deal with Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, in London, ahead of a planned signing ceremony at 10 Downing Street with George Osborne, UK chancellor.

The deal is the biggest foreign investment in Indian energy and among the largest in any sector.

It further cements Anglo-Indian business ties, following Vodafone's $10.7bn purchase of a 67 per cent stake in what became Vodafone Essar, India's third biggest mobile operator, in 2007.

Mr Ambani, whose energy interests form the backbone of a conglomerate that has made him a fortune estimated by Forbes to be the world's fourth largest at $29bn, said BP's technical expertise would "accelerate" exploration.

All 23 blocks lie offshore, mainly off India's east coast and at depths ranging from 400m to more than 3km.

The Indian group's current output of 1.8bn cubic feet of gas per day -- 40 per cent of India's gas production -- comes from the sole block that is in production.

BP agreed to pay an initial $7.2bn and additional performance-related payments of up $1.8bn. These payments and combined investment could amount to $20bn, the companies said.

"Reliance is a newcomer in this upstream business so it required a more experienced partner that could provide them the technology needed to extract deepwater oil and gas," said an analyst with a global ratings agency.

The tie-up aims to supply the domestic market, where natural gas accounts for a small but growing share of energy consumption. BP forecasts that demand will more than double over the next 20 years.

The courtship between the two groups goes back five years. Since 2008 BP has operated a 50-50 joint venture with Reliance developing an offshore Indian oil block.

Don't Get Scammed

As today's arrests prove, we are waging an aggressive fight against health care fraud," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. A similar sweep in July charged 94 defendants.

But consumer advocates say it isn't just Medicare being ripped off. Sometimes, it's the Medicare recipients themselves who fall victims to cons. The result is potentially large financial losses for the elderly, who may be ill-equipped to investigate fraud, be embarrassed at having been fooled or by not know where to turn for help in recovering their money. Here's how the scams work, and how you can protect yourself.

Frequently, scammers posing as Medicare specialists will ask for bank account or credit card numbers. Once they have them, they can wipe out victims' savings or run up mountains of credit card bills. Similarly, they are sometimes able to use someone's Medicare number as the first step toward identity theft.

"Treat your Medicare number like a credit card. You would not give out credit card information to a stranger. Do not give out your Medicare card (number) to anyone," says Barbara Dieker, director of the Office of Elder Rights at the Administration of Aging, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"Treat your Medicare number like a credit card. You would not give out credit card information to a stranger. Do not give out your Medicare card (number) to anyone," says Barbara Dieker, director of the Office of Elder Rights at the Administration of Aging, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

But the scammers are masters at getting people to reveal personal information. They may call on the phone and chat up the person, saying they are with the federal government. They may ask the victim to verify his or her address, or if he or she still goes to a particular senior center. The goal is to build trust and credibility. Then, they ask for a Medicare number or bank information.

Fueling the fear factor

Scams run the gamut, but they often play on changes in health care coverage, which the elderly may not understand well or be fearful of, says Dieker. An example is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health reform law passed in 2010.

She says one of the first scams to surface occurred in Missouri, where con artists went to seniors' doors hawking "Obamacare" insurance policies. They claimed the policies had a limited enrollment period, so the person must act quickly. To lock in coverage, the person would have to provide their Medicare number. "People are scared to death to lose health care," Dieker says. "They twist and turn to create misinformation about it to make a buck."

Keyless entry systems

Remote keyless-entry systems use radio waves that typically are specific to a manufacturer, and the signals are usually encrypted. When your vehicle’s key fob is within 20 feet of the car, you’re allowed to transmit a signal to unlock the doors, pop the trunk, remote start your car (when equipped) or activate the car alarm.

Researchers at ETH Zurich discovered that these encrypted signals are easy to intercept and trick.

The theft works by setting up two antennas, one near the targeted vehicle and one near the holder of the key fob — be it in a purse, bag or pocket. This equipment can usually be purchased for $100 to $1,000. The person with the antenna aimed at the owner of the key fob needs to get within 26 feet of the target. In a store, this could be a few aisles away, so as to not arouse suspicion.

Once the antenna is near the intended victim’s key fob, the key transmits a low-power signal to the antenna, which is then relayed to the antenna near the vehicle. Once that occurs, the thief can unlock the doors and drive away (if the vehicle has push-button start).

The Swiss researchers hacked into eight car manufacturers’ passive-entry systems using this method. No cryptology or protocol could stop it.

While this system may seem fairly complicated, it could catch on with car thieves because of the cost of the equipment and anonymity. However, the hack cannot start the cars with traditional keys. Today’s ignition systems are increasingly complicated and secure. That’s one reason why car thefts are largely on the decline in the U.S.

Lessons for Retirees

T. Rowe Price examines this question in a new study that uses Monte Carlo probability analysis to look at likely outcomes of different retiree responses to a bear market. T. Rowe examined strategies that would help retirees restore their odds of success -- defined as not running out of money before age 95.

The key finding: retirees struggling in the past decade could boost significantly their odds of success by adjusting their withdrawal rates.

If that sounds to you like a fancy way of saying "tighten your belt," you're be right. Our economy and markets are struggling to recover from the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression, and there really are no magic bullet solutions. The answers all require sacrifice, adjustments and hard work.

Strong planning focuses not just on the first few years of retirement, but on long-term retirement security -- how to reliably generate income to support a retirement that could last 25 years or more for you or your spouse.

The T. Rowe Price analysis underscores a key point about retirement planning in hard times: Income and assets are just one set of values in the retirement security equation; on the other side is lifestyle and spending.

The analysis starts with a hypothetical worker who retires on January 1, 2000, with a $500,000 portfolio invested 55 percent stocks/45 percent bonds. Four withdrawal strategies are analyzed using Monte Carlo probability analysis to understand the likely impact on the portfolio using actual returns for stocks and bonds in the following ten years -- including the deep bear markets of 2002 and 2008-2009:

Bail on stocks: The investor switches to a 100 percent bond portfolio at the end of the first bear market in September 2002

Classic decumulation: The retiree withdraws four percent ($20,000) in the first year, and increases the annual withdrawal amount by three percent each year to keep up with inflation.

No inflation increases: The COLAs are cut three years after each bear market bottom (from 2002-2005 and again from 2009-2012).

Temporary reduction: Withdrawals are reduced by 25 percent for three years after each bear market bottom (from 2002-2005 and again from 2009-2012).

In that scenario, the odds of success were restored to 69 percent.