Immediate Vault

The Nations Most Likely to Default

This week, President Barack Obama is visiting Britain, France, Poland and Ireland, which is the first stop on his European tour and the site of a driving snafu today in which the presidential stretch, armored Cadillac got stuck on a ramp. Whoops. (See video above … via HuffPo)

Obviously, chief among the commander in chief’s reasons for talking to EU leaders face-to-face is to get a better understanding of the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the region that is straining relations on the continent and may continue to threaten global economic recovery.

We have heard much about the so-called PIGS economies (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) — and rightfully so; Athens and Dublin in particular both have a lot of economic finagling to do to figure out some real solutions to what is a major long-term challenge for each country. And while Obama will certainly trying to be figure out what the United States can do to help smooth the austerity and economic transitions Ireland will have to make (in addition to exploring his personal roots), there are many other locations across the world with troubles of their own.

Along these lines, Business Insider ranks the 21 countries most likely to default in terms of the cost to insure each country’s debt. Here’s their list in full. Head over there for more detailed economic profiles of the nations.

21. Russia
20. Poland
19. Israel
18. Kazakhstan
17. Belgium
16. Turkey
15. Italy
14. Lithuania
13. Bulgaria
12. Romania
11. Hungary
10. Croatia
9. Spain
8. Vietnam
7. Lebanon
6. Ukraine
5. Argentina
4. Ireland
3. Portugal
2. Venezuela
1. Greece

The 15 Most Bizarre Insurance Policies Ever Written

When I was a kid, I remember being fascinated by stories that some celebrity or another had insured some body part for millions of dollars. The go-to legend I remember the most from my 80s youth involved Tina Turner’s legs (which is true — it turns out they’re insured for $3.2 million). The folks over at Business Insider evidently have similar interests and have published their list of the 15 most bizarre insurance policies ever written.

Here’s some of the celebrity highlights:

Heidi Klum’s legs: $2.2 million
Klum has both legs insured, but one happens to be worth more than the other: “The Victoria’s Secret strutter’s right gam is insured for $1.2 million, but her left is worth only $1 million. Why the discrepancy? A little scar on her left limb.”

Tom Jones’ chest hair: $7 million
Believe it or not, Jones used to be considered a sex symbol, so to keep his sexiness in tact, he’s insured that mane of hair on his chest for a princely sum: “Tom Jones, still making elderly Las Vegas audiences swoon at age 67, lives in fear. Sure, he’s stayed famous for like half a century, and probably sexed enough women to populate a small and very satisfied country.

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But Tom believes all that could come crashing down with a single accident (say, a spontaneous shirt combustion) that in any way damages his luxuriant pelt of chest hair.

Keith Richards‘ middle finger: $1.6 million
The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards has already said “f#$% you” to the world on multiple occasions, but just in case he can’t get one last flip of the bird in before he dies, Richards has insured his middle finger for $1.6 million.

And don’t forget the just plain odd:

Alien abduction, impregnation and consumption: $1.5 million
There are actually over 20,000 people in the US alone who pay a premium for insurance against alien abduction.

Taco Bell’s space station promotional bullseye insurance policy
During a promotion for a piece of the MIR Spacestation, Taco Bell said that if during re-entry the flying object hit a floating target the company had set up, everyone in the US would get a free taco. God forbid it actually happened: Taco Bell hedged with an insurance policy to avoid going completely bankrupt.

You’ve got to figure this is a pretty safe policy for an insurer to write.

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After all there’s not much room for fraud. After all, it’s not like Tina Turner is going to burn down her legs for the insurance money. Right?

Tom Jones wants you to gaze upon $7 million worth of chest hair.

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