| LandAmerica to Replace Documents at No Charge and Offer a Discount on ...
RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: LFG) , Fortune magazine's number one Most Admired Company in the mortgage services industry, announces that it will replace recorded mortgage documents, property tax information, recorded deeds, and tax assessor maps at no charge for homeowners who lost their homes in the recent fires in Southern California. "Among LandAmerica's Guiding Principles are Teamwork and Responsible Corporate Citizenship. We are grateful for the brave team of volunteers and firefighters who fought these horrific blazes, and we offer our help to property owners who are recovering from the fires' destruction," said Margaret Foster, LandAmerica's Executive Vice President for the West Region. LandAmerica is also offering California fire victims loan policies at 50 percent of its basic insurance rate to repair or replace property damaged by the fires.
How to Unbreak the Banks
The business model for big U.S. banks is broken. Let us count the ways. One: Bankers no longer scrutinize a would-be borrower to decide whether he is good for the money. Instead they "originate and distribute" loans. Outfits that initiate loans sell them to others, often taking a fee but passing along the risk of default to the buyer. Banks sometimes originate loans; sometimes they serve as middlemen between originator and investor. When a business gets a fee for making a loan, or for turning a loan into a security, it makes lots of loans and doesn't worry much about ... .
Rate cuts designed to boost buying
He added people should start to notice the lower rates in about 30 to 45 days.
He said it also could lead to financial institutions relaxing their standards for issuing lines of credit. Staff writers Richard Lake and Jerry Mitchell contributed to this story.
To comment on this story, call Jeff Ayres at (601) 961-7050. .
Despite economic turmoil nationally, our area stable
The state's $1 billion payday-lending business continued to grow and headed off a big legal fight in the 2007 General Assembly between supporters of a ban and reforms pushed by the industry. Car-title lenders also remained unregulated after a legislative stalemate. The battles galvanized payday-lending opponents throughout the year, and a Hampton Roads group formed to lead the push for a ban in 2008. Virginians filed suits over unlawful collection practices, and credit unions pushed programs to their members to combat payday lending. The loans were banned this fall to the military, cutting a chunk of the Hampton Roads customer base.
Coliseum Mall Major changes hit the Coliseum retail area, with the Coliseum Mall getting torn down to make way for the new outdoor Peninsula Town Center.
Daimler Financial plans consolidation at Alliance
Daimler Financial Services Americas hopes for a smooth ride as it moves from several locations throughout the nation to one central location in AllainceTexas. The company plans to move 750 people to a new three-story, 160,000-square-foot office building. The company is combining operations from its Mercedes-Benz Financial business with the Daimler Truck Financial business. Daimler has a total loan portfolio of $31 billion. We had to make a decision how do we create and how do we position ourselves for the future related to our operations, said Klaus Entenmann, president and CEO of Daimler Financial, of the split of Daimler-Chrysler Financial Services in 2007. We made a decision to concentrate all the operations including customer service, collections, including dealer credit to concentrate all these operational parts of our business and increase the footprint we have in the Fort Worth area.
Moon faces second DUI charge in less than a year
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon has been charged with driving under the influence stemming from a traffic stop in late December. According to police, Moon was driving an SUV with expired plates when he was pulled over early on Dec. 28 in Medina, Wa. A police officer smelled "intoxicants" in the vehicle, and Moon refused a field sobriety test and a breath test. He was arrested for investigation of DUI and driving with a suspended license and released later the same day by the Kirkland Police Department. Moon is scheduled for arraignment at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 5 in Kirkland Municipal Court. His attorney, John Scott Fox, said in a statement Moon "unequivocally states that his ability to drive was in no way impaired by alcohol," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Abu Dhabi: East Leans West
This ambitious venture raises difficult questions. Did Dubai's unsuccessful 2006 effort to buy a company that operated six U.S. ports, which infuriated many American politicians, increase Abu Dhabi's emphasis on cultural outreach? Further, culture has always followed money—where would Florence have been without the Medicis?—but can money really buy culture? That is, will the museums and campuses and theaters edify and enlighten not only the 3 million yearly “cultural tourists" whom Abu Dhabi hopes to attract by 2015, but also the UAE's 825,000 citizens? The government promoters have no doubt. The complex, they feel, is essential to closing what one advisor calls the “knowledge gap" between Abu Dhabi and the West and countering Islamist extremism. “We want an impact on our society, not just on visitors," says the American-educated al-Muhairi over cappuccinos topped with chocolate and gold flakes at the majestic Emirates Palace Hotel.
BEARING MUNICIPAL NO. 2824 ST. THOMAS ST., CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, IN THE ...
Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans No. 2007-13740 By virtue of a WRIT OF SEIZURE AND SALE to me directed by the Honorable The Civil District Court of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will proceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First District of the City on JANUARY 3, 2008, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described property to wit: LOTS NO. 13 AND 14 AND COMMON TO LOT "E", SQUARE NO. 51B, FOURTH MUNICIPAL DISTRICT IMPROVEMENTS THEREON BEAR MUNICIPAL NO. 2824 ST. THOMAS ST. ACQUIRED MI. 717939 WRIT AMOUNT: $95,601.01 Seized in the above suit, TERMS CASH. The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a deposit of ten percent of the purchase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter.
Fresh Pain for the Uninsured
In a lucrative new form of fiscal alchemy, a growing number of hospitals, working with a range of financial companies, are squeezing revenue from patients with little or no health insurance. April Dial's dealings with Hot Spring County Medical Center in Malvern, Ark., illustrate how the transformation of medical bills into consumer debt means quicker cash for medical providers but tougher times for many patients of modest means. Dial, a 23-year-old truck-stop waitress who earns $17,000 a year plus tips, suffers from Type 1 diabetes. Sudden drops in her blood sugar level have sent her to the emergency room four times in the past three years. In September she spent three days at Hot Spring, including two in intensive care, fighting complications from her ailment. The bills came to more than $14,000.
Scottish Government to block wind farm plan
The Scottish Government will reject plans to build a 181-turbine wind farm on the Isle of Lewis, according to the BBC's Gaelic news service Radio nan Gaidheal. The £500m project, proposed by Lewis Wind Power, was approved in February 2007 by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) members, who voted 18 to eight in favour. .
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