Five are slaughtered and 1 wounded by shooter in Yuma

A 73-year-old man went on a shooting rampage in Yuma, Ariz., on the morning of June 2, 2011. The shooter, Carey Hal Dyess of Yuma, slaughtered 5 individuals and wounded one other person before fatally turning his rifle on himself, according to experts.

Death of a lawyer seen

Although the facts remain sparse at this time, it is clear that there were no less than two shooting locations. Four fatalities happened in Yuma County. One was in Yuma city. One victim is in critical condition right now. The victim was transferred to the Phoenix Emergency room to be viewed closely. One victim in Yuma was Jerrold Shelley who’s an attorney.

So far, the other victims’ names weren’t released. It won’t be long until the names are released. Police say that an adult male was the man slaughtered in city limits. The male was in a local business. Dyess then shot him by running in.

Dyess involved in civil divorce suits

Dyess was involved in two civil court cases stemming from a divorce, as reported by court records. In 2006, a judge problems Dyess be protected in one lawsuit. Information on motive has not been released. That information may never be released.

Law enforcement responds to a morning call

There was a call to the law enforcement’s station around 9:30 a.m. It said that there was gunfire. This caused a lockdown of the court house and schools in the area. This was just a precaution. Nobody was injured at the courthouse, and subsequently the lockdown was lifted.

Shooter killed himself

The Yuma County Sheriff’s department later found Dyess, killed of an apparently self-inflicted gun wound.

All about the county judge’s statement

Andrew Gold is the Yuma County Presiding Judge who made a statement to the Arizona Supreme Court recently. He says that he is shocked and saddened by the attacks, but that he remains “thankful that those within the courthouse are safe.”

Information from

News Tribune

thenewstribune.com/2011/06/02/1690376/police-5-killed-in-shootings-in.html

CBS

cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20068375-504083.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsCourtWatch+%28CBS+News%3A+Court+Watch%29

WLTX

wltx.com/news/national/article/138854/142/5-Killed-in-Shootings-in-Yuma-AZ

U.S. continues to stay in growth recession

Think it is the time to commemorate economic recovery? Do not get any ideas, suggests Investor’s Business Daily. Employment is still hard to find, and the Gross Domestic Product is slow, which signifies the United States is still mired in a growth recession.

The facts about a growth recession

When economic growth is so low that it creates net unemployment, it is called a growth recession. Also considered a Growth recession is when job creation potential is very low for growth. Underachievement is also involved. A country’s gross domestic product is expanding at too slow of a rate with job contraction.

Facts in a tailspin

Here are just a couple of the signs that a growth recession is here, writes Investor’s Business Daily:

• ADP Payroll Services found that 38,000 private-sector jobs were created in May 2011. That’s 100,000 short of the minimum goal economists had marked for economic growth.
• Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that there were 37,135 jobs cut in May. From April, that’s a two percent increase.
• In the first quarter of the year, there was a 4.2 percent decrease in United States housing prices.
• There was a 4 percent decrease in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage application index. This occurred in just one week at the end of May.
• The Institute for Supply Management’s factory activity index – an indicator of U.S. manufacturing health – dropped from 60.4 in April to 53.5 in May, the lowest score on the index since September 2009.

Back into economic downturn

Getting joblessness back to normal is something that may not occur considering the U.S. GDP growth. It was only at 2.7 percent in May. The only way for the U.S. government to keep away from the double-dip economic downturn is to match the growth with the borrowing, which is at $1.5 trillion in 2011.

The United States needs to change if it is going to get back to economic health, claims Michael Pento. Pento is a senior economist at Euro Pacific Capital.

“Genuine government stimulus comes from low taxes, stable prices, reduced regulation and low debt,” said Pento. “Our economic policymakers have scrupulously avoided such remedies.”

Summer 2011 will smell of economic déjà vu , states The Indypendent. Spending cuts and tax increases are apparent in almost every city and state. The Federal Reserve is backpedaling at the moment. The United States may soon end up in a depression instead of a growth recession if things do not turn around.

This video will explain it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIGJy41ekEU

Citations

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_recession

The Indypendent

indypendent.org/2011/06/02/the-coming-double-dip-recession/

Investor’s Business Daily

investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/573972/201106011847/President-Plays-Economy-Lists.htm?src=HPLNews

Gri.pe concerning negative service with a free app

Some consumers who have undesirable experiences with corporations feel motivated to notify other customers via the Better Business Bureau that something’s amiss. But the BBB is not always the fastest way to solve such problems anymore. It makes cell users want to Gri.pe, using a new application that acts like a better version of the BBB for the age of Twitter.

Saying ‘Word of mouth is powerful’

The New York Times states the free Gri.pe iPhone or Android application is available to any consumer that wants to complain concerning a company with Twitter’s pace at their fingertips. According to the company, the “word of mouth is powerful.” This reminds customers that they can do something to fight companies that are terrible. With Gri.pe, it is easy to use the interface to post grievances to Facebook and Twitter. The company’s customer service department then has access to this information. In the process, Gri.pe invites the business in question to respond to the charge and potentially remedy the problem, similar to the way Yelp works for service industry businesses.

Consumers are also able to use “cheers.” These are good notices. Then they can talk about it with friends on the Gri.pe network.

Making a Facebook post requirement

Gri.pe CEO Farhad Mohit states that the reason for Gri.pe to require posting to websites for instance Facebook isn’t so you are able to have an annoying and anticipated add-on. Instead of just getting all the negatives, consumers will be able to get more with Gri.pe. This is because frivolous posts, also known as “social bullying,” are avoided with the Facebook and Twitter requirement. It is easier to be a jerk when you have no idea who’s reading it. You’ll only make accurate comments. Gri.pe is allowed to remove any offensive comments if the process does not work also as the business has planned.

Gri.pe’s year went nicely

In spite of having been founded little more than a year ago, the six-person company has nothing to Gri.pe about when it comes to its user base. According to Mohit’s estimation, nearly 1.7 million people already use the service. “Online word-of-mouth power,” which Mohit refers to with the fun-sounding acronym “womp,” is simply that powerful. It must be since over 100 million local businesses are wanting in on the action with Gri.pe.

Watch grievances on ‘The View’

Information from

Gri.pe

gri.pe/

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/05/29/technology/29digi.html

House prices go down as foreclosure rates soar

Home prices are still falling in the U.S. And foreclosure rates are increasing. Really, this ought to make house buyers happy. However, should you be looking to sell, it might be advantageous to wait a little longer.

How the FHFA report shows it going

The home-price index fell swifter than it has since 2008 in the first quarter according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the last quarter, prices went down 2.5 percent, which is a 5.5 percent drop from last year was. The report did not contain all homes. Only Fannie Mae or Freddie Machomes were included. It excludes cash only sales.

Several think it is from the foreclosures

FHFA acting director Edward DeMarco said, “In many local real estate markets, particularly those hit hard by this cycle, foreclosures and other distressed properties are still a key factor in recorded and anticipated future sales and may be delaying price stability or recovery.” The prices of homes in foreclosure are dropping, according to RealtyTrac. During the first quarter, the average sale price was $168,321 which dropped 1.46 percent from a year ago and 1.89 percent from the quarter before. And because foreclosures lower the value of other homes in their neighborhood, they impact the rest of the index as well.

Foreclosure third parties

“While foreclosure sales continue to account for an unusually high percentage of all residential home sales, sales volume is well off the peak we saw in the first quarter of 2009, when nearly 350,000 foreclosure properties were sold to third parties,” reported James Saccacio, the CEO of RealtyTrac. There was a 16 percent decline from the last quarter and 36 percent decline from a year ago in the number of homes sold to third parties which was at 158,434 in the first quarter.

Foreclosures rates vary by area

The percentage of houses on the industry from foreclosure is different in every state. In Ohio and Illinois it was 41 percent. A 45 percent rate was shown in California and Arizona. In Nevada, foreclosures were 53 percent of the industry.

Worry about scams in the foreclosure industry

More foreclosure scams have come about. They are sometimes hard to see. Homeowners end up with nothing in these scams that have upfront fees for foreclosure prevention. The Federal Trade Commission no longer allows upfront fees for negotiations on mortgage reduction plans. This change was made in Feb.

Information from

Wall Street Journal

blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/05/25/home-prices-fall-at-fastest-pace-since-late-2008/?mod=google_news_blog

DS News

dsnews.com/articles/home-prices-post-biggest-drop-in-two-years-as-foreclosures-depress-market-2011-05-26

DS News

dsnews.com/articles/home-prices-post-biggest-drop-in-two-years-as-foreclosures-depress-market-2011-05-26

Daily Finance

dailyfinance.com/2011/05/27/foreclosure-prices-fall-again-how-your-state-stacks-up/

An auto headlamp primer

There aren’t many drivers take the time to consider anything about their front lights than whether they turn on. There’s a fascinating story behind the development of the headlamp, Popular Mechanics explains to us. Knowing how they work and the way to maintain them is more than interesting, but can save you from unwanted collisions.

In the beginning

There were headlamps over a century ago. They used kerosene or acetylene to fuel them though. These open flames were eventually swapped out by small electric blubs within a reflector/lens casing. As old bulbs suffered from insufficient insulation, corrosion was common and would quickly dim the lights. Before the corrosion though, the lights were like constant high beams. In fact, they ended up becoming illegal in 1941 by the United States government since they would nearly blind people.

New bulbs to use

Tungsten filament bulbs resembled standard household light bulbs. By the 1920s, people began to have switches for high and low beam lights. Brightness and overall beam control were inconsistent, which is not surprising, considering the bulbs were cheaply made. The sealed-beam lights were replaced in 1973. The quartz-iodine lights came in.

Quartz-Iodine brings the tungsten

Quartz-Iodine (QI) is the standard headlight technology in use today. The bulb and reflector are protected with modern sealing materials while the bulb is quite small. The filament burns much hotter producing brighter light. This is because quartz glass can withstand very hot temperatures. When QI bulbs require replacement, the headlamps don’t have to be re-aimed, thanks to precise design of modern filaments.

The nice HD bulbs

High-intensity-discharge bulbs (HIDs) ditch the tungsten filament in exchange for a high-voltage arc that resembles a miniature lightning run. While a high original current is needed to turn the bulb on, once an HID is up and running it requires less energy than a standard QI lamp. Most observers claim an HID produces a crisper beam, but because they take a moment to reach full intensity, high-beams on HIDs could be problematic, particularly in emergency situations. You can get HID arrays with QI bulbs to fix this problem. Still, it costs a lot of money.

LEDing you into the future

Taillights already use LED (light-emitting diode) lights, but they aren’t standard for headlamps yet. According to Popular Mechanics, only the Audi A8 has them standard today. The bright and power efficient LED light helps several individuals see farther. This helps if there is ever an emergency or dangerous situation.

A lot of people want to experience LED front lights although they don’t own an Audi A8. There are DIY choices for those individuals, the Instructables site explained. The power used by an LED is very little. That means compatible turn signal switches are non-existent. To be able to get the right current going, you’ll need to switch them out.

Articles cited

Instructables

instructables.com/id/DIY-LED-car-headlights!/

Popular Mechanics

popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/how-your-headlights-work

An inside look at LED headlights

youtube.com/watch?v=wSkQ4h-sFiY

Los Angeles Dodgers trying to dodge the Brian Stow suit

The family of Brian Stow is suing the L.A. Dodgers. Stow is the male who was beaten by Dodgers followers after a game. Dodgers’ followers attacked Stow, a Giants fan, in the parking lot after the opening day game between the Giants and Dodgers and almost perished from the injuries. The subsequent investigation has resulted in only a single arrest.

Brian Stow beating case led to arrest

The LA Times reports that a criminal arrest was made by the LA Police Department recently. The arrest was made as part of the Brian Stow beating case. Giovanni Ramirez, 31, was arrested by the LAPD on suspicion of being one of the two assailants that beat Brian Stow, who has remained in critical condition since he was attacked March 31. Stow was seen being taunted by two men because he wore a Giants shirt until one took a swing at him. He was kicked repeatedly after falling to the ground. Even after he became unconscious, the men still beat him. Ramirez, a known gang member, has three prior felony convictions and is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon, as he kicked the victim nearly to death.

Suing the Dodgers

ESPN states that since the Dodgers did not have enough security, the Stow family is suing them. The Stow family lawyer states the Dodgers are responsible for making sure the stadium is safe and has enough security. It clearly was not so. The Dodgers took care of security right after the incident. They employed more security personnel including previous LAPD officials. Other Dodgers enthusiasts have been drunk and unruly in the past. Some say these “problem fans” are gang members that like to watch the game. There were sketches made of the two men that beat Stow. Ramirez was identified as one of the men by his parole officer. It is unclear who the other man is. He could be everyone. CNN states that Stow has movement in his arms and legs and has been able to open his eyes.

Sports enthusiasts are violent sometimes

Sports fans and violence have gone hand in hand for some time. In 531 A.D., the Nika riots occurred in Constantinople due to chariot racing for a week, reports Wikipedia. Before the army killed the rioters, there were 10,000 deaths and half the city was burned down. Soccer has caused violence in Europe for a long time. When the Greek professional soccer championship was over in Greece at the end of April, enthusiasts rioted, states Fox News. Polish soccer supporters rioted on May 3 after the end of the Polish Cup Final match, according to the Daily Mail, and had to be subdued by riot police after invading the field, setting the stadium on fire and assaulting players.

Articles cited

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dodgers-20110523,0,2773021.story

ESPN

sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=6584013&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

CNN

articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/justice/california.fan.beaten_1_billboard-campaign-brutal-attack-parking-lot?_s=PM:CRIME

Nika Riots

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots

Fox News

foxnews.com/sports/2011/05/02/aek-fan-club-torched-2-days-cup-final-riots/

Daily Mail

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383480/Concerns-hooliganism-Poland-football-cup-final-ends-mass-riot.html

England experiences a rise in installment loans

The number of payday loans has escalated substantially over the last month in Great Britain. The increase continues to dramatically escalate following the Bank Holiday at the start of the month. There has been about a 58 percent boost in the demand since the same period just a month ago.

Costs surge still

An economic indicator in Great Britain could possibly be the increase in payday loans. This is what financial experts are looking at. Moneysupermarket.com explained that in just the last six months, the average amount spent by an excellent Britain family in one week has boost by 54 pounds, which is about $87.

Stagnant wages

There has been a huge struggle for working people since wages have been stagnant. At the same time, prices have been increasing quite a bit. About 8.5 million households would have a lot of troubles without their primary source of income according to a Scottish Widows report. Financial stability is something only 25 percent of individuals would be confident with if this income were lost. At least there is that.

The Consumer Protection Report from Scottish Widows also reported that nearly half of the country’s families with kids are reliant upon two salaries.

Economics and cash advances

Moneysupermarket.com’s head of loans and debt Time Moss says, “These products act as a barometer, giving a unique insight into the state of the nation’s finances.” Moss continues, “It’s no surprise to see the demand for installment loans rise so sharply in the current climate.”

Paying for installment loans or overdrafts

Getting an overdraft fee penalty is typically worse than these loans. This is what Moss explains despite their critics.

Do not just make any decision

When getting a pay day loan, make sure you are very careful and think about the decision. It will cost even more to pay back a cash advance loan if it is not paid in time. Typically only a few weeks are given to pay them back.

Citations

My Finances

myfinances.co.uk/loans-and-credit/2011/05/17/payday-loans-rise-in-popularity-after-bank-holiday-spending

Payday Bank

paydaybank.co.uk/news/

Yorkshire Post

yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/demand_for_payday_loans_on_the_rise_1_3403086

Acting sexual banned in Utah with law

Laws that regulate any sexuality are quite controversial. This is also true in Utah. According to the AP, two Utah escort services have filed a federal lawsuit against the state since the broadly phrased solicitation ordinances not only ban prostitution, but make acting sexual illegal.

Utah does not allow implied offerings of sex anymore

In order to help undercover agents attempting to stop the sex trade from happening, an anti-prostitution law was put into place in Utah, according to the Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank. Since asking officers to “expose or touch themselves” is now against Utah legislation, it wouldn’t be allowed for prostitutes to ask police this to prove they aren’t law enforcement. Any “lewd” or “suggestive” nonverbal act isn’t illegal with the amendments to Utah’s sex laws on top of straight out asking for money from sex.

Burbank told the media that officers will not target non-prostitutes, but will simply weed out illegal behavior within the sex trade, particularly when it involves the under-aged.

“Officers were being put in a position that we’re not going to allow, so we took a different direction,” he told the AP.

Not legal to act sexy

Attorney Andrew McCullough, who is representing the escort services in the lawsuit, believes that Utah’s anti-prostitution law is so broad that all workers in sexually oriented companies are in legal danger. McCullough says that just because a person “acts sexy” as part of their job, as in somebody who works at a strip club, does not mean they are attempting to sell themselves.

“Most girls who touch their breasts are not telling you they’re open for sex,” the attorney said.

Acting sexy isn’t really good at home, either

A Massachusetts bill is considering making intercourse illegal between many people. If they’re in the divorce process, it would be illegal to do this within home. According to Wrentham, Mass., Selectman (legislator) Robert Leclair, the intent of the proposed legislation is to curb domestic violence and protect children. This would make it illegal for any sexual relationship within the home to take place until the divorce is final while too robbing parents of their rights, some say.

The good news is the bill would stop lifetime alimony payments. A spouse wouldn’t have to pay too much to the other.

A bestiality law considered

Bestiality would have been banned in Florida with U.S. Senate Bill 344 too. Many agree with Senator Nan Rich of Sunrise, Fla., who thinks the bill needs to be passed which is why he introduced it in 2009. Several critics think the broad wording in SB 344 needs to be fixed. Escapist Magazine explained the word “animals” in the phrase “sex with animals” might refer to humans also. This means sexual intercourse would be banned in the state amongst humans.

Citations

Associated Press

wapo.st/jgXAOq

Escapist Magazine

escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/528.283827-Florida-outlaws-sex

Mother Jones

motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/annals-big-government-florida-ban-bestiality-baggy-pants

My Fox Boston

bit.ly/m50Qb6

David Archuleta’s dad Jeff could not resist the sexy (allegedly)

youtube.com/watch?v=xm6R-V3tL8g

The coffee addicted men may be glad to hear coffee helps prostate cancer

Guys who drink lots of coffee can revel in their habit, guilt-free. Coffee may ward off prostate cancer. Men who drink six cups of coffee a day or more were found to have the lowest rates of prostate cancer, according to a new study.

Why caffeine may be good

A new study has just been unveiled from the Harvard School of Public Health that will comes as good news to coffee houses men addicted to caffeine, according to MSNBC. This research has determined that excessive coffee consumption may trigger the shakes, however it also is a fantastic thing to do for endocrine health, as the most aggressive of guzzlers have a dramatically lower chance of contracting prostate cancer. From 1986 to 2008, 48,000 guys were followed including their coffee habits. This was how the study was done, CBS reports. Those who drank six or more cups in a habit weren’t getting as many cases of prostate cancer. This was with all forms of the cancer.

Old study contradicted

A research was done 30 years with contrary results by the Harvard School of Public Health. However, the previous study was flawed because of its research methodology. Patients who had cancer reported coffee details better in the study from years back since patients were asked about coffee habits. This is known as “recall bias.” It makes it so early results are contaminated. In the research that has just been released, men who drank six cups of coffee per day or more had 60 percent less of a chance of getting prostate cancer and a 20 percent less chance of developing the deadliest forms of the disease. Anyone who drank 3 or less cups a day had 30 percent less chance. The caffeine made no difference to the research.

Not sure what the study means

WebMD states that the reason why there might be this impact isn’t known although there are theories with antioxidants. Several benefits, for instance low risk of heart disease and cancer, have been shown to correlate with dietary antioxidants. There are other health benefits that have been connected to drinking coffee. It decreases the risk for gout, Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Prostate cancer is probably the most common cancer in men; one in six American guys is impacted by it in some way. Every year, over 30,000 prostate cancer deaths occur. This is the U.S. rate.

Citations

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43065205/ns/health-cancer/

CBS

cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20063692-10391704.html?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.9

WebMD

webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20110517/coffee-may-lower-prostate-cancer-risk

Mississippi river crests as most detrimental is over for Memphis

The Mississippi river has been enlarged and flooding for several weeks. Some of the most detrimental flooding in years has battered the southern areas of The United States. The most detrimental of it is over for Memphis, Tenn., as the river has crested near the Music City and floodwaters will only recede from here on. Though Memphis is past the worst of it, several other areas are still in danger of flooding.

Homeless people

There are finished 1,000 homeless individuals now. Still, nothing in TN that was considered a landmark was hurt. The floodwaters didn’t hurt the Beale Street district. BBC states that this can be a Music City landmark. Elvis Presley’s home in his life until he passed away in 1977, Graceland, was not touched once by the Mississippi. Even if people had to “charge hell with a water pistol,” they would keep Graceland safe. This is what a Shelby County Emergency Management Agency official explained. Some 1,300 homes have been evacuated, and there is concern, according to CBS, that pending late spring storms could bring further flash floods in the Memphis area. The water will take a while to recede.

Worry from the Mississippi

After the snowfall near record on the East Coast of the U.S., the Mississippi river has gotten very high. Memphis’ floodwaters were just 10 inches lower than the 1937 record hitting 48 feet. Though the worst of the danger is coming to an end in Memphis, there is considerable danger left for the rest of the cities and states along the path of the Mississippi river. Floodwaters are already coursing through the rest of the Mississippi river system and in the Mississippi river delta, and precautions are being undertaken to be able to ensure that the area is safe. The Bonnet Carre Spillway was recently opened by the Army Corps of Engineers in order to relieve pressure from floodwaters on New Orleans’ levees, according to MSNBC. There are already floodwaters flowing through the delta. Still, there are measures being taken in preparation.

Terrible flooding

Though the current flood amounts are bad, they’re not as bad as the 1927 floods that killed hundreds of people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, according to the Christian Science Monitor. There is more than 2,000 miles of levees that were constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to the 1927 floods. The problem is that when the spillways are opened with the flooding, the Mississippi water just floods somewhere else. As the water gets closer to the Gulf of Mexico and spillways have to open, finished 900,000 acres of farmland in Arkansas is expected to flood.

Articles cited

BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13337548

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42973616/ns/us_news-environment/

CBS

cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/09/travel/main20061138.shtml

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0509/Mississippi-River-nears-crest-in-Memphis-but-concern-shifts-south

Crime rates worsened by payday cash advance lenders states new study

Property values fall and crime rates rise when payday cash advance lenders move to the neighborhood, according to a new study. This is not the first time the two have been connected. However, the literature on the subject goes back and forth, and doesn’t always reach the same conclusions. The total impact of personal loan companies is not entirely known. It may be extremely hard to know if payday loans are truly a force for good, evil or occupies a gray area.

How cash advance lenders are connected to crime

There was a new study that looked again at the connection between crime and payday lending. It said that crime went up because of pay day loan lenders, WalletPop states. Charis Kubrin and Gregory Squires of George Washington University and Steven Graves of California State University Northridge all worked together to write the study called “Does Fringe Banking Exacerbate Neighborhood Crime Rates?” which was actually a paper that has been around since 2009. The theory that frames the report is social disorganization. It essentially states the most significant thing to influence crime is environment. Things get worse in poverty areas when a payday lender enters the environment as a disorganized group.

Expressing what was already said

The study contends that Seattle crime rates are highest in the areas with the highest concentration of payday cash advance lenders and the issue has only become worse as time goes on and the number of personal loan companies increases. The study shows that pay day loan lenders will drive up crime rates and is done well. There was a rise of crime of only 1 percent shown in a 2010 study of payday loans and crimes done by Heather Luea. It should also be noted that one of the most proximate causes of crime is poverty, and payday loan lenders cater more to people who don’t totally rely on banks and charge cards for sources of credit. Areas that have more crime are areas that have always had crime.

Both sides of the issue

There has been a long back and forth in academia concerning whether payday loans are good, bad or in a moral gray area. There are surely correlations with crime and personal loan companies while there have been accusations of bias and other concerns for pay day loan positives. However, household income for the upper 20 percent of income earners has been increasing at a steady clip for the past 30 years however held fairly flat for the lowest 40 percent, according to United States Census data accessible on Wikipedia. That’s demographic that payday lenders cater to. Nobody has suggested how to help the individuals on the bottom. Without payday loans, they’ll need another solution.

Citations

WalletPop

walletpop.com/2011/05/12/payday-lenders-fuel-crime-drive-down-property-values/

Fringe banking and crime study

gwu.edu/|newsctr/09/pdfs/Payday_Lending_and_Crime_Working_Paper.pdf

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Income_Distribution_1947-2007.svg

Wisconsin Republicans attempting to re-legalize auto title loans

In 2010, Wisconsin became the last state in the United States to regulate the payday lending and title lending industries. The original bill might have prohibited banning car title lending, but the governor vetoed that item to get rid of title lending. A joint committee in the Wisconsin State is now trying to put title lending back on the docket.

Regulation on payday loans in Wisconsin

Currently in Wisconsin, short-term loans secured by an auto title are not legal. These loans were banned with the 2010 legislation ban from selective vetoing. All payday loans can’t exceed 35 percent of the monthly income of the borrower in Wisconsin either. No extra interest could be charged when the loan is due, even with late payments. In 2009, Wisconsin’s 527 short-term lender locations lent out $600.5 million.

Wisconsin Republicans tries to rescind changes

U.S. Senate President Mike Ellis, a Republican, has been pushing this year for tighter regulations on payday loans. Regardless of his surprise at the recommendation of the Joint Finance Committee, Ellis agrees that the recommendations should be debated on the merits, rather than as a knee-jerk reaction. Rep. Robin Vos said, as the committees co-chairman, “You can make a case that it was done wrongly the first time. We’re correcting his error and actually adding some better provisions in,” while talking about the belief that the governor’s vetoes changed the bill last year.

Not getting the same service with payday lending and title lending

Short-term financial solutions generally contain more than check cashing and payday lending. Typically title lending is also integrated in it. These financial products all cater to the under banked community, but they each do so differently. Payday loans are short-term loans meant to be paid back in two to four weeks. Collateral such as a car is at risk with title lending since it offers high loan amounts. Then there are check-cashing services. For cashing the check, a small fee is charged. Each of these services is different and should be regulated and discussed differently.

Articles cited

WTAQ

wtaq.com/news/articles/2011/may/13/jfc-approves-measures-including-auto-title-loans/

JS Online

jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/121731299.html

Changes to payday lending grid-locking Colorado

One amendment to the Colorado legislature’s last bill of the season is causing a significant amount of frustration. The annual rules bill that deals with much of the day-to-day operations of the state has a new, controversial amendment about payday loans. If the issue isn’t resolved today, the Colorado legislature will require a special session.

About the Colorado Senate Bill 78

Colorado Senate Bill 78 is an annual rules bill that was intended to create specific, enforceable rules for several of the bills passed over the last session. The Colorado U.S. Senate Bill 78 had 600 rules to address. They integrated anything from ski lift safety to medical marijuana dispensary licensing to school fire codes to waste disposal fees. U.S. Senate Republicans amended the bill to change payday lending laws in the state after it was passed by the House.

Payday lending changes in Colorado

Last year, the Colorado legislature made significant changes to payday lending laws in the state. The fees loan companies can charge were limited. Rates of interest were also capped. Short term loan origination fees were limited. They can only be $75. The Colorado House passed legislation to allow loan providers to keep the origination fees after lenders argued the rules were improper on this legislation. It was not passed in the senate. This is the issue. The debate started all over again after the Senate Republicans put the bill back onto the Rules Bill.

Change working class individuals can have to deal with

An agreement on Colorado Senate Bill 78 is anticipated for the House and Senate. If it cannot occur, a special session could be required. A special session of the legislature could cost working class individuals several thousand dollars per day. About $20,000 a day was paid for special sessions in Washington while New York sessions are $50,000 a day. The Colorado payday loan issue needs to be determined. Otherwise, Colorado taxpayers may lose thousands of dollars every day.

Citations

Komo News

komonews.com/news/local/120742604.html

Denver Post

denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18038290

S & P puts future U.S. credit rating in doubt over spending budget

Doubt about the ability of politicians to agree on deficit reduction has resulted in a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating outlook by Standard & Poor’s. Partisan quarreling over the budget has impacted the long view. However, the existing top tier U.S. credit rating granted by S & P remains intact. Stocks across the markets fell on the news. Source for this article – S & P enters budget debate by lowering U.S. credit rating outlook by MoneyBlogNewz.

Issues deciding on budget hurt United States credit

Fighting over the budget has brought on several to look poorly on the United States credit rating. This has concerned Washington. Monday Standard & Poor’s lowered the U.S. credit outlook based on the risk that politicians could fail to agree on a plan to lower the federal spending budget deficit to sustainable amounts. Standard & Poor’s is one of three major agencies investors rely on to evaluate public and private debt scenarios. The risk an investor has when purchasing debt, which makes a difference in rates of interest, is determined based on the S & P. The United States long-term credit rating outlook dropped on S & P. That means “negative” rather than “stable” is now the status. The country’s AAA rating hasn’t been changed on S & P. The drop really just means that, without change, the country can have a downgrade in the next couple of years.

S & P move highlights risks of U.S. debt

The federal spending budget deficit has gotten to about 10 percent of United States GDP at $1.5 trillion which is something the Obama administration and Congress has been pressured to agree upon now that the long-term U.S. credit rating outlook from S & P was dropped. If allowed to continue growing at the present rate, the federal budget deficit could raise the cost of borrowing and further devalue the dollar, which would exacerbate the issue by degrading the government’s ability to finance the deficit. A long-term deficit reduction plan is not likely to be announced anytime soon. Most expect it will not come until the end of 2012 elections. S & P might lower the AAA credit rating for the U.S. if there isn’t a decision made by then. Such a move would send rates on mortgages soaring and trigger a relapse of the credit crunch, which would send U.S. economic recovery off the rails.

Treasury tries to deflect effect of S & P announcement

The Treasury Department said S & P’s decision to lower the long-term United States credit rating outlook to negative “underestimates” United States leadership. At a press conference in Washington, a Treasury official said the cost of borrowing is not expected to rise on news of the S & P downgrade and reiterated the soundness and liquidity of United States debt. The official said also that the S & P needs to let politics work on its own without making decisions depending on it. Before this comment, there was a drop in stock on Monday. In early trading, over 1 percent was lost. Blue chip stocks shed more than 200 points as investors worried that the S & P downgrade could increase the cost of financing growth worldwide.

Citations

CNNMoney.com

money.cnn.com/2011/04/18/news/economy/us_credit_rating_outlook_lowered/?section=money_latest

Reuters

finance.yahoo.com/news/SP-cuts-US-outlook-to-rb-384336593.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-18/treasury-s-miller-says-s-p-outlook-underestimates-u-s-1-.html

Fox Business

foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/04/18/futures-extend-foreign-losses/

Stashing money at home backfires in Japan tsunami zone

In the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, metal safes are being recovered from the debris. Individuals sifting through the rubble are finding safes and money that are being turned into authorities. The devastation and its aftermath; points to the danger of keeping large amounts of money around, even if it is in a safe. Article resource – Stashing cash at home backfires in Japan tsunami zone by MoneyBlogNewz.

Metal safes intact among the devastation

All of the cleanup workers after the Japan earthquake and tsunami are finding hundreds of safes with millions in yen in money. The safes recovered from the devastation are being stored by police. According to the Associated Press, the Ofunato police station has used the parking garage to store the safes. The department’s cars can’t even fit anymore. There may have been over 25,000 deaths from the tsunami. It is anticipated that several safes and parcels of cash are likely to go unclaimed. The Japanese law states that valuables can be stored for 90 days. This is the shortest they can wait. Everyone who finds it gets to keep the unclaimed money if nobody claims it. If nobody claims the money, the government takes it.

Too many safes full of cash

The money is something that could really benefit the Japanese government. Paying for earthquake and tsunami damages won’t be cheap. The estimate is at $309 billion already. The cash hidden that was lost was not integrated in that estimate that was only counting buildings, homes and infrastructures that were wiped out. There were several in Japan that didn’t feel comfortable with ATMs and other ideas. These individuals, mostly elderly, would stash cash in your house. According to Japan’s central bank, more than a third of 10,000-yen bills that are printed don’t circulate — about 30 trillion yen — about $354 billion at the current exchange rate. Old habits and convenience have led older Japanese, a growing segment in a rapidly aging population, to stash cash in safes, boxes and furniture. The idea of a savings account is inconvenient since there have been very low rates of interest.

Finding out what the safes hold

On Japan’s devastated northwest coast, more than 13,000 tsunami deaths have been confirmed as of April 11 and another 14,377 people are nevertheless missing. The safes and money have not all been found. More than likely, this will continue. Opening a safe is the easiest way to claim it if you own it. Matching a wad of cash with its rightful owner can be more complicated, if not impossible. Only 10 to 15 percent of anything found in the wreckage were returned in one of the hardest hit towns by the tsunami, Kesennuma. Storing the safes may be hard to do. As they run out of space, authorities can have to start opening them.

Articles cited

Associated Press

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake_lost_money

The Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8443301/Japan-earthquake-police-handed-tens-of-millions-of-yen-from-devastated-area.html

Seattle P.I.

seattlepi.com/news/article/Debris-challenges-pile-up-in-Japan-1-month-later-1331227.php

Transocean execs contribute safety bonus after firestorm of criticism

Transocean, the proprietor of the oil rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico doled out big “safety bonuses” over the weekend. Investigators have determined that Transocean was one of several companies liable for the Gulf oil spill. But the company said its safety performance last year was the best ever. After a firestorm of critique, Transocean declared the safety bonuses would be donated to the families of the 11 worked killed in the blast.

Safety bonuses in 2010 safety at Transocean

Transocean decided that there was a problem with safety in 2009 when four employees were killed on the job. This meant all executive bonuses were withheld “to underscore the company’s commitment to safety.” On April 2, Transocean gave out executive safety bonuses saying that safety was amazing last year. There were 200 million gallons of oil put, for 86 days, into the Gulf of Mexico while 11 individuals were killed at the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig due to an explosion. Transocean justified the bonuses still: “Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record.” They used their total rate of incidents and severity to say, “we recorded the best year in safety performance in our company’s history.” To calculate safety bonuses, Transocean factors the rate of accidents per 200,000 employee hrs with a number that rates the severity of the accidents. Regardle! ss of the 2010 Gulf oil leak disaster, Transocean’s rate of accidents in dropped 4 percent from the season before.

Transocean negligence discussed

A few days after Transocean declared the safety bonuses, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was in Mexico City with members of the presidential commission that investigated the British Petroleum oil leak to discuss offshore drilling regulation with Mexican authorities. The 2010 Gulf oil leak might have been avoided. This was declared by the oil leak commission in January. The disaster happened due to negligence and errors by Transocean, Halliburton and British Petroleum. Due to these three businesses, including Transocean, “the greatest season of pain” in deepwater drilling occurred in 2010. William K. Reilly, co-chairman of commission, called the Transocean bonuses “embarrassing.” To offset the PR destruction, Transocean issued an apology Monday for “insensitive” wording in the securities filing about the bonuses. Transocean said the top execs are donating bonuses on Tuesday.

Getting bonuses back won’t occur

According to the securities filing, safety accounted for 25 percent of Transocean’s 2010 executive bonuses. The top five execs received $898,282, about 45 percent of their targeted performance bonuses for the season. The safety portion of those bonuses totaled more than $250,000, which could be donated to the Deepwater Horizon Memorial Fund. Transocean has used the fund to distribute more than $1.6 million to the 11 families of the workers killed in the disaster. About $93,500 of that money comes from Transocean CEO Steven L. Newman. Last year, Newman made $6.6 million in all of the money he had coming in. The $650,000 in money Newman and his team can be keeping on top of the stocks and choices as “long term incentives” given away.

Articles cited

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304576236661289767034.html

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/04/05/business/05transocean.html?src=busln

Forbes

blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/06/transocean-execs-keep-most-of-their-bonuses/

CNN

cnn.com/2011/US/04/05/gulf.spill.bonuses/index.html?npt=NP1

Rumblings of energy crisis begin as gasoline costs move higher

Distant grumbling about energy crisis has begun as gas prices approach record highs which were set several years back. Households and various industries are feeling the effects of the gas price hikes, which have been ongoing for weeks. The rise in price isn’t really going to likely subside, either.

Price of gasoline quickly rises 20 cents

The nationwide average cost of a gallon of gasoline has risen by almost 20 cents in the past few weeks. Between March 18 and April 8, gasoline went from $3.57 to $3.76 nationwide according to Reuters. In the last year the increase went up by about a dollar. In July of 2008, gas hit a record high at about $4.11. The costs have risen higher than that now. CBS reported that on April 8, California had a nationwide average of $4.14.

Flights will suffer from this increase a lot

The air travel industry is set to withstand a battering as the cost of jet fuel is increasing, according to CNN. The increase in the price of petroleum has caused jet fuel to rise to about $112 a barrel. The record was in 2008, when the cost of oil hit $150 per barrel and airlines took an enormous hit to their bottom lines. Shares of major airlines have begun to fall on stock markets due to the increasing cost of oil. On April 8, the stock price of Delta fell by 4 percent, Jet Blue fell by 5 percent and UnitedContinental stock fell by almost 7 percent. Experts fear the price of gasoline is not going to drop anytime soon due to unrest in the middle east. Airline tickets will only continue to go up as the cost of gasoline continues to go up in tandem.

Consumers are reducing their spending habits

Consumers want to do something about the increase in price. The Daily Finance reports that 70 percent of the nation’s gas stations have reported drops in sales. So although prices are rising, sales are decreasing. One way individuals are cutting back in gasoline is though the purchase of more economic vehicles. According to USA Today, hybrid vehicles sales this year alone have increased by 37 percent. The increase in price is leading to lower demand, as fewer individuals are willing to pay the increased cost of fuel.

Information from

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-energy-gasoline-retail-idUSTRE73929V20110411

CBS News

cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/10/eveningnews/main20052599.shtml

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/04/08/news/economy/American_Airlines_fuel_crisis/index.htm

Daily Finance

dailyfinance.com/story/drivers-hit-the-brakes-as-gas-prices-rise/19908875/

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/autos/2011-04-06-prius-tops-one-million-in-sales.htm

Child identity theft sufferers hurt most often by their family

Identity thieves have zeroed in on the most vulnerable. New research shows that identity thieves are focusing increasingly on children because parents do not pay attention and the theft can go undetected for years.

Identity theft hurtful towards children

There have been thousands already sufferers of identity theft while thousands more have the risk there nevertheless. A Carnegie Mellon University CyLab cybersecurity research center report explained this clearly. The report examined the identity protection scans of 42,232 kids conducted in 2009-10 by the Debix AllClear ID Protection Network after parents were notified their children’s IDs may have been compromised. The Debix AllClear ID data showed 4,311 of the children, just a little more than 10 percent, had their Social Security numbers in use by identity thieves. That’s a child identity theft rate 51 times higher than the 0.2 percent of U.S. adults targeted by identity thieves, based on 663 attacks against 347,362 adults listed in Debix AllClear ID. The youngest it ever got was a five month old. The identity was stolen nevertheless. A 17-year old girl from Arizona found she was $725,000 in debt with 42 open accounts including mortgages, car loans and cha! rge cards. There were eight individuals that had her Social Security number. A 14-year-old boy from Kentucky had a credit score going back 10 years listing a mortgage foreclosure.

It is friendly fraud with children

After child identity theft began in the early 1980s, it has come even farther. The Social Security Administration got orders from the Internal Revenue Service. It said that children should be given Social Security numbers to go with them. Everyone with access to the Social Security numbers would typically abuse them. Kids easily became sufferers of this. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, “friendly fraud” made up 30 percent of child identity theft cases in 2010. Because credit checks do not verify age, identity thieves can freely take out loans, get charge cards and create accounts. One young man in Florida got help after finding out his father had stolen his identity and hurt his credit years before from the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Child identity theft solutions

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, every child should be taught out identity theft. They should know sharing information on the Internet isn’t always safe. All personal information, including Social Security numbers and birth certificates, should be kept in a secure place. Be worried about a child having had credit opened if mail comes in the child’s name. If you are a parent, gets a-hold of the major credit agencies. Get a credit report for the child. If no credit history exists, the child is likely in the clear. If you have a credit history for the child, file a security alert. Do this at TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Use the credit report to file a police report also. A police report listing the fraudulent accounts obligates the credit reporting agencies to remove them from the credit rating within 30 days.

Information from

Forbes

blogs.forbes.com/moneybuilder/2011/03/31/protecting-your-child-from-identity-theft/

Atlanta Journal Constitution

ajc.com/news/child-identity-theft-increases-572552.html

Wallet Pop

walletpop.com/2011/04/05/report-as-child-id-theft-grows-rapidly-consider-these-precauti/

More people paying charge cards before mortgages

United States consumer patterns in payment of debts have experienced a sea change since the recession, states the Huffington Post. It used to be that ignoring a mortgage was unthinkable. Yet when the subprime home loan crisis put several homeowners underwater, addressing charge card debt seemed the more feasible choice, states the Huffington Post.

TransUnion has tracked the disturbing trend

It may be really bad if the housing market considers mortgage delinquency acceptable. This is what is starting to occur. About 7.24 percent of homeowners in the U.S. were, in the fourth quarter of 2010, paying their charge card payments but are late on mortgages, according to TransUnion. TransUnion reported that it was 7.4 percent in the quarter before that, although consultant Sean Reardon explained this is probably not good.

"(It is now) 72 percent higher than it was at the beginning of the Great Recession,” he told the Huffington Post.

Letting charge cards sit to pay mortgage payments does not occur very often. Only about 3.03 percent of U.S. consumers do this. This is the lowest in history for this category.

Turning the tide

Not coincidentally, TransUnion found that more United States consumers started to pay more attention to their charge cards than their mortgages just a couple months after the financial collapse started in 2007. The country, when becoming more dependent on credit than anything else, has had difficulty with unemployment and the poor housing market.

The growth in number of underwater mortgages is staggering. By 2010's final quarter, many Americans already had upside down mortgages. CoreLogic reports this involved 23 percent of Americans. That amounts to 11.1 million residential properties in negative equity; up from 10.8 million (22.5 percent) in the 3rd quarter of 2010. Another 2.4 million homeowners have less than 5 percent equity, making the total percentage of negative and near-negative equity mortgages 27.9 percent nationwide. But it hasn’t just been subprime borrowers choosing to pay their credit cards instead of their mortgages, notes Reardon.

“Initially it was,” he said, “but it spread across all risk segments. It’s now an issue at the national level.”

Articles cited

Corelogic

corelogic.com/About-Us/News/New-CoreLogic-Data-Shows-23-Percent-of-Borrowers-Underwater-with-$750-Billion-Dollars-of-Negative-Equity.aspx

Huffington Post

huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/06/americans-credit-cards-mortgages_n_842756.html

Refinance your mortgage and whittle down credit card debt

youtu.be/_8dg3Vkm1I8

Center for Responsible Lending has new report on payday loans

True to form, the Center for Responsible Lending has released a new report bashing pay day loans. The CRL is among the chief lobbyists against the payday lending industry, though it allies itself with other consumer credit causes. Payday lending, along with other credit products, will soon fall under the heading of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when it begins operating in a few months.

Loan companies in treble

Payday lending is often reviled as predatory, as opponents accuse personal loan companies of trapping people into vicious cycles of debt. If the practice were to disappear, it would make the Center for Responsible Lending quite happy. This is an advocacy group for consumers. Daily Finance states a new report on payday lending was released by the organization that said individuals tend to get into debt for more than just one pay period when taking out payday loans. The report is titled “Payday Loans Inc: Short on Credit, Long on Debt” and is available on the CRL’s website.

Lawsuits

Most payday lenders have to deal with lots of criticism. There tends to be a lot of regulation for them too. Some loan providers deserve it; the number of violations committed by personal loan companies as well as the number of lawsuits including class actions show that not all short term installment loans lenders are on the level. Even though interest rates cannot be controlled by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, many hopes the CFPB will put on a cap this year after coming into impact. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should not do something like this, according to the CRL.

Risk of credit

There is a lot of scholarly literature on credit products such as pay day loans. Apparently, it is common, after a consumer starts borrowing, to get into a lot of debt. For instance, the CRL report asserts that several people are indebted to a payday lender for one to two years. That’s better than 30 years, the length of the typical mortgage. That is also better than 10 years, the length of time that people are given to repay student loans. However, those debts do not have the stigma that payday advance have been bestowed with. Even though a person could be indebted to a charge card business for years and years, most people do not look badly at credit cards either.

Citations

Daily Finance

dailyfinance.com/story/credit/payday-loans-exposed-short-term-lenders-borrowers/19898661/

Responsible Lending

responsiblelending.org/payday-lending/research-analysis/payday-loan-inc.pdf

Help grads get jobs after graduation, mothers and fathers

It is a fact of life that college career centers rarely play an essential role in helping graduate get a career. Thus, university students have to be motivated, and parents have to be willing to help. The role of parents can’t be overstated here, argues Fox Business. With active involvement, the road toward student internships could be easier to travel. Post resource – Parents can help college grads secure internships by MoneyBlogNewz.

A good idea to do an internship

Most parents are hoping the college education their kids get will eventually pay off. Most university students do not know how to find a job after graduation while most colleges aren't actively connecting graduates with jobs. It can be hard for parents because of this.

It might help a student out to try out a job for a while in a student internship. It also could get a student closer to a job. Mothers and fathers can help graduates get internship opportunities.

Don't just rely on Facebook

Nothing is more significant that being face-to-face with an employers, although it can be helpful to use online social networking. Teaching kids how to network in person may really help them after college. Making a personal connection with someone cuts straight through the contact lists and sound bites. The "go-getters" are the ones hiring managers and industry organizations want to see. According to Woody Allen, "Eighty percent of success is just showing up." This is very true.

Online social media is something to consider. Fox business reminds you to not just forget about this. Social recruiting apps on Facebook like Branch Out and Career Amp are tools any social media-savvy student can use. Consider going to Internships.com for help. You may also want to online network with LinkedIn.

See who you know

Make sure you know people that you can call in favors for in significant positions. Mothers and fathers should not be afraid to call people they know if it means helping their graduates acquire an internship.

'Big Five’ for graduates to consider

In order to become a successful intern, the student career blog I Am Next suggests applicants apply the following:

1. Make sure your supervisor likes you. This is very important.
2. Make sure you work very hard.
3. Knowing what you're after is just as significant.
4. Get help from supervisor lessons. These can guide you.
5. Get a letter of recommendation before you leave.

Citations

Fox Business

foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/04/04/parents-help-college-students-land-internship/

I Am Next

powertochange.com/students/careers/internship/

Student internships are a learning opportunity

youtube.com/watch?v=TpqJSflKaoQ

Citi changes check clearing methods to limit overdraft charges

Citi says it will refrain from gouging consumers excessively with overdraft fees when it starts clearing checks in reverse order. Financial reform rules allow consumers the choice of opting in or out of overdraft loan programs for debit cards, but the Dodd-Frank bill was written to exclude the same option for checking accounts. {On Monday Citi said it will stop the practice of milking overdraft charges from checking accounts by processing smaller checks first|By clearing checks written for smaller amounts first, Citi is keeping itself from stealing as much money as it has in the past with bogus fees|The lying, thieving bankers at Citi have chosen to restrain themselves from repeatedly charging overdraft fees by clearing smaller checks first|By clearing smaller checks first, Citi is essential taking away from itself the chance to charge its customers over and over for bounced checks. Resource for this article – Citi to give customers a break by clearing smallest checks first by MoneyBlogNewz|Citi is checking itself from charging repeat overdraft charges simply by letting smaller checks clear before a larger one sends the account into negative territory. Source of article –

More money taken by banks

In 2009, banks penalized consumers with overdraft protection on debit cards to the tune of about $20 billion. Because of overdraft on checking accounts, another $12 billion was charged by banks. bank lobbyists managed to get voluntary overdraft loan programs for checking accounts exempted from financial reform, however the FDIC is considering an opt-in requirement at smaller state chartered banks for overdraft coverage on paper checks and electronic payments. Before checking account coverage, Consumers Union suggests the consumer's permission should be what banks get to the FDIC. Consumers Union is a Consumer States non-profit publisher. The FDIC making these changes might hurt customers. You can expect other fees to be added on to Citi and Bank of America banks. When regulators respond, banks will discover other ways to make money for nothing.

Citations

Associated Press

finance.yahoo.com/news/Citi-to-start-clearing-apf-1510892963.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Consumer Reports

pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2010/11/consumer-reports-poll-only-22-percent-of-bank-customers-have-opted-in-for-debit-card-overdraft-protection.html

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/03/10/your-money/credit-and-debit-cards/10overdraft.html?_r=1

People want same day loans, FDIC claims

Customers have made certain that same day personal loans are in "tremendous demand," claims FDIC chair Sheila Bair. They’re in interest in consumers, and for banks and credit unions, even if such organizations have been unsuccessful in offering the goods to these customers. Banks have tried to get in on the same day loans origination action – but not without complications, claims a GAO report.

Places other than banks to get cash advance alternatives

There are very different fees and terms required for payday cash advance alternatives that come from credit unions and banks. Because of this, they vary quite a bit from small lending outlet same day personal loans. Banks may not like what the GAO has done to try and explain the Dodd-Frank Act and FDIC changes have helped the willingness of banks to give out payday loans:

“Recent statutory and regulatory changes and FDIC initiatives may encourage more institutions to offer small-dollar loan alternatives to payday loans or expand their availability, but many consumers may still chose to use payday loans for their wide availability and relative lack of eligibility,” says the GAO report.

A two-year FDIC pilot program illustrated that without the involvement of charitable organizations or government subsidies, banks and credit unions have been unable to popularize cash advance alternatives. The consumer base for personal loans was excluded in the requirements for underwriting as well.

Use payday advance without concern of losing a job

The notion that taking out same day loans is harmful to one’s financial reputation is disproved in the GAO report. Federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, TSA and even the Federal Bureau of Investigations put applicants through an intense employment screening process that contains a thorough financial history. Credit reports are run and other financial evaluation tools are used.

The hiring process was not affected by short term installment loan use when deciding on high security clearance positions, the GAO explained. The point of this is to make sure there are no risky behavior patterns going on. Government employees have to show stability. If banks and credit unions could ever free themselves from the policy maze and judge same day loan applicants over a more broad range of financial responsibility, perhaps the institutions could sell personal loans directly to consumers.

Citations

Community Financial Services Association of America

cfsaa.com/about-the-payday-industry/myth-vs.-reality.aspx

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/highlights/d11147high.pdf

Don’t live beyond your means, even with payday loans

youtube.com/watch?v=KjZBOCAgR64

Building credit requires the use of credit

Building a credit history is tough when a person can be denied access to credit because they do not have enough of it. If your credit rating is exceptional but you’ve been denied for a mortgage, for instance, it is most likely because you do not have enough active credit irons in the fire. Article resource – Understanding the down side of avoiding credit by MoneyBlogNewz.

Being too responsible can hurt too

Individuals who are super-responsible can never enjoy their own parties, and the same is true for customers who are monetarily super-responsible with their credit. Paying down student loans right out of the gate, avoiding excessive use of credit and generally living debt-free will save money in the long term, however some creditors do not view the credit-phobic kindly. There are some people that use credit, but have many choices to choose from. It can look bad to have credit inquiries too often though.

If you’re a serial credit card applicant or do not have a credit history, that is not always a good thing, claims Rod Griffin. Griffin is the Experian public education director. You will need to your creditors that you are able to manage several credit sources at one time, even mortgage lenders like it when this occurs.

Active credit necessary with paid off loans

Paying off loans early isn't a bad thing, in accordance with Griffin. Negative marks will stay on a FICO report for about seven years while good things stay for about 10 years. Some customers will pay off loans quickly. This makes some creditors less likely to lend. Some creditors will say no to a credit application just because there aren't three accounts open and active for about 24 months.

Do not use too many credit cards

It's a myth that college students who are just beginning to build credit should take on multiple charge cards. Used responsibly and in moderation, having one charge card or two is a fine path toward building credit.

Griffin states that this might change though. Credit bureau insiders see the new Charge card Act established under the Obama administration as a possible hindrance to young people's ability to build a credit history. The access that college students have is taken away. That means the opportunity students have to build credit is limited.

Using just cash can hurt credit

While you will not rack up revolving debt by living a cash-only lifestyle, you also won't build your credit. Make sure you’ve a credit account you pay on every month. If there is an emergency, look to installment loans or no credit check loans to help. While such goods do not traditionally report to the credit agencies – and hence don’t provide an opportunity to record optimistic marks on a credit score – they’ll enable you to keep away from building up excessive revolving debt on charge cards.

Information from

MSN

money.msn.com/credit-rating/raise-your-credit-score-to-740-weston.aspx

Yahoo

finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112152/dangers-of-avoiding-credit?mod=series-m-article-c

Understanding the Credit card Act

youtube.com/watch?v=UbIDOZz6CPw

Treasury kicks off small business lending with $53.4 million

Three states have qualified to get large money from the Treasury Department. Connecticut, Vermont, and Missouri are slated to receive an infusion of money. The Treasury Department has authorized $53.4 million worth of lending money for those states. All three states have created programs that are intended to stimulate $10 worth of small business lending for every $1 invested.

What you should know about the Small Business Jobs Act

About 50 percent of private-sector United States jobs are in small businesses while in the last 15 years, about 64 percent of new jobs came from these businesses. Small business growth has been encouraged by Congress in the U.S.. The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 was created to do this. The Treasury gave some states $1.5 billion in loan guarantees with the Act. This was only for states that planned on using programs such as loan guarantees to invest in smaller businesses in the state.

Connecticut’s $13.3 million plan

Companies are able to get insurance loans in Connecticut because of the Treasury department funds. The Connecticut Development Authority, a government-supported financial group, will be using the $13.3 million investment to insure investment portfolios. Nineteen financial institutions could be given access to the CDA funds to be able to provide loans to smaller businesses.

Vermont’s plan for $13.2 million for smaller businesses

The Treasury only needs to give Vermont $13.2 million for its plan. It plans on getting $132 million in small business lending from that. There could be business loans given to four programs. They will act like bad credit unsecured loans, not payday loans, for the companies. And $3.3 million will go to the Small Business Loan Program, which provides loans that support purchase of fixed assets (such as equipment) for companies. The Technology Loan Participation Program will get $3 million; that program aims to increase IT and Bioscience businesses in the state. About $1 million will go to portfolio insurance to lend. Another $5.9 million will go to building in Vermont with the Commercial Loan Participation Program.

Using $26.9 million in Missouri

Missouri qualified for the largest loan guarantee of the three states, at close to $27 million. There will be two funds for the money to go into. Businesses with less than 500 employees get help from the Grow Missouri Loan Participation Fund. About $10 million will go to that fund. The Loan Participation Fund provides loans of up to $3 million to help state businesses grow. The final $16.9 million will create a new venture capital fund that will focus on high-tech startup businesses.

Articles cited

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/22/smallbusiness/state_small_business_credit_initiative/index.htm

Small Business Administration

sba.gov/advocacy/7495/8420

Dodd-Frank to cost upwards of $3 billion, reports claim

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act was meant to conserve United States consumers a significant amount of money – but at what cost? Working class individuals will bear the brunt, surely. In fact, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed in a report that it will cost $2.9 billion over five years. Article source – Dodd-Frank will cost nearly $3 billion, says GAO by MoneyBlogNewz.

security in finances needs more than taxpayer dollars

While it might seem as if working class individuals are being asked to pay without end, the Dodd-Frank Act reportedly will not require full taxpayer subsidization to function, writes the Wall Street Journal. Of the 11 agencies that will be responsible for putting the Dodd-Frank laws into practice, six are either fully or partially funded by revenues and assessments from businesses and/or entities that the Dodd-Frank agencies oversee. Congressional appropriations cover three others while the Federal reserve will give money to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which money comes, not from working class individuals, but from revenues for instance assessments.

United States government gets more money from banks

Banks, credit unions, investment houses and short term installment loan outlets are slated to pay the U.S. government more to operate under Dodd-Frank laws. GAO report findings have been used by Republicans to show that Dodd-Frank won’t be good for the economy because of these concerns of over-regulation.

In order to support the 11 agencies in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, $975 million will be needed. This is a statistic the GOP loves to remind everybody of. About $2.9 billion is anticipated to be the cost of five-years. This will be the amount needed. Moreover, hiring 2,600 full-time workers (including 1,225 for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) will produce significant cost.

Other highlights from the GAO report

From the forthcoming GOP presentation to the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the Journal points out the following:

• To be able to pay 290 full-time staff that will implement the Dodd-Frank act, a total of $77.5 million will be needed, according to a Fed estimate. Three new offices – the Office of Financial stability Policy and Research, Financial Market Infrastructures Risk Analytics and Financial Market Infrastructures Oversight – were created to run Dodd-Frank laws smoothly.
• The Financial security Oversight council will, starting in the fiscal year for 2012, have to pay $7.9 million for a full time staff of seven.
• The Office of Financial Research has $74.5 million earmarked for use in fiscal 2012 and will hire 135 full-time staff to perform duties under Dodd-Frank.

Articles cited

Senate

banking.senate.gov/public/_files/070110_Dodd_Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_comprehensive_summary_Final.pdf

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/

Wall Street Journal

blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/03/28/dodd-frank-2-9-billion-over-5-years-gao-says/

GOP on what Dodd-Frank might cost small businesses

youtube.com/watch?v=6iB2fWk7Rho

Colorado HB 11-1290 alterations installment loans debate

Payday lenders and the Colorado economy as a whole felt the pain when Colorado HB 10-1351 passed, in accordance with state Rep. Larry Liston. In response to the controversial legislation, Colorado legislators have introduced HB 11-1290, which would fill the gap created when payday advance loans were banned by requiring a full payment of origination fees up front, rather than allowing for a pro-rated amount should the client pay off their short term installment loan early. Post resource – Colorado short term installment loans bill HB 11-1290 up for debate by MoneyBlogNewz.

This week, the Colorado House Bill 11-1290 might get to committee

Friday, Colorado House Bill 11-1290 was introduced. The Colorado Statesman explained that it may be debated soon. The installment loans origination fee of $20 per $100 loaned for the first $300 and $15 per $100 loaned for the next $200 up to a maximum of $500 loaned nets loan companies up to $75. In addition, a monthly maintenance of $7.50 per month per $100 and a finance charge of 45 percent could be charged in accordance with Colorado law.

Two-week payday advance loans are unlikely in Colorado now. Loan companies say the only way business can continue is if the full HB 11-1290 origination fee is charged.

Arguments between HB 11-1290 supporters and HB 10-1351 supporters

The legislation has 10 co-sponsors in the House, including Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge, who voted "no" on HB 10-1351, also as Rep. Ed Casso, D-Commerce City, who favored HB 10-1351. Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, is another anti-HB-1351 person who sponsors the bill. Another is Sen. Louis Tochtrop, D-Adams County, in support.

Technical correction or incentive to re-borrow?

Supporters of Colorado House Bill 11-1290 maintain that the origination fee change is merely a technical correction to the provisions of last year’s HB 10-1351. Rich Jones of the Bell Policy Center disagree:

"It’s an incentive for the lenders to get customers to pay off their loans early and then take out more loans," Jones told the Statesman Friday.

Information from

DORA

dora.state.co.us/Financial-Services/pdf_forms/Revised HB10-1351_2.pdf

State Bill Info

statebillinfo.com/bills/bills/11/1290_01.pdf

Colorado Statesman

coloradostatesman.com/content/992687-payday-lender-bill-being-fast-tracked-through-house

‘Steering Colorado’s economy back on course’

youtube.com/watch?v=3mHOl-S6F1s

The interchange fight from an organization perspective

In July, new legislation is designed to reduce the interchange fees charged for card transactions to 12 cents. A few legislators have submitted new legislation that would remove this new requirement. The legislation cites these fee limits as a reason companies can be “less competitive”. These limits, however, are precisely what could save smaller businesses. Article source – A small business perspective on payment systems by MoneyBlogNewz.

Interchange fee primer

Card interchange fees are, in short, fees paid for the privilege of allowing customers to use a credit or debit card. The fees cost between 12 and 75 cents every time they’re used and are called “swipe fees.". This “interchange fee” is in addition to a certain percentage of the transaction amount that is charged for use of the card. All of the percentage fees and interchange fees are taken to pay for the process. The card processor, the banks and the card machine all are paid for this way. In 2010, the fees added up to $50 billion. The U.S. interchange fees are twice and much as Europe's interchanges fees. In order to help United States companies become less competitive, congress members are attempting to push some legislation. This would make interchange fees go down.

Less individuals willing to pay an interchange fee

It is hard to determine if business enterprise should take a charge card. It costs a lot of money for an organization to pay for the credit card. This is because businesses have to pay for the credit card transactions, a percentage of the transaction and a monthly fee also. Some companies do not have lots of extra money. It is worse for these companies. Smaller businesses then have to add extra costs that are passed on to consumers. High costs, extra charges and even minimum needs are sometimes added. Consumers are likely to make bigger purchases when there are credit cards while more people are willing to use your shop.

What my experience is

My husband and I own a small business that offers a variety of products and services. It was necessary to take credit cards. We never even considered otherwise. It didn't make sense to pay the $20 to $100 monthly charge card terminal fee when we didn't have a physical location and do not make too much money with it. Start-up Square was used for our credit cards processing credit cards through smartphones and charging a flat percentage of every transaction. On an average month with $300 in sales, our company pays more than $8 in credit card fees. Added on to $30 in business taxes and $26 in sales tax we collect, the amount accessible to pay our suppliers and make a profit gets thinner. The reduction in credit card interchange fees would allow us to cut back the amount we charge consumers or be able to really hire employees. Either way, card fees may not sound like much to a consumer, however those few percentage points are what can take a small business from “su! rviving” to “competitive.”

Information from

Market Watch

marketwatch.com/story/visa-mastercard-rise-on-swipe-fee-regulation-pact-2010-06-21

Delta Air Lines reducing Japan service as fuel prices increasing

Delta Air, among other air travel services, has reduced the number of flights the airline is conducting out and in of Japan because of the disasters that have taken place there. Falling demand and increasing costs have caused numerous airlines to cut service to and from Japan after the nation was rocked by natural disaster. Airlines worldwide are also feeling the pinch of increasing costs of jet fuel. Article source – Delta Air Lines reduces services to Japan as fuel prices rise by MoneyBlogNewz.

Japan service from airlines cut

The number of flights going out and in of Japan is being reduced across the board, as main airlines have too little demand and costs are too high to keep sending flights, in accordance with Bloomberg. Japan flights have been dropped by many main airlines due to the March 11 earthquake. These include Korean Air Lines, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Singapore Airlines and Qantas JetStar line.

Reuters states service will be slowed at Delta as well. Until May, service will go down 15 to 20 percent. The business estimates the quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster will cost it $250 to $400 million. However, American Airlines has not yet declared it will reduce its service to Japan, which is provided through a joint venture with Japan Airlines. Each year, you will find over 9 million people that go to Japan from the U.S.

Price of fuel means a harder time paying for flights

Airlines worldwide have been contending for the past several months with rising jet fuel prices. There has been unrest in Libya and the Middle East for the past few weeks which has caused fuel costs to go up. Before that, the price was already increasing though because of the bad winter. As a result, air fare increases are being implemented by numerous airlines. Forbes reports that even though there have been 16 percent more Southwest Airline passengers added since past year, the airline has already increased air fares six times this year.

Put more money into summer trip costs

The increases in oil, gasoline and jet fuel prices have nothing to do with any actual shortage of supply caused by unrest in Libya, which provides only 2 percent of world supply, according to CNN. The costs end up going up due to fear. Many have concerns that there can be more unrest in more nations.

Unfortunately means that a full tank of gas is going to cost more during the summer, and many people may need installment loans to finance plane tickets for summer travel. How much more costly air tickets will become remains to be seen, however projections seem to indicate the cost of travel will continue to rise for some time.

Information from

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-22/delta-air-lines-cuts-japan-seats-up-to-20-amr-says-quake-damped-revenue.html

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-delta-idUSTRE72L3HG20110322

Forbes

forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/22/business-industrials-us-southwest-outlook_8368679.html

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/22/markets/oil_prices/index.htm

Android overtakes RIM in smartphone sales

The popularity of the Blackberry is seriously on the wane, as Android has overtaken RIM for overall sale of smartphones. Google's well-liked Android line has spread quickly, overtaking Apple and Microsoft goods within months of the first launch of an Android phone. Far more than 170 types of devices use the Android system.

Dying of the Blackberry

When it came to smartphones, Blackberry phones were at the top of the list for Research in Motion. CNN states that the business is not at the top anymore though. All of the competition has been beaten by the Google based Android system. With 31 percent of product sales, the Android beat RIM product sales and got to the top. T-Mobile carried the first Android OS phone known as the HTC G1 which came out in Nov. 2009. In early 2010, Android had only a 7 percent share of the smartphone market, but the platform has liked constant growth since its introduction. An Android OS is now the base of more than 170 types of mobile phones and tablet computers across numerous carriers.

Old mobile phones might not last long

You will find four popular U.S. smartphone platforms. Android is the only one constantly growing though. Between February 2010 and January 2011, Research and Motion's smartphone product sales have gone down with RIM from 42 percent of the market share to 30.4 percent. Windows phones have been regularly on the decline, and now make up less than 10 percent of the smartphone industry. The iPhone has been good for Apple, but not good enough. It has stayed at a constant for the sector share. Each day, about 350,000 new Android phones are activated. The Symbian OS offered by Nokia held a larger share of the industry than Android until late 2010, when Symbian product sales finally were eclipsed by Android.

Android Nokia phone probably will not occur

Just about every phone company makes an Android phone, as Google licenses it for free, and adapting it is fairly simple for any developer, however Nokia isn’t having it, in accordance with the Los Angeles Times. Nokia and Microsoft have a relationship now. It seems that Windows Mobile on Nokia phones will become the normal thing. To be able to get the right to put Windows Phone 7 on Nokia devices, Microsoft is paying $1 billion to Nokia. Both corporations could benefit from the deal.

Citations

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/technology/android/index.htm

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/03/Microsoft-reportedly-paying-nokia-more-than-1-billion-to-use-windows-phone-os.html

Four things to keep in mind whenever you rent area

Increasingly more homeowners are being forced out of their homes, and have to discover someplace new to live. This is quickly expanding the renter’s market. It is possible to make extra money by leasing out your space. If you are going to rent out area, you should take a few steps to protect your sanity. Source of article – The four basics of renting out your space by MoneyBlogNewz.

1-The local market should be looked over

Take time to research. Do these before you rent anything out. Take a look at newspaper ads, Craigslist, and online services for spaces comparable to yours. Make an appointment with a few landlords and take a look at spaces similar to what you are leasing out. Once you have made comparisons with comparable rentals and considered how much money you need to bring in, set your rental price.

2-Take laws into account

There are landlord/tenant laws in every state and sometimes individual cities. Even if you’re just leasing out a single room in your house, you need to research these laws. Most areas have at least one landlord association that offers information on the fundamentals of the law. The landlord/tenant law gives all the information needed. This consists of how much notice before entering a space is required when it is rented out while also stating what a rental demands.

3-Think about credit scores

There are not always individuals that have great credit. Sometimes credit is an issue. Your job as a landlord means deciding what is needed for potential renters. This could consist of a credit check sometimes. A credit history indicates the history of a person’s finances and bill-paying. Running a credit report on a potential renter, however, will cost you between $75 and $100. You have to make sure your renters can afford the apartment before giving it to them although this does not necessarily require a credit check. Checking references and employment history is the best way to gauge an applicant’s ability to pay.

4-Keep an eye on deposits, leases and documents

You should never rent a space to someone without paperwork. The paperwork is necessary for documentation, proof of residency, and protection of you both. Go online or to the landlord's association to find standard rental agreements although you’ll need to edit it while reading very carefully. Even in case you are friends with your renter, you need to charge a deposit of some kind. If something goes wrong — no matter how good of a friend your renter is — cleaning up after a renter moves out could be costly, and a deposit can pay for that.

Even if you plan on just renting out a single room to a good friend, you should make sure to price your area appropriately, know the law, consider the finances of your renter and do the paperwork. It’s very simple to get just a little bit of additional money in your pocket each month if you do all the work.

Return to revenue could possibly be in the future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

After years of dismal performance, home loan houses Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae finally have some good news attributed to them. The 2 troubled firms are creeping back toward solvency. Both troubled mortgage backing houses were placed under government conservatorship in 2008. Since then, the two firms have been injected with more than $130 billion in loans to keep them afloat. However, dark clouds are on the horizon. The government intentions to possibly get rid of the two government sponsored enterprises and a fresh round of foreclosures is on the horizon.

Fannie and Freddie working back to the top

Lots of bailout money went to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. They were able to continue business this way. Both home loan houses received a combined sum of more than $130 billion to keep the real estate industry afloat. However, the 2 toxic companies are starting to hemorrhage less money, according to ABC. During the last quarter of 2010, the period from October to Dec., Fannie Mae posted a loss of only $2.1 billion and Freddie Mac posted a loss of only $1.7 billion. In 2009, during this exact same quarter, the deficits were much heavier. Freddie posted $7.8 billion in losses while Fannie had $16.3 billion in deficits. Fannie has asked for $2.6 billion and Freddie has asked for $500 million in loans, even with these losses decreasing.

Stopping the home loan titans from ruling

For decades, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have played a crucial role in the real estate industry. Mortgages are purchased and then resold as investments through the companies. This means lenders can lend more home loans because capital is freed. The government is trying to find ways to get Freddie and Fannie out of the mortgage industry. Just reducing involvement might help a lot. Timothy Geithner is the Treasury Secretary. He has told Congress that, before voting, they had better have a really good plan, USA Today states. Congress was warned by Geithner that there can be really terrible issues by cutting out the two programs. The housing finance industry could be destabilized entirely with this. Geithner thinks a gradual program should be used. This is if a program is used at all.

Hopefully the worst is almost over

It is expected that Fannie and Freddie won't get much better. They are anticipated to get hurt even more soon. Until "robo-signing" cases are solved, several foreclosures cannot be completed while about 50 percent of home loans in the United States are owned by Freddie and Fannie while 90 percent were created in the last few years. In the next few years, Treasury Secretary Geithner thinks that housing prices will go up in the next few years, no matter what takes place with Freddie and Fannie, Reuters reports. Housing conditions in the last few years have brought on home to recommend that buyers put down more money. This will create stability.

Citations

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12995329&page=1

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-03-01-fannie-freddie-geithner_N.htm

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-usa-housing-geithner-idUSTRE72000P20110301?pageNumber=1