Author: Serkadis

All Things Digital is not planning on publishing today on Martin Luther King’s birthdate holiday.

Until we return tomorrow, please listen to the famous “I Have a Dream” speech that King delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, which is in its entirety below.

As you will see, it is as resonant today as it was spoken on August 28, 1963.

While there are more famous lines, here’s BoomTown’s favorite:

“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.”

I also included Stevie Wonder’s ebullient song in tribute to King’s birthday, which is simply wonderful.

Here are the videos:

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How The Record 2.8 Million Foreclosures In 2009 Could Have Been A Lot Worse – Joe Weisenthal – The forelosure specialists at RealtyTrac are out with their end-of-year tally for 2009.  Their conclusion: It was an ugly year that would have been a lot worse without massive government intervention. … we saw four straight monthly decreases driven primarily by short-term factors: trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and an overwhelming volume of inventory clogging the foreclosure pipeline. … – Money Game at Business Insider

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Fed must let mortgage market stand on own, Plosser says – By Rex Nutting – Higher interest rates are needed before unemployment rate drops  – The Federal Reserve must cede control of the mortgage market back to the private sector or risk delaying the return of normal markets, a policy maker of the central bank said Tuesday. – MarketWatch

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More on Option ARMs – by CalculatedRisk – … On negative equity, this graph from Amherst shows the CLTV for various mortgage products. Note that subprime and Alt-A had a somewhat higher percent of borrowers with negative equity than prime – but Option ARMs (red) borrowers are mostly in negative equity! … – Calculated Risk Blog
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has exerpts: Annaly Capital Releases RMBS/CMBS Research – By: AFP Staff

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Jumbo RMBS Defaults Triple: California, Florida, And New York Lead the Way – Joe Weisenthal – Money Game at Business Insider

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In One Short Month, MBA Now Sees 2010 Morgtage Originations Plummeting By Even More – Submitted by Tyler Durden – …  While in December, the Mortgage Brokers Association anticipated an already staggering 24% drop in mortgage originations, a mere month later they now see the drop to be 40%. And all this occurring with Q.E.’s MBS purchases set to expire in less than 3 months.  … – Zero Hedge
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Senator Corners Geithner On GSEs – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been asked by a member of the Senate Banking Committee to explain the Christmas Eve decision to uncap federal support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a letter to Geithner Monday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., expressed concern about the “lack of understanding and transparency around this arrangement” and asked Geithner to respond to a series of questions about the action. … – MortgageOrb

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Freddie Mac plans multifamily bonds every other month – Freddie Mac said on Wednesday it plans to sell about $1.1 billion of multifamily mortgage-backed securities known as “K Certificates” later this month. – Reuters

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Delinquencies of US Prime Jumbo Mortgages Triple in Latest Year to Exceed 9% – More U.S. prime jumbo borrowers are falling and staying behind on their monthly mortgage payments, according to Fitch Ratings.  Overall, prime RMBS 60+ days delinquencies rose to 9.2% for December 2009, up almost three times compared to the same period last year (3.2% in December 2008). The 2006/2007 vintages combined rose to 12.7% from 4.3%. – Research Recap

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HousingWire section:

More than 13% of Mortgages Delinquent or Foreclosed in November: LPS – by JON PRIOR – HousingWire

GSEs Could Lose $448bn on MBS Guarantees, Says Amherst – by DIANA GOLOBAY – Losses on the combined credit-guarantee books of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could reach 9.6% – or $448bn – … The projections are the first round of analysis Amherst has conducted that include the LoanPerformance Prime Servicing Database compiled by First American CoreLogic – the property and ownership information provider subsidiary of The First American Corp. … – HousingWire

BofA Permanent HAMP Modifications Jump from 98 to 3,200 in December – by JON PRIOR – HousingWire

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Judge Voids Reverse Mortgage, Says Counseling Fails to Prove Competency – Reva Minkoff  – Reverse Moertgage Daily

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A message from the FHA Commissioner – Dave Stevens January Letter – good Q&A – HUD.gov

Fisker Automotive announced Friday that it has secured an additional $115.3 million in private equity funding to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles. Fisker said that the funding was necessary for it to access a $528.7 million U.S. Department of Energy loan that will help it speed production of the Fisker Karma sedan, the automaker’s first plug-in hybrid.

“Raising $115 million in these times speaks volumes about the value of our business model and the vast potential of plug-in hybrids,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO.

The investors include A123 Systems, Ace Investments and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Earlier this week, Fisker signed an agreement with A123 Systems for the lithium-ion batteries that will power the Karma.

Besides the $87,900 Karma sedan, Fisker also plans on producing a lower-cost plug-in hybrid technology for a second, family-oriented car code named Project NINA. Project NINA is expected to be built in Wilmington, Delaware at a former General Motors assembly plant starting in 2012.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Lauren Conrad loves Jersey Shore.

According to OK! Magazine, the former reality star — who departed The Hills last year after five seasons — has become a regular viewer of The Hills newest competitor.

LC has all but abandoned the show that made her a star in favor of The Shore — a controversial beach-themed smash, which features a group of Italian-American twentysomethings spending the summer in the Garden State resort community of Seaside Heights.

“I haven’t seen [The Hills] since I left,” Lauren told OK! last week. “But I watch Jersey Shore so I am still supporting MTV,” she added. “Last night was the highlight, it was a double episode. There was two! There’s this one part where Ronnie hits a guy and they don’t really get the hit… Ronnie knocks him out.”

Her favorite Jersey Shore star is JWoWW. “She can throw a punch!” Lauren laughed.

The Hills’ Kristin Cavallari, who replaced Lauren when she departed the show, also recently admitted that she is a Jersey Shore fan.

Suzuki Motor Corp has said that it will end its joint development project with General Motors to produce hybrid and fuel-cell technologies. The move comes as a part of an operational review following its new partnership with Volkswagen Group.

“Suzuki is in a comprehensive alliance with Volkswagen. In every field including hybrid, diesel and electric cars, we will carry out joint development with them, or we will learn from them,” Osamu Suzuki, chairman and chief executive.

After an announcement last month, Volkswagen took a 19.9 percent stake in Suzuki on Friday. Both plan to develop competitive, compact and fuel-efficient vehicles.

Osamu said that Suzuki plans on using diesel engines from Volkswagen in the future and will review its partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault SA, which currently supply diesel engines to the company.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Reuters

Forget Viagra. Scientists are working on an electronic “sex chip” that could be placed in humans to stimulate sexual pleasure. The chip sends tiny shocks to electrodes that have been implanted into a specific part of the brain.

Research conducted at Oxford University found that the orbitofrontal cortex – the part of the brain just behind the eyes – could be stimulated to boost feelings of pleasure associated with activities like eating and sex. Scientists hope these devices could help people suffering from anhedonia, an inability to experience these types of pleasure.

A few years ago a chip was implanted into the brain of a woman with low sex drive and it turned her into a sexually active person, so there is evidence that it works. However, current technology requires surgery to connect a wire from a heart pacemaker to the brain, which can cause bleeding and is intrusive.

As these devices improve, doctors should be able to have more control over the stimulating activity of the chip. The technology has already been used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

[via Telegraph.co.uk]

photo credit: Andrew Mason

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The punters at InTrade still believe Democrat Martha Coakley has a chance, after all, it’s Massachusetts*, and she’s a Democrat!

But her odds have collapsed in recent days. She now stands at 40%, down from nearly 100% a little over a week ago:

For what it’s worth, you could have made a killing shorting her on January 4… the day we first brought this brewing story onto your radar.

*According to Nate Silver, there’s some statistical evidence to suggest that Democrats overperform (vs. the polls) on election day in deep blue states like Massachusetts, and that Republicans overperform in deep red states. He calls this a “statistical ray of hope” for Coakley.

Bonus: What InTrade betters are saying about Bin Laden, Sarah Palin, and the Freedom Tower — >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• How Traders Are Making Money On Sarah Palin, Osama Bin Laden, And Tim Geithner’s Resignation
• Obama Advisers Believe Coakley Will Lose
• Obama Defends Coakley, Healthcare Reform, and His Presidency In Boston

Battered last year by the severe financial crisis, Japanese carmaker Toyota released a full list of prices to be modified in Australia, with overall savings ranging in between AU$350 and AU$2,770. There are, however, a few models which will get a price tag showing a bigger number than today. The biggest increase in price will be seen on the Land Cruiser 200, which will get an extra AU$1,000.

"The new prices take into account the increased specification and the impact of the tariff redu… (read more)

Google is opening up its, rather full, wallets again and has started acquiring new companies at an accelerated pace. It now seems that the company is looking to buy about one or two small companies every month, certainly an increase even over its best previous records. For a company with a market cap of $184 billion, making tens of billi… (read more)

“Bad Romance” = A Pretty Good Afternoon Snack!

Besides a “Pants On The Ground” ringtone, is there anything that can compare to the awesomeness of a Lady Gaga Cookie?

Take a peek at the entire set……

Fernando Alonso continues to stand back from issuing any negative comments regarding his former team McLaren Mercedes. After avoiding to hit back at Lewis Hamilton following the Brit’s jibe the other week – in which the 2008 world champion praised himself for blowing the Spaniard away a year before – the 2-time world champion also backed Button’s decision to move to Woking.

Although he had a troubled time being Hamilton’s teammate at McLaren (to say the least), Alonso insisted that Jenson But… (read more)

Via FT Alphaville, here’s a really stunning chart from Deutsche Bank showing the percent of European government debt held by foreign banks.

Look who stands out:

Also, if you’re uber-cautious, you probably want to spend some time looking at the bottom left of the chart. Slovenian debt maybe? Slovakia?

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• ECB Prepares For Euro Rupture As Greek Crisis Escalates
• Greek Minister Furious As European Central Bank Says It Would Let The Country Collapse
• Euro Brinkmanship Escalates As ECB Shuts Door On Greek Bail-Out

Although owned by Toyota, Scion is one of the brands that continue to rely on the same old models, revised every year with only minor upgrades such as special trim levels or exclusive features. Still, Toyota’s president of the North American division confirmed at the 2010 North American International Auto Show that Scion will introduce two new vehicles for the US market.

Obviously, details are still an enigma for all of us, but if we are to trust the rumors surrounding this matter, one of the… (read more)

The decision to move the whole production for the next generation of the Clio outside French borders has created more difficulties for Renault than the company might have expected: a representative of the French government will be part of the strategic committee of Renault from now on, as the French Industry Minister Christian Estrosi told Reuters.

As a consequence of Renault’s announced decision to produce the Clio’s successor exclusively at Bursa, in Turkey, the French President summoned … (read more)

California’s own Department of Finance recently put out a presentation called “California at the Brink of Financial Disaster” (mentioned in a guest post by Jim Gobetz here) which is basically a quick rundown of how the state got into such a fiscal mess, and how it might go about fixing itself.

The last slide looks at the current state of the problem, and the takeaway is that as things look now, we’re looking at a huge, multi-year problem:

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Why Excessive Fear And The Likelihood Of A Bailout Make California Debt An Attractive Investment
• S&P Downgrades California To Third World Country Status
• Schwarzenegger Makes Emergency Appeal To White House For Bailout Of California

There’s a Mexican restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama called Cantina. I have no idea what their food tastes like, but they know how to make one awesome commercial. Combine the Mexican-American war, robots, and garlic fries and – voila! – you have a bizzaro masterpiece on your hands:

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced last week the election of Jonathan Bennett as chairman of the board, to succeed Gregory Ostergren, who served as IIHS chairman during 2009. Ostergren will remain member of the board.

"The Institute’s work to help reduce crash injuries, deaths, and property damage on our nation’s roads is as important as ever," Bennett said in a release.

"IIHS research and communications programs have had a significant and positive… (read more)

Relax Tweeners, Miley isn’t getting married… she’s just been wearing her new ring on the wrong finger. Doh!

Rumors of a possible engagement between the 17-year-old and her Aussie beau Liam Hemsworth began circulating after Miley was spotted with a diamond sparkler on her left hand last week. It turns out the whole thing was just one big misunderstanding.

“Miley is not engaged,” the teen starlet’s publicist told PEOPLE Saturday.