Author: Serkadis

 

A high school fencing teacher had an affair with one of his female students. The whole situation was very sworded. I don’t know if anyone likes to think of their mortgage company engaging in sordid affairs, but I pity anyone who finds their company on this list – hopefully they are on the path toward improvement. Unfortunately I recognize many companies on the list as having decent mortgage origination arms. It would appear that many are on their way, after a "rough patch" to correcting their business practices:
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/enforcement/neworders.html

While we’re talking about the FDIC, last Friday, while the heart rate of every small banker ratcheted higher, the FDIC regulators were busy as they shuttered six more banks. Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, California, and Washington all have fewer banks, but the FDIC was able to find buyers for them. (Remember in the old days, buyers would often have names like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo? No more…) First Regional Bank of Los Angeles, CA, Community Bank and Trust & First National Bank both of GA, Florida Community Bank, Marshall Bank of MN, and American Marine Bank (WA) will set the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund back $1.86 billion. They went to First-Citizens Bank & Trust (NC), SCBT (SC), Community & Southern Bank (GA), Premier American Bank (FL), United Valley Bank (ND), and Columbia State Bank (WA), respectively.

And lastly, for FDIC fans, or if you want to check up on your bank, their FDIC Call Report is a good place to start. Check out http://www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp

Behavioral economics is very interesting. Merrill Lynch just released an analysis of a credit-related study (from Equifax) discussing the contrast between auto and home loan delinquencies. Their report shows that 73% of prime borrowers have never been delinquent on their mortgage or auto loan, compared with 23% of subprime borrowers, although some types of borrowers are more likely to have been delinquent on their mortgage than on their auto loan. Many distressed borrowers who go delinquent on both types of debt do so around the same time, but the bulk of the population (almost two-to-one for prime borrowers) has gone delinquent on their mortgage before their auto loan. And the cure rate out of delinquency for auto loans tends to rise after the borrower mortgage delinquency, indicating that going delinquent on the mortgage acts as a form of relief for some borrowers, enabling them to cure on other delinquent debts.

Well, lots of mortgage-related companies had "rebound years" last year, although some just plain ol’ grew. This list included Lenders One, a cooperative, which saw $77 billion in volume pass through its members in 2009. It reported that the volume is more than twice its total production in 2008.

more news on Wells wholesale, GMAC correspondent, USBank wholesale, economic news, and joke of the day … <<< CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE

The cast of Jersey Shore — the most successful reality series in MTV’s nearly 30 year history — appeared on The TODAY Show Monday to confirm that they’ll be back later this year for a second season of fist-pumping on the smash hit.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Might We Suggest…

• Motorola Zeppelin Spied Soaring High Over Brazil
  A fresh batch of Motorola Zeppelin images have surfaced and they’re considerably clearer then anything we’ve seen so far.  Up until recently, we had been reporting on a different Motorola Zeppelin han…

Celebrating 25 years of the ‘gixxer’, Suzuki recently announced three special all-star track days with a host of racing stars attending each event. The track days will be open to all current or former Suzuki owners, via a pre-registration process which is to be announced soon on a special dedicated website.

The three anniversary track days will run after the British Superbike rounds at Brands Hatch, Snetterton and Cadwell Park British Superbike rounds.

At Suzuki, we believe it’s the… (read more)

Just two winters ago, Chicago-area transit riders feared a doomsday scenario with threatened fare hikes, route cuts and layoffs.

Again in late 2009, drastic fare increases for paratransit and the CTA loomed, only to be forestalled at the last minute by an agreement between state government and transit agencies.

But despite the reprieve, suburban and Chicago mass transit commuters still will face fare hikes, route cuts and layoffs in February.

For some riders, the impact is devastating.

“I’ll be able to finish this semester thanks to rides with friends,” Harper College undergraduate Thomas Groh said. But after that, “I think I’m dropping out of school.”

The Pace bus the Elk Grove Village student usually takes is being combined with another route to save money, but the segment of the route near his home will be discontinued. A taxi to the Palatine college would cost about $30 one-way, said Groh, who can’t afford that sum.

“This has pretty much taken away my future,” said Groh, who has battled a brain tumor and learning disabilities on his way to college.

Here’s a look at the changes the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and Metra are instituting in February to offset a steep decline in revenues caused by the recession. Sales taxes along with fares are the main source of funding for the three agencies. The CTA also depends on a real estate transfer tax, which has been unproductive.

• Pace will eliminate 15 routes including Route 535 Fox Valley Shuttle, Route 654 South Glen Ellyn, Route 637 Wood Dale Rosemont CTA, and Route 690 Arlington Heights Road. Weekend service will be eliminated on nine buses including Route 209 Busse Highway on Sundays and Route 715 Central DuPage on Saturdays. Eight routes will be reduced or consolidated including Routes 696 and 699 that service Harper College.

• Metra on Monday will raise the price of weekend passes, one-way fares and penalties for buying tickets on trains.
• The CTA is bracing for layoffs of more than 1,000 employees unless the labor unions and management can rework contract deals, which is appearing unlikely. Service will run less frequently on 119 bus routes and seven train lines and hours will be slashed on 41 bus routes. Changes are set for Feb. 7.

For suburbanites who depend on Pace to get to jobs, schools and necessary errands, it’s a grim forecast.

Single mom Azizia Cameron who works at Harper College and studies mass communications there is one of the riders hit. Service reductions mean Cameron is scrambling to buy a car with her limited income. In the meantime, she’ll take taxis to fill the gaps in bus service.

“I work and go to school as well, so it hurts that the bus is going to be eliminated. It’s going to be real tight for the first couple of months having to make car payments,” she said.

“This doesn’t just hurt the people going to school, but it hurts people’s lives. It’s a ripple effect.”

Harper officials said they were working with students affected by the changes.

The suburban bus agency used ridership and operating expenses of routes in deciding what to cull, Pace spokesman Patrick Waldron said.

“Routes that operate more frequently, for longer hours during the day, longer distances, or some combination of these factors impact the financial performance of the bus route. By law, our system must recover 36 percent of our operating expenses from the fares we collect from riders,” he said.

If the economy doesn’t improve, the cuts could go deeper in 2011.

“Economic recovery is absolutely crucial in the coming year, both from an employment standpoint – which will impact ridership – and a funding standpoint, because we’re funded by a portion of the sales taxes collected in the region,” Wilmot said. “We’re optimistic but there’s just so much that can happen between now and preparing next year’s budget.”

Pace advised stranded riders to check the Web site Pacebus.com for alternatives.

The Chicago region is not alone, Regional Transportation Authority officials say. About 80 percent of other transit agencies are in the budget badlands.

“We certainly don’t like cutting transit at all when there’s a demand for more transit in the region. The long-term goal is to expand transit not to contract it,” RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman said.

One bright spot is that RTA planners say a conservative estimate shows revenues growing by about 2.6 percent in 2010s. In the meantime, transit agencies are instituting hiring freezes, furlough days and other cost-cutting measures.

In fall 2009, the CTA was looking at significant fare increases and Pace was considering raising the cost of rides for paratransit, the pickup service for people with disabilities.

Gov. Pat Quinn reached an agreement with the two agencies to keep fares level for two years but it relied mainly on borrowing.

This year’s gloom is “a portent of things to come,” University of Illinois at Chicago transportation professor Joseph DiJohn said. Previously, in transit crises the state legislature was able to bail out agencies, in 2008 approving increases in the sales tax and real-estate transfer tax, which benefited Chicago.

Now with a pending election and state budget woes, getting help from Springfield isn’t likely, said DiJohn, director of the Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative at UIC’s Urban Transportation Center.

“They’ve got to deal with it internally with service cuts and fare increases. I just don’t know where that’s going. These are Band-Aids.”

One source of cash could be restricting the controversial seniors ride free policy to low-income users.

“That’s an opportunity to pick up tens of millions of dollars a year,” DiJohn said. Despite its potential to be a third rail, limiting the program could be transit’s only chance in the near term.

“I think that will come back,” DiJohn said. “It’s something the legislature should consider. They certainly should address senior free rides.”

The RTA and transit agencies will lobby lawmakers this session about senior rides along with another issue – getting $250 million in back payments from the state.

Since last summer, “we haven’t seen a dime from them,” Schlickman said. “We are unable to deal with that hole much longer.”

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Ten-year returns for Venture Capital firms continue to slide downwards for the 5 and 10-year periods ending on September 30, 2009 according to the Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Index, the VC performance benchmark of the National Venture Capital Association.

As investments in startups during the lucrative 1990’s tech boom are no longer included, ten-year returns slide to lower and lower levels, dropping by nearly half from the previous quarter.

The 10-year return fell to 8.4 percent from 14.3 percent in the previous quarter and from 40.2 percent one year earlier. The 5-year returns also declined to 4.9 percent from 5.7 percent in the previous quarter and from 10.7 percent one year ago.

While returns are diminishing, investments continue to rise after a year when venture funding was in the doldrums. VC investments in fourth quarter of 2009 rose to nearly $15 billion, up 113 percent from a year ago.

These numbers aren’t surprising, considering the drought in IPOs over the past few years.But venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs are hopeful that 2010 will be the year they rain down on the Valley once gain, with a handful of promising startups that could be ready to go public this year. In fact, Tesla just filed for a $100 million IPO on Friday.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

Indie film lovers, rejoice: Netflix this morning announced that it has secured deals with multiple distributors of independent films, giving users the opportunity to stream some 300 additional titles on-demand instantly – or in some cases starting ‘early next year’.

In last week’s earnings release, the company revealed that almost half its subscribers now watch streams online, which translates to some 6 million people. For $8.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed to their TVs and computers via Netflix-ready devices.

Capable devices include Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 game consoles, Blu-ray disc players from Samsung and LG, Roku’s digital video player and TiVo’s digital video recorders, among others.

Netflix is constantly expanding its content line-up, and has now signed non-exclusive licensing agreements to stream films from distributors The Criterion Collection, Gravitas Ventures, Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, Oscilloscope Laboratories and Regent Releasing.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

Cellphones, whether they be smart or dumb, are pretty amazing things — but they’re pretty lifeless things, too. Design researcher Fabian Hemmert thinks that our gadgets could move us a little more if only they could, well, move. As part of his TEDxBerlin talk late last year he shows off some prototype phones, including one that can get thicker on any of its four corners, and another that can shift its center of gravity similarly (shown above). The possibilities are intriguing, like a status bar that could get physically hefty as it gets weighed down with icons, but we’re not sucking down all of Hemmert’s Cool-Aid. His idea of devices giving off a heartbeat and changing shape like they’re breathing in your pocket is just a little creepy, and more practically we have a hard enough time holding onto our handsets as it is — imagine all the suddenly top-heavy cellphones leaping out of hands and to their doom.

Continue reading See Fabian Hemmert and his amazing, shape-shifting cellphone prototype (video)

See Fabian Hemmert and his amazing, shape-shifting cellphone prototype (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Information Aesthetics  | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

ATI’s FirePro series of graphics accelerators has been showing us that CAD rendering is serious business on laptops and desktops for awhile now, and now HP fans will seemingly be getting first taste of a new entry in the line, the FirePro M5800. All we know is a name at this point, and that it’ll be an option in HP’s (formerly NVIDIA exclusive) EliteBook 8540w, but HP Fansite goes on to speculate that it’ll be based on the ATI Mobility Radeon 5800 series (the numbers certainly jive) and that it will have 1GB of memory. Think you can solve the puzzle and unearth more information? The whole sordid PDF is waiting for you at the source link below, with the wild and thrilling ATI support narrative beginning on page nine.

ATI FirePro M5800 mobile graphics chipset listed, world awaits details with bated breath originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink HP Fansite  |  HP 8540w Support Manual  | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

Apart from launching its 2010 challenger for the Formula One operations and confirming Vitaly Petrov as their new race driver for the new season, Renault also announced that Dutch-born Ho-Pin Tung and Belgian Jerome D’Ambrosio will also be part of their organization for the current year.

Tung will be the team’s 3rd driver for the 2010 season, while D’Ambrosio has been appointed new reserve driver. We’re not really sure what the difference between those two positions really is – for example, i… (read more)

from email, 31 January 2010: “Excellent news for the Space team, but remember others have not been so lucky. A number of protesters are still facing charges, whilst 1 protester is currently in prison: Mindaugus Lenartavicius XT6221, HMP Wandsworth, Heathfield Road, London, SW18 3HS…” more

from bristolabc, updated 31 January 2010: “Elijah (James) Smith has now been locked up on remand for one year, ever since his arrest last 18 January 2009 after the EDO/MBM ITT factory in Brighton was trashed by 6 campaigners from Bristol. His and the other 5’s trial for that action commences on May 17 in Brighton (along with 3 other people from Brighton allegedly implicated in the action), however he faces being held on remand at least until his trial for the Raytheon 2 (formerly 3) starts in Bristol in early September…” more

Mississippi wants the city’s water utility to stop excessive groundwater withdrawal and pay $1.3 billion in damages.

The United States Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit claiming that Memphis is pumping too much water out of a shared aquifer, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

The Court also refused, without comment, to overturn an appellate court’s ruling in favor of Memphis, according to BusinessWeek.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says he will consult neighboring attorneys general before continuing any legal action.

“We were attempting to avoid including our sister states in the litigation against Memphis and Memphis Light, Gas and Water,” Hood said, BusinessWeek reports. “Before we file the action, I intend to consult with my fellow attorneys general in Arkansas and Tennessee to see if we can reach some settlement.”

The case began in 2005 when Hood filed a lawsuit against Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW)–-the city’s water supply division. The suit claimed that excessive pumping by MLGW had created a ‘cone of depression’ in the aquifer, causing water in Mississippi to flow into Tennessee. More than 20 percent of Memphis’ water supply has been taken from Mississippi, the suit claims.

Memphis is the largest city in the world relying solely on groundwater for its water supply, according to documents filed by Hood. The city pumps over 150 million gallons per day from the Memphis Sands aquifer on average.

The suit sought $1.3 billion in damages from Tennessee, the city and MLGW.

Tennessee officials praised the ruling.

“We are gratified by the court’s decision, which recognizes state sovereignty in these matters and avoids protracted and expensive litigation,” a spokesperson for Attorney General Bob Cooper said in a statement.

U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson ruled in 2008 that the state of Tennessee, though not named in the suit, had to be party to it. That would have made the case an interstate dispute under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, the Commercial Appeal reports. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in June 2009.

Memphis still faces a lawsuit from De Soto County, Miss., but the city’s lawyer hopes that it will be thrown out following the Supreme Court’s decision, according to the Commercial Appeal.

If Memphis had lost, it would have been forced to use water from the Mississippi River and build multi-million dollar treatment plants.

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal, Business Week

Sergio Marchionne’s decision to shut down production at Fiat’s Termini Imerese factory in Sicily seems to have serious repercussions, as both the Fiat Unions and the Italian government are disgruntled, says just-auto.com.

Though chief executive Sergio Marchionne was once treated as a hero, when he managed to save Fiat from the brink of bankruptcy back in 2005, turned the company around and bought a stake in Chrysler, his recent decision to shut down the Italian’s automaker Termini Imerese fac… (read more)

Wade Roush wrote:

Pushing to get past a raft of pending patent infringement lawsuits, Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) said today that it will pay Johnson & Johnson $1.725 billion to settle three suits related to cardiac stent technology.

The Natick, MA-based medical devices giant said it will pay Johnson & Johnson $1 billion today, and the remaining $725 million within the next 11 months. The settlements mean Boston Scientific can sidestep risky jury trials in three separate cases involving claims by Johnson & Johnson that three of its stent patents were infringed by a variety of Boston Scientific products, including its Express, Taxus Express, Liberte, Cypher, BX Velocity, Genesis, and Taxus Liberte stents.

Last September, Boston Scientific announced a $716 million settlement that brought an end to 14 other patent lawsuits involving Johnson & Johnson. President and CEO Ray Elliott said in a statement today that the settlements are all part of an effort to “mitigate risk” at Boston Scientific, including litigation risk.

“In the past year, we have significantly reduced the volume of outstanding litigation, having now settled 17 lawsuits with J&J, as well as disputes with other competitors and the government,” Elliott said. “We believe today’s settlement—while substantial—is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders. It resolves major litigation without exposing Boston Scientific to the uncertainties of a jury trial and a potential damages award that was impossible to predict…With the resolution of these matters, there are now no material judgments or jury verdicts pending against the Company.”

-Lady Gaga was among the best dressed women at last night’s Annual Grammy Awards — at least that’s what Glamour thinks!

-Katy Perry has blamed the internet for ruining Russell Brand’s New Year’s Eve proposal – because she found out the funnyman was preparing to pop the question through Google Alerts…..

-Ricky Gervais refuses to get married to Jane Fallon, his partner of 25 years, because he doesn’t believe in God…..

-More money troubles Michael Madsen: The Reservoir Dogs actor he’s been hit with a lawsuit from a California company which alleges he failed to pay for pool cleaning…..

-Lily Allen collapsed following her set at the Big Day Out Festival in Perth, Australia on Sunday….

-Twice divorced Drew Barrymore has no plans to marry on again/off again boyfriend, Justin Long — aka The Mac Guy…..

-Beyonce On Sunday’s 60 Minutes….

Filed under: Recalls, Videos, Toyota

Right after Toyota officially announced a remedy for its sticking accelerator pedals this morning, company President and COO Jim Lentz could be seen on television sitting across from Matt Lauer on NBC’s popular Today Show. While Lauer isn’t typically a hard-hitting interviewer (Is he? We don’t regularly watch the show, but “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” has us thinking he’s no Edward R. Morrow), he does kick things off by asking Lentz if he can guarantee one particular Toyota customer whose car has already experienced sudden unintended acceleration that her car will be safe. From there, Lentz gives the answers you’d expect any exec under siege to give, which is to say we don’t learn much that we don’t already know. Lentz does say that “…we’re confident that… between those two things [the floormat and pedal recalls], this will be under control.”

He also claims that the first time Toyota became aware of sticking pedals in its vehicles, or at least the first time that the company could duplicate the sticking pedal problem, was October of last year. Like a good interviewer, Lauer brings up the LA Times article that contends Toyota knew about the issue long before then. Follow the jump to see how Lentz reacts.

Continue reading Video: Matt Lauer interviews Toyota Pres. Jim Lentz on Today Show

Video: Matt Lauer interviews Toyota Pres. Jim Lentz on Today Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

from infoshop, 27 January 2010: “The following leaflet was distributed by members of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) and the Orlando West study circle on anarchism at a football tournament in an informal settlement in Soweto…” more

Toykoflash and CrunchGear are teaming up for a really cool contest, giving you a chance to win one of the most unique wristwatches on the market today. Which watch are you going to win? Well, that’s the cool part – we don’t know! More details after the jump.

Alright, let’s get down to the details. In order to win, you have to be a twitter follower of both @TokyoflashNews and @CrunchGear. Once you’ve done that, all you have to do, in 140 characters or less of course, is tweet about why you need to win a Toykoflash watch. All tweets must contain the tag #iwanttoykoflash.

Now for the best part, which watch do you win? Well, that’ll be up to the winner! Yep, if you win the contest, you’ll be able to choose the watch that you prefer from Toykoflash’s current collection.

The contest begins immediately, and will end on Wednesday night (February 3rd) at midnight pacific time. Winner will be contacted via Twitter direct message. We’ve heard the pain of our readers not in U.S. – Tokyoflash ships internationally, so feel free to enter the contest no matter where you live.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article