| Day of reckoning in the US glasshouse
There is a growing consensus: America is going into a marked slowdown, if not a downright recession. There will be a large gap between potential growth – usually estimated at 3 per cent to 4 per cent – and actual growth, meaning lost output of hundreds of billions of dollars. America actually faces three separate but related problems; a credit crunch, a debt crisis and a macroeconomic problem. A decade ago, America roundly criticised the countries of East Asia for their lack of transparency and inadequate regulation. But, as the old aphorism goes, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Money was lent to hundreds of thousands of Americans beyond their ability to pay. What was called financial innovation meant that borrowers didn’t even have to pay the accrued interest; at the end of the year, they owed more than at the beginning.
Ingham's foreclosures second highest in state
That's an increase of 32.7 percent from September and 121.4 percent from October 2006. According to RealtyTrac, that comes to one filing for every 445 homes in the county. There were 91 foreclosure filings in Eaton County in October, up 8.3 percent from September and 93.6 percent from October 2006. That amounted to a rate of one filing for every 496 homes in the county. Far-ranging effects Foreclosure rates such as those affect more than the families who are put out of homes, said Carrie Guzman, local financial justice coordinator for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a national consumer advocacy group. "Communities lose tax revenues. Tax revenues fund schools. That affects anybody who has kids," she said.
One Woman's World
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Drive by your favorite section of Palm Beach County and keep in mind that recently-released figures show that one in every 250 homes you pass is in foreclosure. All of South Florida hugely exceeds national averages on foreclosures, but so far Palm Beach County's go-go, hot, flipping, speculative, and irrationally exuberant market takes the cake with foreclosures four times the national average. But wait! All can't be doom and gloom if on the same day we were told by a national mortgage trade association that new mortgage applications are up for the first time in three months nationwide? What gives? First, a disclosure. I am not a Realtor and I don't play one on tv, yet I hold the distinction of being the first person in my entire Palm Beach County neighborhood to actually "go to contract" and sell his house this summer - the first sale in four months in my area.
Archive for: January, 2008
Irregular Enterprise Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives Dear Bill G: one more thing Posted in: Social computing Letter to Bill Gates: Dear Bill I realize that in the run up to your retirement from Microsoft you've probably got a thousand things on your mind. You're leaving a legacy unparalleled in computing history but there is one more thing you could do that would put an emphatic and indelible stamp on the industry you love. Please get the Live Writer team to release the product cross platform and at least available for Mac. It would be nice if it could be made available for Linux and Ubuntu as well. Rumors are that some of your incredibly smart developers have been doing a little skunk works in that direction so if true, please, let it fly.
Banks are helping sharia make a back-door entrance
There is no one version of Islam and for him to act to be the authentic pope of Islam is just ridiculous.
This is a different style of banking.
It's not going to finance terrorism.
No one is being killed.
No one is being abused.
No women are being oppressed.
and Tarek's problem with it is?
oh, it has the name shariah...I understand. Posted 25/01/08 at 2:21 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
We have to stand apart
One of the key principles outlined in our handbook is that our journalists must not have any association, or engage in activities, that could reasonably give rise to perceptions of partiality. On the surface, this seems like a straightforward rule. But in the heat of the journalistic hunt, I can understand how it can sometimes be overlooked. This has not been an easy decision. Our audiences want us to bring them "inside knowledge." As their delegates in the press gallery, we get a front-row seat at a drama they can only watch from a distance. What's more, I am convinced that the Canadian public is sophisticated enough to realize it is well served by the intense and proper competition for news scoops that exists at every parliamentary, legislative and municipal bureau across the country.
Fed cuts interest rate in emergency meeting
Despite the Fed's bold move, Wall Street plunged at the opening with the Dow Jones industrial average down 465 points before stocks began to rebound. The Dow was down 120 points in afternoon trading, an indication that the Fed's effort to calm markets was having an impact. In a brief statement explaining its move, the Fed said that "appreciable downside risks to growth remain" and officials pledged to "act in a timely manner" to deal with the risks facing the economy. The action was approved on an 8-1 vote. Analysts said the fact that the Fed did not wait until its meeting next week to cut rates underscored the seriousness of the situation. "The world's stock markets are in meltdown so the Fed came in with an inter-meeting move to try to stop the panic," Christopher Rupkey, senior economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Posing as girl, retired cop nabs prey
His latest catch was the biggest: four felony enticement charges against a town mayor, who after his arrest called Murray up and begged him to make the case go away. Nineteen other defendants have included a Missouri furniture company executive, an Arkansas professor and a Tulsa, Okla., school security guard. Ten of those men have been convicted and sent to prison. One was deported. The other cases are still pending. The defendants ranged in age from 24 to 62, with an average age of 39.4 years, and mainly come from Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, Diamond police said. Internet child safety experts say police officers like Murray are heroes who do good work at the cost of wading through the muck of online pedophile fantasies. "He's a trailblazer.
Sex abusers' poll places: Little to no chance that voters will molest ...
There are many ways to get on the sex offender registry. Consider a Greece high school student who goes away to college. Perhaps he takes a girl to a party. They both have too much to drink. Lines become blurred. She says he crossed one and accuses him of rape. He takes a plea deal to avoid going to jail. He registers as a sex offender. He graduates from college, moves back to Greece, gets married and has children who become students in Greece schools. Will he be required to follow the proposed policy? I note that none seem concerned about convicted drug dealers coming to schools to vote. Why not? Perhaps they are just being rational. I have never heard of a voter selling drugs to children, either. Hess, is pastor, West Henrietta Baptist Church, and New York representative of SOhopeful International, which advocates reform of sex offender laws.
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