Abstract: A financial advisory system is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, return scenarios for optimized portfolio allocations are simulated interactively to facilitate financial product selection. Return scenarios for each asset class of a plurality of asset classes are generated based upon estimated future scenarios of one or more economic factors. A mapping from each financial product of an available set of financial products onto one or more asset classes of the plurality of asset classes is created by determining exposures of the available set of financial products to each asset class of the plurality of asset classes. In this way, the expected returns and correlations of a plurality of financial products are generated and used to produce optimized portfolios of financial products. Return scenarios are simulated for one or more portfolios including combinations of financial products from the available set of financial products based upon the mapping.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for verification of personnel identity by correlation of fingerprint images.

Abstract: A method of depositing pipe on the seabed which includes providing a vessel of a length greater than the pipe, which vessel has a main winch on one end and an auxiliary winch on the other end, anchoring a cable from the main winch to the seabed, drawing the cable horizontally of the vessel utilizing the auxiliary winch, attaching trolleys carried by a length of pipe to the section of the cable overlying the vessel, using the auxiliary winch to let out the cable and suspend the pipe on the cable from the main winch, utilizing a third cable to lower the pipe, and repeating the process for each length of pipe.