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Hair loss is not a rare case anymore! Almost all the people across the world suffer from hair loss in their lives one or the other time. The reasons could be many, ranging from hormonal disturbances to stress and from heredity to improper hygiene of hair. Whatever the cause is, though hair loss may not affect the bodily system by damaging them, it is an embarrassing problem that can make a person feeling so down among others.

Unfortunately, men are more to suffer from hair loss as compared to women. On the other hand, luckily, there is a way to treat this problem. There is an advanced technology through which, one can implant the hair on bald area but then, natural hair loss treatment is always first choice among many men across the world. This is solely due to natural hair loss treatment does not require any cut or incision and it does not ask for any harmful synthetic way to treat the hair loss problem.

The natural hair fall treatment includes application of some hair oil or lotion and to massage it onto the scalp in order to nourish the hair roots and so the hair. Such hair root nourishing not only help strengthening the hair roots but also help in repairing the hair shaft and damaged hair ends. In this way, they help in preventing the falling of the hair.

Hair fall is quite common and to lose 60-80 hairs a day is considered to be a normal, physiological body response. However, more than this number of hair falling surely require medical attention. The symptoms of severe hair fall are noticing a lot of hair falling while combing the hair. Moreover, on shirt, tee-shirt and on shoulders and sleeves, one may find a lot of hair fallen out. Also, on pillows and bed sheets there are many hairs fallen.

While bathing, the hairs fall more than the regular amounts and there, they really require treatment. Natural hair fall treatment may also include some internal medications that comprise of natural herbal extracts in pills/powder form that help in strengthening the hair roots. Ayurvedic herbs such as bhringaraj, amalaki (Indian gooseberry) are said to be very useful in providing proper nourishment to the hair. Also, natural herbal hair oil that includes bhringaraja, amalaki, henna, tulasi and amla is also believed to be very useful as natural hair loss treatment.

Many holistic health care providers believe that holistic exercises such as pranayama and meditation can also help in preventing the hair fall. They are also considered as a natural hair loss or hair fall treatment. Stress is one of the major reasons for hair fall and practicing pranayama and meditation, one can get rid of stress that ultimately prevent the hair from falling. Acupressure and yogasanas such as shirshasana are useful to prevent hair loss. Also, avoiding spicy and oily food is must to keep hair from falling.

Ryan McBride wrote:

BIND Biosciences, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of nanoparticle drugs, says today that it has appointed Scott Minick as its president and CEO. Minick was previously a managing director of ARCH Venture Partners, a major investor in BIND. The company also told Mass High Tech that it has raised $11 million in a Series C round of financing, bringing its total venture financing raised to $29.5 million.

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Take a Palm Pixi. Add WiFi. Move it from Verizon to Sprint. Voila! Palm Pixi Plus

Surgical versus non surgical management of Baldness

(www.divinecosmeticsurgery.com)

Baldness is probably the most rampant of plastic surgical problems, and indeed is the most common consultation in males in a Plastic Surgeon’s office. We know the reasons for baldness, and it should not come as a surprise to learn that baldness is also present in females, evidenced by hair thinning and then patches of baldness, particularly in the perimenopausal and post- menopausal women. Various surgical and non surgical procedures like hair transplant, hair weaving and bonding, wigs, medical therapy like minoxidil and finasteride are in use and present a confusing array of treatment for the bald patient

So what are the choices 
Hair loss and thinning is a direct effect of the role of testosterone on the its receptors in the scalp, and the hair region in the back of the head is usually fairly resistant to the effects of testosterone, and thus maintains hair for longer periods. It is these facts that are the basis of various treatment modalities.

Role of Medical therapy 
Finasteride is a testosterone receptor blocker, and blocks the effect of testosterone. Thus it allows a decrease in hair fall and probably gets back a few of the faller hair, in that the nano hair, that are there, probably get thicker. It is a drug, used primarily in older patients with prostate problems. In baldness the dosage that is prescribed is very small from 1 mg daily to alternate days; at this dose there are virtually no side effects

Minoxidil is an agent that increases the blood supply of the scalp, and indirectly increases the density of the hair, and a small reduction of hair fall. However, less than half of the people who actually use it, have a tangible benefit. Both these drugs need to be taken for prolonged periods, often the life time.

Hair transplant – this is the only true solution to baldness. The surgical procedure which is a single day job, done under local anesthesia, and hardly any discomfort, is the only natural procedure available. The hair that is implanted, almost never falls, can grow to any length, and do not require maintenance. There are almost no precautions to be taken after a hair transplant. It is possible to repeat the procedure after 6 months gap for almost 3 times. However we have to know that hair transplant requires 6 months for effect to show, as the hair has to pass through a natural phase. Also, we cannot assure a density, that was present in younger ages, and for one to achieve that kind of density, repeat procedures are required.

Hair weaving, bonding – these are artificial procedures, in which someone elses hair is used to cover the head. The hair is fixed to the head with silicone adhesives, or with clips or sutures to the remaining hair. The advantage is that it is a fast procedure, painless, instant, and gives a great density. However low costs should not influence the decision, since one has to go the beauty parlour every 2 weeks to get it refixed, adding to the costs. Also one cannot go out in a strong wind or heavy rainfall, cannot swim, or airdive, or perform any exertional outdoor activity or physical contact sports. Sever allergies are known to occur with the adhesives, and hair gets loose from the constant traction of the clips that is used to fix the patch.

HAIR TRANSPLANT IS THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!!

About Me Dr Amit Gupta is a Plastic Surgeon from Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, who has specialized in the fields of Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Surgery, Microfollicular Hair Transplant, and Lasers. He was awarded with Gold Medal during his training for his academic days, Dr Amit Gupta joined the superspeciality Course of Plastic Surgery at Maulana Azad Medical College which he cleared in 2007 in his attempt. During his training he underwent training in Burns Trauma Management Cancer and Microvascular Surgery Reconstructive and Congenital Defect Correction Surgery. He then pursued specialized fellowships in Cosmetic Surgery in Belgium (Europe) and Brazil. He has trained with Dr Patrick Tonnard in Belgium where he was trained in MACS Lift Surgery which is the most current development in the field of Facial Rejuvenative Surgery in Europe. He then pursued fellowships in Cosmetic Surgery in Brazil where he trained with the likes of Dr Ruth Graf and Dr Ana Zulmira who are regarded as icons in Cosmetic Surgery

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by Tom Laskawy

For those of you wondering if we can have a more civil discourse over food and agriculture in this country, American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman has an answer for you: Fat chance!

According to Stallman [MS Word], the top challenge facing farmers isn’t the rising cost of seed, fertilizer, and pesticides. Or the alarming growth of superweeds (a new report says that over 50 percent of fields in Missouri harbor weeds resistant to the herbicide RoundUp, upon which the entire GMO production style is based). Or the threat posed by climate change, which could reduce U.S. grain yields substantially soon and by 80 percent within decades.

No, the top challenge facing farmers is, and I quote, “the nonstop criticism of contemporary agriculture.”

Hoo boy. And Stallman’s just warming up:

[A] line must be drawn between our polite and respectful engagement with consumers and the way we must aggressively respond to extremists who want to drag agriculture back to the day of 40 acres and a mule.

Our adversaries are skillful at taking advantage of our politeness. Publicly, they call for friendly dialogue while privately their tactics are far from that.

Who could blame us for thinking that the avalanche of misguided, activist-driven regulation on labor and environment being proposed in Washington is anything but unfriendly.

The time has come to face our opponents with a new attitude. The days of their elitist power grabs are over.

General George Patton was very quotable. He said that in times of war, “Make your plans to fit the circumstances.”

To those who expect to just roll over America’s farm and ranch families, my only message is this: The circumstances have changed.

I would humbly submit that one does not invoke General Patton (a guy who liked to smack his underlings around when the mood struck) if one is seeking to establish a more civilized discourse. And in case you were wondering which extremists Stallman was referring to, it’s the ones that use “emotionally charged labels such as: monoculture, factory farmer, industrial food, and big ag.” You know, people like Barack Obama.

A good portion of Stallman’s speech was a call for unity among farmers—whether they are organic, grass-fed types or GMOers—and against, well, us. But that wasn’t all. There was also an attack on climate change legislation—and this is an angle I think proponents of the bill need to be prepared for—because it will “cut the number of acres devoted to food production”—possibly up to 59 million acres, he said—in favor of trees. This number is highly suspect, of course, having come from a USDA analysis that Ag Chief Tom Vilsack himself has declared flawed. There was also a hit on developing nations disguised as clear-eyed “realism” when Stallman suggested that they would never be able to take responsibility for feeding themselves:

Unfortunately, the hard facts are, that for parts of the world, we cannot improve the depth of topsoil, create rainfall, make the climate more temperate, or ensure economic and social justice for farmers.

Best just to send the GMOs and Roundup, I guess. Oh, and Stallman, representative of the part of the industry that benefits most from direct, cash payouts from the federal government—on the order of $12 billion a year—called for budget austerity for everyone else. Yes, the AFB is starting its own Deficit Reduction Task Force no doubt to do for the rest of government spending what they’ve done for agriculture. And remember, said Stallman, the only “sustainability” that matters is “economic sustainability.” Is that before or after you cash your subsidy check, Bob?

But most of the speech involved an extended, if veiled, suggestion that an attack on conventional agriculture is an attack on abundant, reasonably priced food. This is, of course, demonstrably false. The data shows that non-chemically intensive practices yield almost exactly the same. Yet another inconvenient truth that industry tries to ignore and anyway is sort of beside the point. What Stallman is really doing is setting the stage for the coming battle over agricultural subsidies, set for renewal in 2012. The way things are must not change, suggests Stallman. And lucky for Stallman, they probably won’t.

We received a taste of what’s to come just the other week when the USDA announced minimal changes to an eligibility rule for subsidies. It involved the current loose definition of what it means to be “actively engaged” in farming and was something that Obama had promised to fix during his campaign, even to the point of making it part of his Rural Agenda. What happened? Well, my sources suggest that none other than Senate Ag Chair Blanche Lincoln, she of the sub-40 percent polling numbers, couldn’t stomach the financial loss to her large-scale rice and cotton-growing constituents that tightening eligibility would entail. And so, reform got a sucker punch from bare-knuckled politics, which is pretty typical where ag policy is concerned. Sadly, there remains no political upside to opposing the agricultural status quo.

What’s truly discouraging in Stallman’s speech is that he and his compatriots don’t see the opportunity here. Forget throwing off the chains of industrial agriculture, what about calling for more farmers? Or trying to tap into the growing excitement over food and how it’s grown? Or touting agriculture as a promising and under-appreciated engine of future job growth? Or even reveling in the coming financial and technological windfall from climate change mitigation? Instead we get paranoid fantasies, accusations of climate hoaxes and even calls to privatize Social Security. Ah, well. Better luck next year, eh, Bob?

Related Links:

[UPDATED:] FDA’s food safety blogger doesn’t think meat safety is a problem

Seeking sustainability, finding skeptics at the American Farm Bureau meeting

Gates Foundation throws its lot with agribusiness

One area where intellectual property rights really don’t fit in is in educational institutions — where the entire premise of teaching (spreading information and helping more people understand and use it) goes against the entire concept of things like copyright (hoarding information and setting up artificial scarcities to charge for the dissemination and use of that info). However, in a society where people seem to think that you can and should “own ideas,” you get crazy situations like the following. We had already discussed how some schools were struggling with the fact that many teachers were sharing or selling lesson plans online, and now Copycense points us to the news of a school district that is considering a proposal to claim copyright on any output created by a teacher with direct or indirect support from the school. Now, you can argue all you want that if the teacher created the lesson plan at the school, the school should “own” it, but that really misses the point. The school is not a private, for-profit institution. Why should it care if teachers do more with their lesson plans? The schools weren’t selling other lesson plans before. It’s not as if this “takes money away” from the school or competes with the school in anyway. If anything it’s pure jealousy. The school realizes some teachers are making some money elsewhere and suddenly demands a cut.

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In my review, I lamented that Windows Mobile 6.5 didn’t feel finished. Now that we can see what Windows Mobile 6.5.x was eventually destined for, well, maybe that was for the best. [PhoneScoop]

You’ll hear more from me when my Nokia N900 review hits the website, but all in all, I’m very impressed with the N900.  Featuring a fast processor, 32 GB of internal storage space, a large screen, and a new OS (that is neat in the fact that it’s both innovative and not Symbian), it’s one of the devices I would categorize as not being ready for mainstream use.  Why?  Among other reasons, the lack of a functioning app store.

As of today, Nokia is pushing the first software update to the N900, and though it doesn’t provide software update doesn’t provide anything in the way of new features, it does prepare the device for the introduction of the Ovi Store, which I’m told is coming an in official manner soon.  If you want to get around it for the time being, point your browser to http://store.ovi.mobi.

First step towards consumerization – could we see a subsidized N900 coming soon?  I know I’d be excited.

Via Engadget Mobile

One of the hallmarks of a regime in financial trouble is a complicated regime of “special” exchange rates aimed at getting around the problems caused by financial mismanagement.  The devaluation that Venezuela announced last week may have been a good idea, given the country’s recession, and the problems of declining oil revenues.  But the way Chavez has gone about the thing is typically ham-fisted.  By Sunday, he was threatening to deploy the military against . . . shopkeepers who raised prices in response to the devaluation, as if fiat were the main component of import prices.

I doubt that this will work any better than Chavez’s earlier attempts at price control and economic management.  The black market will considerably attenuate his power to mandate exchange rates.  Though the move will ease the government’s fiscal problems, it will not enable Chavez to keep inflating the level of government spending . . . and as a colleague at the Economist once remarked to me, Chavez’s popularity varies pretty much directly with how much social spending he’s able to eke out of oil revenues.

This is not to knock Chavez in particular for being left wing.  One can imagine a regime that made some moderate blunders while making real improvements to both economic productivity, and the safety net; in an era of higher oil prices, Venezuela could have diverted a lot of extra government revenue to the poor.  But Chavez managed the oil fields for political gain rather than revenue, and spent every dollar he could find, right up to the very edge of his nation’s swelling oil revenues. As he underinvested in oil production and got into a showdown with those who managed the output, he created a situation where falling yields meant that for his political coalition to prosper, the price of oil needed to not merely stay high, but keep rising, forever.  When the oil money faltered and the inevitable cracks appeared in the economy, Chavez has tried to replace the laws of supply and demand with government fiat, which has had the usual results.  The more desperate the measures he has to resort to, the more one suspects that his administration is entering into its senescence. 

I doubt that this will work any better than Chavez’s earlier attempts at price control and economic management.  The black market will considerably attenuate his power to mandate exchange rates.  Though the move will ease the government’s fiscal problems, it will not enable Chavez to keep inflating the level of government spending . . . and as a colleague at the economist once remarked to me, Chavez’ popularity varies pretty much directly with how much social spending he’s able to eke out of oil revenues.

This is not to knock Chavez in particular for being left wing.  One can imagine a regime that made some moderate blunders while making real improvements to both economic productivity, and the safety net; in an era of higher oil prices, Venezuela could have diverted a lot of extra government revenue to the poor.  But Chavez managed the oil fields for political gain rather than revenue, and spent every dollar he could find, right up to the very edge of his nation’s swelling oil revenues. As he underinvested in oil production and got into a showdown with those who managed the output, he created a situation where falling yields meant that for his political coalition to prosper, the price of oil needed to not merely stay high, but keep rising, forever.  When the oil money faltered and the inevitable cracks appeared in the economy, Chavez has tried to replace the laws of supply and demand with government fiat, which has had the usual results.  The more desperate the measures he has to resort to, the more one suspects that his administration is entering into its senescence.

Filed under: Hardware, Software, iTunes

Here’s a bit of interesting for you from the folks over at APC: during a press event at CES 2010, Intel used iTunes to tout its latest processors rather than one of the other oft-used performance-testing suites. Specifically, they showed off an i5 processor not by running some complex graphics simulation or commercial benchmarking algorithm, but by launching iTunes and synchronizing with an attached iPod.

Intel is attempting to make processor specifications more useful to normal people by focusing less on engineering statistics and more on actual applications. What is interesting here is that Intel is essentially admitting the difficulty in quantifying the improvements of their latest hardware. It is, however, easier to qualify their improvements by showcasing their hardware using applications people use everyday.

This de-obfuscation of a processor’s ability is a good thing. It means that my mother-in-law can stroll through Best Buy and understand that a given set of hardware is going to perform better at the tasks she cares about most. In the end, it really is less about GHz and more about GTD.

TUAWIntel uses iTunes for benchmarking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As a figurehead in the Pittsburgh investment scene, long-time entrepreneur Mel Pirchesky is now using his experience to coach startups on fundraising and business strategies. According to his company Eagle Ventures, Pirchesky has raised over $45 million in his 35 years of structuring deals. In a recent guest post on the site Pittsburgh Ventures, Pirchesky breaks down the art of the “elevator pitch” – a tool every young entrepreneur needs to learn to use – into an exact science tailored for the best results.

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An elevator pitch is a term used to describe a short (usually about 60 seconds, or the time it takes to ride in an elevator) description or pitch of a product one is trying to sell or raise funding for. Pirchesky says an effective elevator pitch is more valuable than a well written business plan. After all, who’s going to read a business plan when the pitch didn’t hook them?

“Elevator pitches have two components – the first ten or fifteen seconds and the remaining forty-five or fifty,” Pirchesky says. “The objective of the first ten or fifteen seconds is to have your prospective investors want to listen to the next forty-five or fifty seconds differently, more intently than they would have otherwise.”

Pirchesky adds that the first section of the pitch should include two things – what it is that you or your company does, and something that adds validity to your or your company’s value-proposition. Finally, he suggest that you avoid trying to fill your pitch with too much information, to stay away from buzzwords and jargon, and to continually iterate and revise the pitch until all of the money is in the bank.

If there is a great deal to be had, and no investors are biting, the problem isn’t a lack of available funds – its in how the deal is being communicated, says Pirchesky.

“The key to effective, successful fundraising is to have your prospective investors hear what you say and understand the significance of what you say to depths of their bones,” he says.

Discuss

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As hinted at for the last few months, Toyota has today debuted a smaller sibling to the Prius at the Detroit Auto Show. According to a statement from Toyota, the FT-CH (CH=compact hybrid) is “designed to target a lower price point than the Prius, thus appealing to a younger, less-affluent buyer demographic.”

Translation: “This car is for you, you poor just-out-of-college graduate… who, due to the econopocalypse, settled for a job making half of what you expected to… who would buy a Prius if your parents weren’t driving one and would lend you $23K.” Oh come on, you know you want one. The FT-CH is… dare I say it… cool.

Hell, I want one… but mostly because I’m a cheap skate. Actually, I’m still positive my next car will be a plug-in, but even so, I’m having just a little bit of FT-CH lust. I might honestly be having way more FT-CH lust if the simple act of even writing that horrendous name wasn’t enough to put ice in my loins.

Read more of this story »

In a move that looks to heed the call for “jobs, jobs, jobs,” the Obama administration is announcing $187 million for nine projects to improve the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks, Reuters reports.

More than $100 million of the funds will come from the $787 billion economic stimulus plan approved last February, with an additional 50% coming from the private sector, according to the announcement to come from U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

The administration estimates the projects will create 500 jobs in the near term, in areas such as research and engineering, and the potential for 6,000 new positions in manufacturing and assembly by 2015.

Three of the nine projects will focus on improving the fuel efficiency for long-haul freight trucks by 50%, while the other six will target fuel efficiency for passenger vehicle engines and powertrain systems.

The eventual goal is to develop engine technologies that will improve passenger vehicle fuel economies by 25-40% by 2015.

Automakers that will receive funds include Chrysler Group ($14.5 million), Cummins ($15 million), Delphi Automotive Systems ($7.5 million), Ford ($15 million), General Motors ($7.7 million) and Robert Bosch ($12 million).

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Stimulus To Include Tax Credit To Buy Fuel Efficient Cars?
• The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever

—Sky News: The news channel’s iPhone/iPod app has had 1 million downloads since launching in May last year, and now it has launched an enchanced mobile internet service, which will be free to access. via Pocket-lint

—Wallpaper/Phaidon city guides: The publishers have created Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) apps for 10 of their jointly-produced city guides, priced at $3.99 (£2.39) each. Phaidon site

—Mobile Streams/mobivention: Mobile Streams (SEA: MOS) has signed a deal with mobivention for the latter to distribute its wallpapers, videos, games and apps through mobivention in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Italy, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Release

More of us are choosing organic for ourselves, so it’s nice to know that some pet companies are making that move along with us. Cranimals are new certified organic pet supplements to help pets get their daily intake of whole food antioxidants from pure sources.

Cranimals treats were featured in the recently released book 30 Days Without Kibble by Eva Blais, an animal rescuer for the last 20 years. Blais recommends adding the supplements to her healthy pet food recipes. 30 Days Without Kibble is also available as an ebook.

The certified organic supplements are available in Cranimals Original, made from cranberry extract, and Cranimals Very Berry, a blend of cranberry, red raspberry and blueberry extracts. Cranimals, just released by I&W Research Inc. last year, may help protect cats and dogs from age-related diseases and immune deficiencies.

Since Cranimals Original have a high concentration of natural cranberry tannins, they help to flush out bacteria responsible for many urinary tract infections in cats and dogs. The supplements also discourage the growth of dental plaque. Cranimals Very Berry helps to get rid of free radicals that could lead to diseases like cancer or arthritis.

Since these supplements are certified organic, the ingredients are easier to trace and they’re grown without pesticides. Cranimals are free of animal by-products, wheat, corn and artificial colors or preservatives. They’re manufactured in a food-grade facility in Canada.

Organic Cranimals are available in natural pet supply and health food stores, as well as online in the US, Canada, Europe and Taiwan.

Have you added supplements to your pets’ homemade treats?

(Image via Cranimals press kit)

Post from: Blisstree

Certified Organic Pet Supplements

Fitch offers some numbers on the coming pain for homeowners with Alt-A mortgages.

—————-

Many   U.S.   prime   and  Alt-A  mortgage  borrowers  that  are  making
  interest-only (IO) monthly payments will experience a payment shock over
  the next year due to a recasting of these IO loans to full principal and
  interest payments, according to Fitch Ratings.

  Over  $47  billion  of  prime and Alt-A RMBS collateral is due to recast
  over  the  next  12  months  from  an  IO  payment to a fully amortizing
  payment. This recast exposes borrowers to an average payment increase of
  15%  and  possibly  higher if interest rates increase. Over the next two
  years,  a  total of $80 billion of prime and Alt-A loans, and a total of
  $50 billion Subprime loans are due to recast.

  This  payment  shock  will  have  a  substantial effect on the recasting
  population,   according  to  Managing  Director  Roelof  Slump.  ‘60-day
  delinquency  rates  have  risen  over  250%  in  the 12 months following
  previous  recasts  for  prime  and Alt-A loans,’ said Slump. Even though
  Fitch’s  current  ratings  consider  the  risks  of upcoming IO recasts,
  ‘mortgage  pools  with significant interest-only loan concentrations may
  be downgraded if performance is worse than anticipated.’

  Recasts  typically  have a significant impact on loan performance. While
  only 3.3% of prime loans are 60 or more days delinquent prior to recast,
  delinquencies  the  year after recast increased to 9.3%. Similar effects
  have been seen in Alt-A and subprime, with delinquencies increasing from
  12%  to  29%  for  Alt-A, and from 20% to 58% for subprime. Furthermore,
  ‘declining  borrower  equity  is still eroding refinancing opportunities
  and  incentives  to  continue  payment,’ said Slump. On average, current
  loan-to-value  (LTV) ratios for prime and Alt-A loans are 118%, with 64%
  of borrowers having negative equity.

  The  effect  of  higher  expected  defaults  on  IO  loans figures to be
  relatively  small  on  the  overall market since these loans account for
  only  8%  of  the  securitized  non-agency  market.  However,  there  is
  significant   performance   risk   in   RMBS   transactions   with  high
  concentration  of  IOs,  particularly if a large portion of loans recast
  around  the  same  time. It was not uncommon to see IO concentrations of
  greater  than 50% in certain securitizations. Performance on these pools
  will  be  particularly  hard-hit  by recasts. If observed IO performance
  results  in  higher  than  expected loss estimates for Fitch-rated RMBS,
  this may result in further negative pressure on long-term ratings and/or
  Recovery Ratings (RRs).

  Loans  with  an  IO  feature  were available across all of RMBS and were
  compatible with both fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products.
  Fixed-rate  IO borrowers only face a payment increase equal to an amount
  of  principal  amortization  when  the  IO period ends, with the payment
  staying  fixed  thereafter  for  the life of the loan. ARM IOs also have
  interest  rate  risk, where the payment can increase based on prevailing
  interest  rates  at the reset date. In today’s environment, ARM IOs will
  only  face  a  payment  increase from principal amortization when the IO
  period  ends. However, ‘if rates rise on subsequent reset dates, so will
  the monthly payments,’ said Slump.

  Most  outstanding  IO  loans  are  ARMs as many borrowers combined these
  features  to  provide for the lowest initial payments. Of those IO loans
  recasting  in the next two years, 99% of prime, 94% of Alt-A, and 90% of
  subprime  are ARM loans. Furthermore, borrowers were often qualified for
  loans  on their ability to make initial IO payments rather than the full
  principal  and  interest (P&I) payment to which their loan would adjust,
  and  on  63%  of Prime and Alt-A loans, this qualification was made with
  less than full documentation of income.

  Most IO ARM loans featured interest rates based off of Treasury or LIBOR
  interest  rates plus a margin. Payment shocks can be mitigated by market
  interest  rate  decreases  for  Prime  and Alt-A ARMs. Subprime interest
  rates  are  typically  floored  at  the  initial  rate,  which  prevents
  borrowers  from  benefiting  from a decrease in rates. As interest rates
  are  at historic lows, some Prime and Alt-A loans which had high initial
  rates but low margins will not experience a payment shock at recast even
  when  considering  the  principal  repayment component. However, current
  average  payment  shocks  are  estimated at 15%, and each 1% rise in the
  benchmark  rates  corresponds  to an approximate 10% increase in payment
  shock.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• How To Walk Away From Your Mortgage And Save Thousands Of Dollars Per Month
• Go Ahead, Walk Away From Your Mortgage!
• Commercial Real Estate Delinquencies Are Up 5x Already And They Still Won’t Peak Until 2012