The public pension system has to be transformed into a structure based on the principle of accumulation in personal accounts, the money collected set to be used as a state development fund, on efficiency principles, not for covering black holes, Labor Minister Mariana Campeanu stated, Mediafax informs. Attending an insurance conference in Sinaia yesterday, she stated that the money accumulated in the participants accounts will be used as a state development fund. Campeanu pointed out that the private management of the process of contributions started well and has good results. Moreover, Cornelia Coman, President of the Association for Privately Managed Pensions in Romania (APAPR), stated yesterday that the development potential of the optional pensions market (Pillar III) is very high, approximately 3.5 million persons having the necessary funds to pay contributions to this system. At the end of April, the net assets of the 11 funds present on the optional pensions market totalled RON 495 M, while the number of participants reached 271,441, the Private Pension System Supervisory Commission (CSSPP) shows. Nine funds are present on the compulsory private pensions market (Pillar II), having 5.63 million participants and net assets of RON 7.5 bln.

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ss7vvg/analysis_of_the_pe) has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "Analysis of the Personal Care Packaging Market: A positive scenario for a growing industry" to their offering.

This study analyzes the plastic, glass, and aluminum packaging segments of the personal care market in Argentina from base year 2011 to the end of the forecast period (2018). The market is growing along with demand for certain products. Factors stimulating growth include: stable economic conditions, growth in the gross domestic product rate, and government subsidies. However, some restraints include rising prices for raw materials, such as oil, and greater bargaining power for buyers.

Executive Summary Sample:

Some of the PC packaging market drivers are:

- A high level of consumer spending

- A high level of new product introduction

- A high exchange rate, which stimulates local production

Some of the PC packaging market's main restraints are:

- Rising costs for raw materials and energy

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Research and Markets: Analysis of the Personal Care Packaging Market: a Positive Scenario for a Growing Industry

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Synergy Systems recently contracted RealTime Marketing Group to design a website that offers better representation of their brand. Synergy Systems Delray Beach is a state-of-the art, private personal training studio that features medical grade MedX equipment. Synergy Systems incorporates VO2 metabolic testing and evaluation with a scientific approach to weight loss and athletic development that are individually developed and customized for each client's success.

The new website features information on the facility and equipment, as well as the ability to schedule a training session online. CEO of RealTime, Terra Spero, commented, "Synergy Systems uses advanced training methods to achieve the maximum results for their clients in the least amount of time. This is not your ordinary personal trainer, and they now have a digital presence that portrays that."

For more information on Synergy Systems Delray, visit their website at http://www.synergysystemsdelray.com/

To see what RealTime Marketing Group can do for your online presence visit http://realtimemg.com/

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Delray Beach Personal Training Studio Rebrands Digital Presence

SALT LAKE CITY, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (USNA), a global nutritional supplement company, today announced the promotion of Dr. John Cuomo to executive director of global research and development and Dr. Brian Dixon to executive director of new product and technological innovation. Additionally, Dr. Nancy Steely, a licensed naturopathic physician, Mark Levy, a Ph.D. in human nutrition, and John Bosse, a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and adjunct professor at the University of Utah, have joined USANA's growing staff of scientific experts.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110110/LA27593LOGO)

Dr. Cuomo will be heavily involved in the building of a USANA research and development laboratory in Singapore, and he will continue to work on the company's expansion into China. He holds more than 20 U.S. and European patents, is the author of numerous scientific papers, and brings decades of expertise to USANA's research and development team in the areas of synthetic organic chemistry, manufacturing, and analytical methods.

"Science is the foundation of our business, and as USANA continues to grow, we are expanding our scientific team to meet increasing demand for new products and research," says Dr. Cuomo. "Health and wellness is a $600-billion-dollar global industry that continues to trend toward prevention, and we are prepared for continued growth."

Dr. Dixon will be taking on additional responsibilities in new product development, clinical research, and technology innovation. He earned a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute, where his research focused on the underlying biochemical and cellular mechanisms of aging.

"USANA is unlike other nutritional companies," says Dr. Dixon. "Few supplement companies make the kind of investment we do in scientific research, strategic partnerships, product development and technological innovation."

Licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Nancy Steely, is a graduate of the world-renowned Bastyr University, and has been a holistic health care practitioner since 2000. She has joined USANA as a senior scientist who will be involved in all aspects of product development with a focus on formulations.

Dr. Mark Levy, a Ph.D. in human nutrition from Ohio State University, also holds a master's degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Guelph, and a bachelor's degree in food science and biology from Acadia University. Dr. Levy's role as a senior scientist is primarily to research, test, and innovate nutritional compounds for their efficacy in promoting long-term human health.

John Bosse is a registered dietitian and NSCA Certified Personal Trainer who specializes in sports nutrition. Bosse received his Master's Degree in Sports Dietetics from the University of Utah and a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science from Colby-Sawyer College. He has taken on the role as senior scientist for product innovation and is involved in research and development of new products and technologies to help USANA stay at the forefront of the nutritional industry.

"The specialties of our new research and development staff are so diverse that we are certain they will bring new innovations and insights to our company as we surpass our 20 years in business," said Kevin Guest, USANA's president of the Americas and Europe.

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USANA Health Sciences Expands Award-Winning Research and Development Team

By Steve Van Tiem - May 19, 2012 | Tickers: CSCO, GOOG, HPQ, INTC, PFPT | 0 Comments

Steve is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

I presented a synopsis of Proofpoint, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: PFPT) competitive advantages and position in the security-as-a-service industry in the previous installment of my "IPO pre-mortem" series. This installment will continue that topic by taking a look at the business strategies that Proofpoint will implement to maintain its competitive advantages and improve its position in the marketplace where it faces intense competition from much bigger rivals. Among these rivals are Intel, Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Symantec Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., (NASDAQ: CSCO), Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), EMC Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ).

Proofpoint has identified a set of objectives it seeks to achieve by making substantial commitments to marketing and research & development. Proofpoint's strategy for maintaining its competitive advantages and market position rests on successful achievement of the following objectives: grow the customer base by investing in direct inside and field sales organizations to increase market share; broaden adoption of the platform's functionality with existing customers, a majority of which have licensed only one solution; expand the international component of the business in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Kingdom; enlarge the reseller and strategic partner channel network; extend the capabilities of the platform via competencies in big data analytics, machine learning, deep content inspection, secure storage, and advanced encryption; and protect against threats from competing communication and collaboration platforms such as instant messaging, web-based collaboration and file sharing applications, social networks, and blog posts.

The company's marketing is aimed at developing and maintaining its brand which is critical to gaining widespread acceptance of its offerings and will support its growth objectives. As a percentage of revenue, Proofpoint spent about 52% on its sales & marketing efforts in 2011 which far exceeds the percentage spent by any of its competitors. Symantec spent 42% followed by 23% for Cisco, 14% for Intel, and 12% for Google. EMC and HP do not break out marketing fromtheir SG&A line items on which they spent 32% and 11%, respectively, in 2011. Proofpoint's research and development is designed to enhance the platform's capabilities and provide a barrier against competing products. In 2011, the company spent 24% on R&D, which, like sales & marketing, far exceeds the percentage spent by its competitors. Intel spent 15% on R&D, followed by 14% for Symantec, Cisco, and Google, with EMC at 11% and HP at 3%. Proofpoint needs to devote such outsized percentages if it hopes to establish a strong brand and offer a competitive solution against its larger competition. Because Proofpoint's revenue base is so much smaller than any of these competitors, its spending on sales & marketing and R&D on a dollar basis is negligible even though it allocates such a high percentage to these efforts. Spending by Proofpoint in 2011 on R&D and sales & marketing together was $62.5 million compared to $3.5 billion for Symantec which spent the least of all the competitors on these items. Clearly, Proofpoint has a very steep path to becoming a significant force in the market place.

The marketing efforts are essential to maintaining Proofpoint's customer service and support advantage but I think that success in research and development will be the key determinant for the company. I also believe that an advantage in customer service and support is a weak position, especially for Proofpoint which competes against companies that are many times larger and can bring many more resources to bear in marketing. More important to the company's future success is its ability to continuously improve its existing platform and develop new ones as the competition in technology is ever evolving. And the company's managers are indispensible factors in how well research and development spending translates to actual technology enhancements and upgrades that support its competitive advantages. More will be said about management's ability and integrity in a future installment of this series.

At this stage in its business life cycle, Proofpoint is making significant commitments to marketing and R&D in an attempt to grow its customer base, broaden adoption of its platform, expand its international segment, enlarge its reseller and strategic partner channel network, extend the capabilities of its platform, and protect against threats from competing platforms. By developing and maintaining its brand and enhancing the platform's capabilities, Proofpoint should be able to maintain its competitive advantages and improve its position in the security-as-a-service marketplace. As the link between shareholders and the managers who will be implementing these strategies, the company's Board of Directors will be the topic of the next installment.

56Steve has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.If you have questions about this post or the Fools blog network, click here for information.

Steve Van Tiem is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network

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Proofpoint's Business Strategies; IPO 'Pre-Mortem' Continued

MARQUETTE - Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Keith Creagh met with local officials in Marquette County Friday, providing the basic outline for the agency's proposals to create a rural development fund and a non-ferrous mining severance tax, which would be expected to protect revenue streams for local taxing entities.

"We're trying to put some preliminary information out there," Creagh said.

The basic premise of the department's proposal is instead of having four different tax for non-ferrous mining (real property, personal property, corporate income, and sales and use), a single severance tax (set percentage charge of gross ore sales revenue) would be developed.

The tax would not apply to related milling or other operations unless they are contiguous to the above-ground mining operations. A rural development fund that will support long-term regional economic opportunities would be created.

Creagh said the tax will be designed to deliver the same or more revenue to local governments as the current system. A mechanism will be established that will allow for local collection of the tax.

According to Creagh, the severance tax will be collected by the locals with 45 percent of the revenue maintained by the impacted counties, townships, school districts, intermediate school district and school aid fund.

The distribution of funding will follow the current property tax distribution and offset revenue that would have been provided to the locals under the current property tax distribution model. The remaining 55 percent of the severance tax will go into a rural development fund to support long-term regional economic opportunities.

A bipartisan rural development fund board would be chaired by the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The board will consist of at least two Upper Peninsula representatives. One of the five members will be from a community impacted by the mines.

The Rural Development Fund will provide dollars, including matching funds, to facilitate infrastructure improvements for broadband/Internet connectivity, energy, rail and talent to strengthen rural economies, Creagh said.

Creagh said if agreement can be reached from all parties involving, including local governments and school districts, lawmakers and mining companies, the proposals could likely be acted on quickly. If no consensus can be reached, more time would be used to work out problem issues.

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State proposes new mining tax

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire -05/18/12)- Robert H. Lorsch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MMRGlobal, Inc. (MMRF.OB) ("MMR"), a leading provider of Personal Health Records (PHRs) and electronic document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals, will address the opportunities in health information technology, in particular as it relates to Personal Health Records, at the 13th Annual B. Riley & Co. Investor Conference on Monday, May 21, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The three-day, invitation-only conference at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel will be attended by an estimated 1,000 institutional, private equity and venture capital investors and senior company executives.

According to recent industry reports, Personal Health Record software sales are projected to be $414.8 million in 2015 (Frost & Sullivan) and the market value for telemedicine/remote patient monitoring is expected to reach $22 billion by the same year (Kalorama). Telemedicine and remote patient monitoring are already deployed in MMRGlobal's MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record as part of the PHR inbox at no additional cost.

In his presentation, Lorsch will discuss how the Company plans on distributing its MyMedicalRecords PHR products and services at retail using prepaid Personal Health Record cards, through home healthcare agencies, local pharmacies, visiting nurses and patient advocates in addition to established channels including direct-to-consumers, through healthcare professionals, and as an affinity or membership benefit. The Company will also present its MMRPro document management and imaging system sold to physician practices, surgery centers, small hospitals and other healthcare professionals. MMRPro is also sold to help physicians migrate to an EMR solution. The MMRPro system comes with MMRPatientView as an integrated patient portal. Through a partnership with Interbit Data, MMRPatientView is already being installed in hospitals and is certified for Meaningful Use with MEDITECH systems.

MMR believes it has a competitive edge for the future from strategic partnerships with UST Global, Regent Surgical Health, Chartis Insurance (formerly AIG), Alcatel-Lucent, ng Connect, 4medica, Interbit Data, MedicAlert, Vida Senior Resource, VisiInc PLC and Unis-Tonghe in China. The Company also maintains a large portfolio of intellectual property in health IT with patents issued, pending or applied for in more than 13 countries. The Company's Personal Health Records patent portfolio has been the subject of worldwide rigorous examination and creates a significant licensing opportunity to companies providing Electronic Medical Records or electronic health information services globally.

Although MMRGlobal's primary business is in health IT, through its merger with Favrille, Inc. in January 2009, the Company now has patents and patent applications pending in the U.S. and at least 11 foreign countries of commercial interest. The Company spent more than $140 million in development of the biotech assets which are comprised of patents, patient samples and data from the FavId/Specifid idiotype vaccine trials and proprietary anti-CD20 antibody panels to treat B-cell lymphoma. MMR has already licensed certain of its biotech assets on a non-exclusive basis for milestone payments of $13 million.

About MMRGlobal, Inc. MMRGlobal, Inc., through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, MyMedicalRecords, Inc., provides secure and easy-to-use online Personal Health Records ("PHRs") and electronic safe deposit box storage solutions, serving consumers, healthcare professionals, employers, insurance companies, financial institutions, and professional organizations and affinity groups. The MyMedicalRecords PHR enables individuals and families to access their medical records and other important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, insurance policies and wills, anytime from anywhere using the Internet. MyMedicalRecords is built on proprietary, patented technologies to allow documents, images and voicemail messages to be transmitted and stored in the system using a variety of methods, including fax, phone, or file upload without relying on any specific electronic medical record platform to populate a user's account. The Company's professional offering, MMRPro, is designed to give physicians' offices an easy and cost-effective solution to digitizing paper-based medical records and sharing them with patients in real time through an integrated patient portal. MMR is an Independent Software Vendor Partner with Kodak to deliver an integrated turnkey EMR solution for healthcare professionals. Through its merger with Favrille, Inc. in January 2009, the Company acquired intellectual property biotech assets that include anti-CD20 antibodies and data and samples from its FavId/Specifid vaccine clinical trials for the treatment of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. To learn more about MMRGlobal, Inc. visit http://www.mmrglobal.com. View demos and video tutorials of the Company's products and services at http://www.mmrtheater.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical matters are forward-looking statements, and some can be identified by the use of words (and their derivations) such as "need," "possibility," "offer," "development," "if," "negotiate," "when," "begun," "believe," "achieve," "will," "estimate," "expect," "maintain," "plan," "help" and "continue," or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. MMRGlobal, Inc. disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on MMRGlobal, Inc.'s reasonable expectations as of the date of this press release and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. The information discussed in this release is subject to various risks and uncertainties related but not limited to changes in MMRGlobal, Inc.'s business prospects; its results of operations or financial condition; current uncertainty and instability in financial and lending markets including global economic uncertainties; the risk the Company's products are not adopted or viewed favorably by the healthcare community; the ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships; new product offerings; marketing and sales channels; competitive product offerings and promotions; regulation and changes in healthcare initiatives; maintaining, developing and defending our intellectual property rights; licensing and exploitation of our patent portfolio both in the U.S. and internationally; and such other risks and uncertainties as detailed from time to time in MMRGlobal, Inc.'s public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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MMRGlobal to Present the Future of Personal Health at B. Riley & Co. Investor Conference

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Sgrouples, Inc. (www.sgrouples.com) officially launches into public beta today offering a private alternative to the social network, and a robust suite of services it hopes will make it an all-in-one tool for weary Web users.

Sgrouples free custom dashboard lets users create private personal groups, import and manage their social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and provides personal cloud storage.

We believe social network fatigue, particularly over privacy, and demand for personal clouds, will be the key driving forces in the social space over the next one to two years, said Mark Weinstein, founder and CEO of Sgrouples, and an early pioneer of Web 2.0 services. As the Facebook IPO is this week, we feel that now is the perfect time to launch the all-in-one Sgrouples service, which offers an antidote to large social platforms like Facebook by building true privacy into the user model - no tracking, no profiling and no sharing of personal information.

Weinstein is a 15-year veteran of social media, before it even existed as an Internet category. He was the founder of SuperGroups, which in 1999 was hailed by CNN, Time, Bloomberg News and Dow Jones, among others, and was a popular precursor to todays social networks and community sites.

Ive followed Sgrouples for nearly a year, said Colin Sebastian, director, equity research, for RW Baird.Their leadership and development team have incredible vision and are making terrific progress.Moreover, the company is an early mover in addressing growing consumer concerns about social platform overwhelm and user privacy.

Privacy by design is a key selling point for Sgrouples.com, which offers an unprecedented level of protection in its user bill of rights (https://sgrouples.com/privacy), patent-pending permission tool and transparent privacy policy. As Weinstein points out, Sgrouples.com does not track, monitor or profile its users, and no personal information will ever be gathered or shared with third party companies.

Its our belief that users are growing tired of large platforms like Facebook, and are ready to migrate towards smaller, more exclusive communities that can offer real privacy and trust in the social experience, said Weinstein. We want to re-engineer the social experience by allowing users to connect in a closer way with people they know, in a private platform they trust. Our goal is to create one private place, with a robust suite of services, where people can come to organize all of their real life communities.

WHAT IS SGROUPLES?

Sgrouples.com is a free all-in-one suite of services that combines many popular features on the Web in one easy-to-use place. From a single user-friendly dashboard, members can start their own private groups; manage their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts; and enjoy a personal cloud to save and share photos, documents and important files.

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Sgrouples.com Launches Public Beta - Targets Growing Facebook Fatigue

SLOUGH, UNITED KINGDOM May 16, 2012: Representing an evolution of the U3-X personal mobility concept device that Honda announced in 2009, the UNI-CUB features a compact design with comfortable saddle and offers the same freedom of movement in all directions that a person enjoys while walking. This is achievable by Hondas development of proprietary balance control technology and the worlds first omni-directional driving wheel system (Honda Omni Traction Drive System) inspired by robotic technologies developed for Asimo, Hondas world-famous humanoid robot.

These technologies allow the rider to control speed, move in any direction, turn and stop, all simply by shifting his or her weight. Since the rider can freely move forward, backward, side-to-side and diagonally, he or she can quickly and easily manoeuvre among other people.

Moreover, UNI-CUBs compact saddle-style packaging makes it easy for the riders legs to reach the ground while maintaining eye-level height with other pedestrians. This configuration promotes harmony between the rider and others, letting the rider travel freely and comfortably inside facilities and among moving people.

From June 2012 until March 2013, Honda will jointly conduct demonstration testing of UNI-CUB with Japans National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Staff will perform demonstrations and use the device for making their rounds, while the museums annual pass holders will have the opportunity to test ride UNI-CUB. In addition to testing the feasibility of using UNI-CUB indoors, this project will explore the practical applications of the device in a wide range of environments within Japan and other countries.

Going forward, Honda will continue its proactive research and development of next-generation mobility technologies, with the aim of continually looking for innovative yet practical ways to offer society and individuals the joy, fun and convenience that comes from the freedom of movement.

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Honda Announces New UNI-CUB Personal Mobility Device

FOSTER CITY, CA--(Marketwire -05/16/12)- Funambol, the leading provider of white-label personal cloud solutions for mobile providers, today announced the launch of its Android app with in-app upgrades using operator billing by the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). The app allows customers to instantly purchase cloud storage upgrades by tapping a button on their smartphone or tablet for inclusion on their mobile bill. The in-app upgrade enabled by WAC makes it instant for people to acquire more cloud storage at the moment of need, eliminating the use of a credit card or other payment means. Carriers currently utilizing the WAC Payment API include AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Korea Telecom, SK Telecom and Telenor.

"Funambol demonstrated that the WAC billing API can very easily be integrated into any app," said Paul Kenny, WAC VP of Business Development. "By integrating the WAC API, Funambol has instant access to the WAC carrier membership community, without having to work independently with all of those carriers."

The benefit to carriers is they can instantly make the Funambol personal cloud service available to users and gain revenue-sharing, as the app is integrated with their billing. This makes the user experience seamless, encouraging adoption, increasing customer loyalty and reducing churn.

"Funambol is thrilled to announce our newest personal cloud app with support for operator billing from tier-1 carriers globally," said Amit Chawla, Funambol CEO. "Funambol's access to operator billing will streamline app purchase and billing for hundreds of millions of users."

About WACThe Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) is an open global alliance made up of leading communications companies including network operators, device and network equipment manufacturers. WAC is committed to making it easier for developers to innovate by using operator network APIs delivered by a single cross-operator API platform. Concentrating in Asia for now, WAC also supports a HTML5 based application platform. WAC's payment API delivers a simple, safe and easy-to-use payment experience for customers across both fixed and mobile networks that helps drive conversion rates and repeat purchases. WAC centralizes the development, testing and submission process and allows developers to reach potentially millions of customers worldwide with unified terms and conditions that covers all WAC member operators. See http://www.wacapps.net for more information.

About FunambolFunambol is the leading provider of white-label personal cloud solutions for mobile providers. Funambol solutions have been deployed by many of the top companies in mobile, including operators, device makers and Internet portals. For more information, visit http://www.funambol.com.

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WAC Certifies Funambol Personal Cloud App for Major Carriers Worldwide