Calif. real estate licenses drop, 1st time in a decade

Click to enlarge The California Department of Real Estate reports that the number of real estate licenses in the state has ... on an annual basis, but the pace of growth tapered off from 2007 through July, a time when the housing slump spread into a global credit crunch and ultimately into a full-fledged economic meltdown [more...]

Date: 2008-12-12 21:58:12

Blog posts (114) | Videos (28)
 

Audit of California Avocado Commission uncovers at least $1.5 million in questionable spending

During the three-year audit period, 18 employees used commission credit cards to pay for purchases including meals, flowers, luxury spa services and clothes from high-end retailers, the report says. Something has been rotten at the state agency behind a splashy $7-million annual marketing blitz on television [more...]

Date: 2009-01-10 08:00:00

Is the 6-month Stock Market Rally About to End?.

by Bob Chapman Global Research October 1, 2009 The G-20 Pittsburg Summit ended last Friday. Their official statements made for some novel and interesting reading. We were informed that the group could by working together could manage a transition to a more balanced pattern of global growth. Tending to domestic demand as private savings increase. It is obvious to us this cannot work. We are seeing increased savings and decreased consumption. The IMF as well agrees with these policies. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 17:54:55

Did ACORN Get Too Big For Its Own Good

WASHINGTON – Activist group ACORN started in 1970 to help the poor in Arkansas and quickly went national, growing into a multimillion-dollar conglomerate with a mission so far-flung that schools now bear its name, two radio stations are affiliates and a man it backed is the president. Oh yeah, it’s also the unwilling star of a hot Internet video featuring a couple dressed as a hooker and her pimp. And that last bit is just one of its problems. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-20 02:25:53

Drumbeat: September 23, 2009

Chesapeake says $4 natgas too low to grow output GREENWICH, Conn. (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas prices will have to move higher to spur a resurgence in drilling activity and keep output of the fuel steady, the head of Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Wednesday. The weak U.S. economy has knocked natural gas prices sharply lower in the past 14 months, and sluggish demand for fuel has prompted producers such as Chesapeake to curtail drilling for new supplies. "The industry can cope with $4 gas. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-23 14:08:02

Financial Dispatch: Private sector still losing jobs

Andrew Torgan CNN Financial News Producer The first of this week’s big employment reports is out and the numbers are a bit of a disappointment. Payroll-processing firm ADP says private-sector employers cut 254,000 jobs in September, down from a revised 277,000 in August. But that is the smallest monthly total since July 2008, even though it’s worse than the 200,000 loss economists had forecast. Large businesses, those with 500 or more workers, let 61,000 workers go in September. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-30 16:14:02

"Paranoia Strikes Deep..."

Study Links 45,000 U.S. Deaths to Lack of Insurance Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday. "We're losing more Americans every day because of inaction ... than drunk driving and homicide combined," Dr. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-19 04:23:00

Words from the (Investment) Wise - September 20, 2009

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers demise, risky assets last week again marched higher to the tune of economic data supporting the argument of a global economic recovery. A realization among investors that the economic transition from recession to recovery was gaining momentum, resulted in many global stock markets scaling fresh peaks for the year. Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, on Tuesday said the US recession “is very likely over”. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-20 17:24:08

Houses and factories

As a nation we are facing some very difficult conditions. We have made personal consumption, the financial industry, health care and housing the  engines of our economy. The fuel for this economic activity has been excessive levels of borrowing at the personal, corporate, municipal and federal levels. Our debt levels are staggering. Making all this borrowing possible has been the very low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve. I’m not singing a new song here… this is common knowledge. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-21 12:15:27

AEI Interns’ Transcripts in Date Order: Their Own First Draft of History

First of all, I want to reemphasize everything Laurie just said. This is not a new threat, and this is not a threat we did not know about. Saddam Hussein has, in many ways, openly dreamed of mass death in the United States. He has shared his dreams with his nation and the world many times. We also know he has actively planned to do so many times, and Laurie’s book is a rather convincing argument that he is active and successfully implemented plans to do so as well. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-28 08:30:21

News 9/23/09

From Shane O’Keefe : “Re: Boingboing. Healthcare UI is on it it today.” It’s a Minnesota HHS app screen shot . I thought sure it was from my hospital since we’ve got an app that’s a dead ringer, PF keys and all. One of our clinical apps at a hospital I worked at jumped from merely unattractive and clunky screens to what nurses called “the DOS screen,” some kind of function the vendor must have slapped in there in the early 1990s without ever finishing it. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-22 20:17:26

Where will synthetic biology lead us?

by savwafair2012 (Posted Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:45 pm) SORRY ABOUT THE LONG READ 2009-09-25 The first time Jay Keasling remembers hearing the word “artemisinin,” about a decade ago, he had no idea what it meant. “Not a clue,” Keasling, a professor of biochemical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, recalled. Although artemisinin has become the world’s most important malaria medicine, Keasling wasn’t an expert on infectious diseases. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-25 14:45:18

INTERMEX FINANCIAL (2009-09-21 14:49)

U.S. Leading Economic Index Increased 0.6% in August (Update2) By Shobhana Chandra Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose for the fifth straight month, capping the longest stretch of gains since 2004 and signaling a recovery is under way. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-21 21:49:00

Where has the Bailout Money Gone? Good Billions After Bad

Where has the Bailout Money Gone? Good Billions After Bad Vanity Fair by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele As the Bush administration waned, the Treasury shoveled more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in tarp funds into the financial system—without restrictions, accountability, or even common sense. The authors reveal how much of it ended up in the wrong hands, doing the opposite of what was needed. Just inside the entrance to the U.S. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-28 06:17:36

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (September 14 – 20, 2009)

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers demise, risky assets last week again marched higher to the tune of economic data supporting the argument of a global economic recovery. A realization among investors that the economic transition from recession to recovery was gaining momentum, resulted in many global stock markets scaling fresh peaks for the year. Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, on Tuesday said the US recession “is very likely over”. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-20 08:06:45

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (September 14 – 20, 2009)

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers demise, risky assets last week again marched higher to the tune of economic data supporting the argument of a global economic recovery. A realization among investors that the economic transition from recession to recovery was gaining momentum, resulted in many global stock markets scaling fresh peaks for the year. Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, on Tuesday said the US recession “is very likely over”. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-20 08:06:45

Text of Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, The Senate's Cap-and-Trade Climate Legislation

A SUMMARY OF THE CLEAN ENERGY JOBS AND AMERICAN POWER ACT AS INTRODUCED September 30, 2009 SECTION 1 . SHORT TITLE ; TABLE OF CONTENTS . This Act may be cited as the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act”. Sections 2. Findings. Describes the impacts of climate change and the benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy. Section 3. Economywide Emission Reduction Goals. Establishes targets for reducing global warming pollution. Section 4. Definitions. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-01 12:11:00

Where's the Outrage for Unemployed, Underemployed and Paycheck-to-Paycheck Living?

60% Living Paycheck to Paycheck by Karen Datko - MSN.com Counting down the hours until payday? You're not alone. As the economic downturn trudges on, many workers are struggling with household budgets. About six in 10 workers -- 61% -- report they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet, compared with 49% last year and 43% in 2007, according to a new nationwide survey of more than 4,400 workers by CareerBuilder. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-24 05:57:00

Free Identity Theft Monitoring for AAA Members

If you’re an AAA member in California, Hawaii, New Mexico or Texas, you’re suddenly eligible for a free credit monitoring service, provided by Experian. While I was looking through the fine print (a free service for you provided by ConsumerismCommentary.com), I found this, which gave me pause: You are receiving a complimentary credit monitoring membership. Your membership is effective for the period disclosed to you when you received your activation code. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 11:56:15

Floatin' Powa News Service: You Drink Because I am Bad!

.. and they drink because I am good. Hamas children's program teaches kids to kill Jews Of course, silly headline, how else can they achieve peace but through the blood of the Juden? Saudi envoy: No peace without Israeli concessions The ultimate "concession" they are after is our very life's breath, to which please let me respond with: NO! L'CHAIM, ya MFers! [more...]

Date: 2009-09-24 16:25:00

Blocking, Tackling & Running: Leveraging a Crisis Into Real Change

There's a fairly well known cartoon of two scientists working out a problem on a chalkboard covered with complex equations and down in the circle is a little circle with the key step inserted in small print - "and then a miracle occurs". Wouldn't it be nice if we could take the same short-cut to fixing the horrendous shopping list of significant [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 20:07:11

Paulson Bank Bailout in ‘Great Stress’ Misses Terms Buffett Won

Henry Paulson’s bank bailouts, done under “great stress” during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, failed to win for U.S. taxpayers what Warren Buffett received for his shareholders by investing in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Treasury secretary made 174 purchases of banks’ preferred shares that include warrants to buy stock [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 18:02:45

Windows Azure and Cloud Computing Posts for 9/24/2009+

Windows Azure, Azure Data Services, SQL Azure Database and related cloud computing topics now appear in this weekly series. Note: This post is updated daily or more frequently, depending on the availability of new articles in the following sections: Azure Blob, Table and Queue Services SQL Azure Database (SADB) .NET Services: Access Control, Service Bus and Workflow Live Windows Azure Apps, Tools and Test Harnesses Windows Azure Infrastructure [more...]

Date: 2009-09-27 21:52:00

Ponemon Institute and Imperva Survey Shows Companies Still Struggle to Protect Consumer Credit Card Data

Ponemon Institute and Imperva Survey Shows Companies Still Struggle to Protect Consumer Credit Card Data REDWOOD SHORES, California and TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan, September 23/PRNewswire/ – – 71% of Companies do not Treat PCI as a Strategic Initiative – Yet 79% Have Experienced a Data Breach - 55% do not Secure Social Security Numbers, Driver’s License Numbers, and Bank Account Details; Consumers are More at Risk With Smaller Businesses - Data Security Leader Imperva Provides Recommendations [more...]

Date: 2009-09-23 14:23:17

Announcing Our Blogroll

Here it is! The blogroll has finally arrived. I’ve tried to provide a diverse group of links here ... wanted to know about getting a job in accounting or finance. From cleaning up your credit report prior ... . This is more of a full service website dedicated to all things related to international accounting standards [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 16:24:14

Words from the (investment) wise 9.20.09

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (September 14 – 20, 2009) Marking the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers demise, risky assets last week again marched higher to the tune of economic data supporting the argument of a global economic recovery. A realization among investors that the economic transition from recession to recovery was gaining momentum, resulted in many global stock markets scaling fresh peaks for the year. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-20 14:00:20

Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/2/2009

In tonight’s news: Israel is poised to send ground troops into Gaza.A Muslim family was removed from a plane before takeoff, and is being compensated by the airline for the error. CAIR is in high dudgeon about the incident.Thousands of shoes were dumped on a Miami expressway — is that a message for President-eject Bush? [more...]

Date: 2009-01-03 04:42:00

Monster Mash: Breaking News and Headlines

-- L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art is in deep financial trouble. Read Mike Boehm's front-page report in today's Times ... a museum and foundation offices in Beverly Hills. Another report on that possibility here. -- Nominees for the 59th annual National Book Awards will be announced tonight in New York. They include [more...]

Date: 2008-11-19 18:24:36

In The News Today

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary The concept utilized by the BIS to value OTC derivatives is "value to maturity," a computer program. Now consider when evaluating a SIV backed by a mix of mortgages determined by the computer program. What will value to maturity REALLY be worth 5 or even 10 years from today? It isn’t possible to calculate, yet these are the values now adopted and blessed by the FASB. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-22 17:48:38

The Garrett, Watts Report (September 30, 2009)

    To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends, What would be better, (a) having one $40 million warehouse line with Bank of America, or (b) having $25 million with the Bank of America and $10 million with Comerica or Flagstar?  Even though (a) is for $40 million and (b) is for only $35 million, we’d probably recommend option (b).  Having two lines is almost always better than having just one, even if the one line is somewhat bigger than the two combined. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-30 18:45:19

Bank of America (BOA), Wells Fargo (WFC) End 2008 with Major Buyout Deals

Two major U.S. banking deals were completed yesterday (Thursday), enabling the suitors to finalize the deals before 2008 came to a close ... buyouts worldwide, and not lending at home, as a Money Morning investigative report demonstrated ... in merger advice in 2008, Thomson Reuters reported. The combined company’s brokerage, credit card [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 12:36:15

State Workers Fight Over Cutbacks as States Want More From Obama

As the budget crisis deepens, state employees are fighting each other for survival. Potshots are thrown between management vs. non-management, union vs. non-union, teachers vs. everyone else. In addition, governors want $1 trillion out of a total package of $850 billion Congress is likely to send to Obama to sign. The math does not add up [more...]

Date: 2009-01-03 19:53:00

Good Times For Resale In California

Reuters reports on California. “Home sales in the San Francisco Bay area rose nearly 39 percent in October from a year earlier and the median home price posted a record fall, a report on Thursday said. The median price paid for all homes ... in the prior month and 8.2 percent a year ago, according to MDA DataQuick.” “‘The dramatic, near free [more...]

Date: 2008-11-20 20:19:16

Prices are right, is it time to buy?

Recent data out from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that its home affordability index (HAI) ... was calculated annually, and in 1973 the HAI averaged 147.8. (It’s highest annual average was 154.8 in 1972 ... years back. Those with weak credit reports or low down payments are finding fewer and more costly [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 19:28:31

Factory Orders Tumble, Retail Sales Fall, Foreclosure Sales Triple

The string of bad news continues as factory orders plunge, retail sales fall, home prices sink and foreclosure sales soar ... down as credit is more difficult to get,” said Douglas Smith, chief economist for the Americas ... Wood, president of Insight Economics LLC in Danville, California, wrote in a note to clients. “ [more...]

Date: 2009-01-06 20:25:00

HOLLYWOOD's HOTTEST BUNS: the fine behind of Beyonce; her backside is beyond the realm of bubble perfect; she has a stupid butt!

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (pronounced /biːˈɑn.seɪ/, born September 4, 1981), commonly known as Beyoncé, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools, and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 04:59:00

Experian’s New Subscription Plan Enables Small-Business Professionals to Reduce Risk and Save Money

Experian’s New Subscription Plan Enables Small-Business Professionals to Reduce Risk and Save Money Business Credit Pro(SM) gives small businesses the freedom to research business backgrounds and credit scores at a low price COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ — Experian , a global information services company, today announced Business Credit Pro(SM), a new online subscription plan that provides instant access to multiple business credit reports at a low price. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-22 10:23:29

Collective American Denial and the Prior Japanese Experience

I have mused over the parallels between the imploding American economy and the deflationary spiral which gripped Japan in the early 1990s ... to equal all the real estate in California), and the Japanese Nikkei Index is still only 80 ... , America is going to close ground fast once we start posting those $1.5 trillion annual budget [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 05:53:00

California Mortgage Quote - Why is it Higher than Elsewhere

California mortgage quotes allow you to compare and contrast interest rates and evaluate the overall costs of securing a mortgage with various ... mortgage quotes for California real estate: The first is to arrange for a copy of your credit report ... on! In addition, you should keep in mind that a California mortgage quote is dependent upon your credi [more...]

Date: 2009-01-06 18:43:17

Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/13/2008

My favorite story tonight is the one about the Bedouin tribe in north Israel who claim Barack Hussein Obama as a long-lost member.Should be an interesting family reunion…Thanks to Abu Elvis, C. Cantoni, Diana West, Insubria, JD, Kahane loyalist, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold [more...]

Date: 2008-11-14 04:59:00

Appraisal Fraud and Industry Standards Described in 2003 Official White Paper-RED FLAGS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL WITH EXCELLENT DIAGRAMS EXPLANATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF BEST PRACTICES

loan_origination_mortgage_fraud_ffiecloan_origination_mortgage_fraud_prevention_response_nelsonRed Flags • Critical loan processing activities, such as  verification of income, employment, or deposit, is delegated to brokers. • Delegated underwriting allowed for correspondents that are new or lack an established track record with the FI [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 15:33:10

Checking in on the… Ivy League

David Zeitlin is the RTC correspondent for the Ivy League. Let’s see … what to report from the Ivy League from the last two weeks. Hmm ... and Harvard Celebrate the Win Over BC (photo credit: NBC Sports)When Harvard (9-6) pulled off that shocker ... No. 1 team in the land. And two, how ’bout that Tommy Amaker, huh? While I agree that Harvard is the best [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 02:22:00

Best Blog Posts of 2008 (Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves)

Last year my compilation of what bloggers chose as their own best posts of the year proved so popular, at least with the participating bloggers' mothers, that I have decided to make it an annual affair. But enjoy it while you can. When the Obama Administration institutes its secret plan to extend the Fairness Doctrine to the Internet, this blog, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-29 21:00:00

New Year's Day Economic Potpourri

Heading into the new year, the news is finally slowing down. Here are a few headline news reports of interest from the past couple days ... and it's not a small cut, either.Currently Microsoft employs about 90,000 people across the world ... January 15th. That's almost 17 percent of Microsoft's total work force, not exactly a small number.The [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 00:46:00

WSF Headline Roundup - 1/8/09 -  SEC Probes Pequot again; Wal-Mart warns; India's Enron; Frank: TARP aid for munis; Mtge rates < 5%; BOE cuts rates to lowest since 1694!; Intel warns; Lower '09 metals prices?; Other retailers warn; MGM Mirage to cut debt

SEC Reopens Probe of Trading at Pequot Wal-Mart’s Fourth-Quarter Earnings Will Miss Forecast $1bn fraud at India IT group Satyam Accounting Scandal ... Falls Retailers End Dour 2008 With More Weakness; Wal-Mart Warns Retailers report dismal December ... , according to an SEC report. After a two-year probe, interviews and a review of emails, the SEC [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 13:40:42

Media &amp; Politics

Media &amp; Politics 07-Jan-09 Permanent link to MTA daily media news The Heretik Freedom Rider: Bush Goes Out a Winner (by Margaret Kimberley at the Black Agenda Report) Bush is leaving office in the popularity ... monitoring their sense of understanding. They may in fact be swinging between doubt and closure [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 18:33:23

DrumBeat: December 14, 2008

Global oil supply will peak in 2020, says energy agency Global oil production will peak much earlier than expected amid a collapse in petroleum investment due to the credit crunch, one of the world's foremost experts has revealed. Fatih Birol, chief economist to the International Energy Agency, told the Guardian that conventional crude [more...]

Date: 2008-12-14 14:06:53

FRIDAY JANUARY 16, 2009

THIS SITE SUPPORTS ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN OF ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, EMS CREWS, IN ADDITION TO ALL SERVING IN THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, NO MATTER WHERE YOU MAY BESUPPORT OUR TROOPS ALWAYS WEAR RED ON FRIDAYSNEW BRUNSWICK HIGHWAY HIGH RISK MOOSE &amp; DEER LOCATIONSNEW BRUNSWICK HIGHWAY VIDEO CAMERASNew Brunswick Weather: [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 14:29:00

Daily Dose: 12/10/08

» AsianWeek Market Report » Robberies Targeting Asian Americans in Philadelphia Area » Unlicensed Chinese After-School Program Shut Down » Volunteers Needed for Asian Chefs Association Annual Holiday Meal » Muni Contractor Must Pay ... Compiled by Josh Laddin and Connie Zheng AsianWeek Market Report AsianWeek Market Report Asian [more...]

Date: 2008-12-10 20:57:41

The Best Gubernatorial Campaign of 2008

The Best Gubernatorial Campaign of 2008 Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels handily defeated his Democratic opponent despite a tough landscape for incumbent Republicans and the fact that Obama carried the state. (AP Photo/ Indianapolis Star, Frank Espich) Yesterday we started our year-end awards by naming state Sen [more...]

Date: 2008-12-30 15:30:35

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