| Analysts predict wave of home refinancing
The economic stimulus plan agreed on Thursday could unleash a wave of mortgage refinancing that would amplify the effect of the Federal Reserve's 75 basis-point interest rate cut this week, according to analysts. While the Fed has cut rates aggressively, until now a large number of homeowners and would-be buyers have not been able to take advantage of the lower interest rates, because of high spreads in the dysfunctional secondary market for jumbo (large denomination) loans. Under the plan, the so-called conforming loan limit would be expanded for the two government-sponsored enterprises to 125 per cent of area median sales price up to a maximum of $729,750, from a current $417,000. Now more homeowners will be able to refinance or take out new mortgages in the functioning segment of the market that “conforms" to Fannie and Freddie rules.
Rock holes fiscal rules
The pillars of what defined Gordon Brown as Chancellor have begun to look distinctly wobbly since he became premier. There was the ditching last autumn of that powerful symbol of his entente with Britain's wealth creators, the 10 per cent capital gains tax rate. And now the Northern Rock debacle is set to blow out of the water a resonant manifestation of his financial prudence, the sustainable investment rule. This was one of two so-called fiscal rules designed to stop any Chancellor from spending and borrowing too much. Under the sustainable investment rule, public-sector debt must be no more than 40 per cent of British economic output or GDP. Though Mr Brown has frequently been accused of creative accounting to prevent the rule being broken, the ratio has always been below 40 per cent under his tenure – and is currently forecast to be 38 per cent in April.
Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Stimulus-Package Stock Plays
If the proposed economic stimulus package gets approved, consumers will be spending some of their tax rebates at retailers, Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show on Thursday. Retail stocks trade off of their same-store sales numbers, he explained, and with the comparisons from last year so low, retailers can't help but benefit. In this regard, Cramer likes such retailers as Guess (GES - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), J. Crew (JCG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Lowe's (LOW - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). He notes that Liz Claiborne (LIZ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Jones Apparel (JNY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) should also do well. And he's still a fan of Costco (COST - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), TJ Maxx (TJX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and even Urban Outfitters (URBN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) at these levels.
Clinton Turns to Economic Issues
Party leaders nixed the idea, reflecting their fears of attacks from antitax Republicans. Many of Mrs. Clinton's proposals are familiar, but they have been packaged into what she calls "a new economic blueprint for a 21st century economy." Initiatives on savings, mortgage and college aid are new. Among the retread initiatives are several to spur technological innovation, including a proposed $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund financed by oil companies to underwrite research on energy alternatives. Mrs. Clinton's economic emphasis coincides with that of the Republican presidential candidates, who meet today in Dearborn, Mich., for a debate on the subject sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and MSNBC. The confluence of events underscores the two parties' different approaches to addressing the public's growing sense of economic insecurity.
Habits for Wealth: Punctuality Pays
Get rich. Achieve financial independence. Become a millionaire. Do you write something like that on your list of New Year's resolutions every year? If you're like me, any resolution becomes an obsession for a week, then fizzles into a hazy cloud of good intentions that evaporates by Valentine's Day. Resolutions just don't stick -- unless we turn the motivation to change into lasting habits. Just as that potato chip addiction must be turned into a fever for exercise, you can get rich, achieve financial independence, or become a millionaire by changing your habits. Millionaires don't necessarily possess a secret formula for wealth. They work at it a little bit, every day. .
Music sales fall despite digital growth
Technology and social change always affects business. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. It sucks when you're on the wrong end, but that's the way it is. In the end, it is usually best for most.
If you can use that argument to justify outsourcing, you can certainly use it to justify the effect of the entertainment business. Posted 24/01/08 at 6:50 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
BANK’S BILLIONS FOCUS 1.15 BURNT IN 10 DAYS
Suspicions linger that the bank has not revealed the full story of the fraud. It initially claimed that Kerviel had so brilliantly manipulated its computer systems that he had completely covered his tracks. Yesterday, however, Bouton admitted that some of Kerviel’s deals had triggered warning signs in recent months but the trader had "managed to convince the controllers that it was just a simple error on his part". It was a damning admission for a giant bank that a junior trader could have talked his way out of a €50 billion hole. Is Kerviel really solely to blame? And could the same thing happen to other banks? THE son of a blacksmith and a hairdresser, Kerviel grew up in the town of Pont l’Abbé in Brittany. As a teenager he had a strong interest in judo and his former instructor remembers him as a "fighter".
Join the motorbike crowd
If you want to get anywhere quickly, hop onto the back of a moto driver's bike (drivers hang out on every street corner) and he'll take you anywhere for about 50 cents. It's really fun and, statistically speaking, incredibly dangerous (sorry, Mom). If you're a teenage girl in Saigon, you ride on the back of your boyfriend's moto and hold onto his stomach. If you're anyone else — and if you're riding on the back of a stranger's bike — you don't hold on at all. You just balance with your hands on your knees, looking bored. If you're a tourist, you hold on with both hands, look terrified, and occasionally yelp when your driver runs three red lights in a row. Cross the road and hope not to die A quick note on crossing the street in Ho Chi Minh City: Oh.
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