AFL.com | Preview: St Kilda v Western Bulldogs AFL.com St Kilda has an interesting run home with games against Collingwood, Geelong and Carlton interspersed with the Bulldogs, Melbourne and GWS. This is one of the must-win games and a defeat would be an enormous setback in such a competitive field for ... |
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Preview: St Kilda v Western Bulldogs - AFL.com
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Sunday, July 29, 2012
Expert: Phoenix-area home sale increase may not signal recovery - Phoenix Business Journal:
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Some 11,820 previously owned homes were sold in comparedwith 9,980 in May and 7,87o0 in June 2008, according to data collectedd through ASU’s Realty Studies program. Abouyt 34 percent of last month’s sales were for properties in some stage of foreclosure. About half of the othee June sales represented previously foreclosed properties that were take n back bythe lenders. “While there is hope that the housingh troubles are beginningto ebb, the recenr rise in activity ... does not necessarily representt recovery,” Butler said. The currenty market, he said, is driven by “investors lookin for a deal, especialluy with the potential ofgreat appreciation.
It is not driven by the traditional owner-occupant looking for a place to That’s an unfortunate dynamic, given the need for individual stability ineconomic recovery. “Recovery cannoyt really take place untilthe owner-occupan t looking for space is the fundamental market force, and the other areas of activity — investment and foreclosuresd — return to their respective historical norms,” Butler • More expensive homes represent a growing segmenty of foreclosures, with 22 homes valuer at more than $1 million entering the foreclosure Seven of those are valued at more than $2 • Lender or bank-owned properties are being put back into the market with significant ranging from an averags of 51 percent in Maryvale to 30 percent in El Mirage and 12 percenyt in Tempe, perhaps the strongest submarket in the Valley.
Rapidly declining values in certai n neighborhoods because of foreclosur activity make it harder for existing residentx to take advantage of loan modification programs that would help them avoid foreclosure on theirfown homes. • The affluent Nortbh Scottsdale area saw a slight increas e in median home values inJune 2009. The median price for a foreclosedr propertywas $451,595, compared with $451,530 in May 2009. The mediaj price for a traditional salex transaction in the same areawas $460,000 in June, comparee with $435,000 in May. • The lowest median price s in June were recorded in theWest Valley’se Maryvale neighborhood.
The highest median as expected, were recorded in Paradise Valley. For more: .
Some 11,820 previously owned homes were sold in comparedwith 9,980 in May and 7,87o0 in June 2008, according to data collectedd through ASU’s Realty Studies program. Abouyt 34 percent of last month’s sales were for properties in some stage of foreclosure. About half of the othee June sales represented previously foreclosed properties that were take n back bythe lenders. “While there is hope that the housingh troubles are beginningto ebb, the recenr rise in activity ... does not necessarily representt recovery,” Butler said. The currenty market, he said, is driven by “investors lookin for a deal, especialluy with the potential ofgreat appreciation.
It is not driven by the traditional owner-occupant looking for a place to That’s an unfortunate dynamic, given the need for individual stability ineconomic recovery. “Recovery cannoyt really take place untilthe owner-occupan t looking for space is the fundamental market force, and the other areas of activity — investment and foreclosuresd — return to their respective historical norms,” Butler • More expensive homes represent a growing segmenty of foreclosures, with 22 homes valuer at more than $1 million entering the foreclosure Seven of those are valued at more than $2 • Lender or bank-owned properties are being put back into the market with significant ranging from an averags of 51 percent in Maryvale to 30 percent in El Mirage and 12 percenyt in Tempe, perhaps the strongest submarket in the Valley.
Rapidly declining values in certai n neighborhoods because of foreclosur activity make it harder for existing residentx to take advantage of loan modification programs that would help them avoid foreclosure on theirfown homes. • The affluent Nortbh Scottsdale area saw a slight increas e in median home values inJune 2009. The median price for a foreclosedr propertywas $451,595, compared with $451,530 in May 2009. The mediaj price for a traditional salex transaction in the same areawas $460,000 in June, comparee with $435,000 in May. • The lowest median price s in June were recorded in theWest Valley’se Maryvale neighborhood.
The highest median as expected, were recorded in Paradise Valley. For more: .
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Citizens customers face rate hike - San Francisco Business Times:
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While most of the insurer’s more than 1 million customer s will see ratesgo up, some will see them go down as a resultg of Wednesday’s action, Citizens spokesma n John Kuczwanski said. The vote ends a three-year rate freezed that was put into effectin 2007, when the Florida Legislaturde froze rates through the end of 2009. However, during the last legislative session, lawmakers decided to allow Citizens to raise its rates by up to 10 percentg to help bolster theundercapitalized insurer, at the same time, protect consumera from skyrocketing premiums. Without the cap, policyholders would have seen rateasnearly double.
However, lawmakers did not address the question oflowering rates. That became an issuwe of contentionat Wednesday’s meeting, and board membersa agreed to allow for a decrease in premiums of up to 10 if warranted. “There was some discussio n about how toaddress that, taking into consideratio the need for Citizens to become a more financiallyh stable entity,” Kuczwanski said. The next step is for the recommendes new rate structure to be presenter tothe , which can approve or adjust the Because it’s a state-run agency, Citizenzs would not have the right to Kuczwanski said.
While most of the insurer’s more than 1 million customer s will see ratesgo up, some will see them go down as a resultg of Wednesday’s action, Citizens spokesma n John Kuczwanski said. The vote ends a three-year rate freezed that was put into effectin 2007, when the Florida Legislaturde froze rates through the end of 2009. However, during the last legislative session, lawmakers decided to allow Citizens to raise its rates by up to 10 percentg to help bolster theundercapitalized insurer, at the same time, protect consumera from skyrocketing premiums. Without the cap, policyholders would have seen rateasnearly double.
However, lawmakers did not address the question oflowering rates. That became an issuwe of contentionat Wednesday’s meeting, and board membersa agreed to allow for a decrease in premiums of up to 10 if warranted. “There was some discussio n about how toaddress that, taking into consideratio the need for Citizens to become a more financiallyh stable entity,” Kuczwanski said. The next step is for the recommendes new rate structure to be presenter tothe , which can approve or adjust the Because it’s a state-run agency, Citizenzs would not have the right to Kuczwanski said.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
MGIC to invest $1B in new subsidiary - Sacramento Business Journal:
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The Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer (NYSE: MTG) also announcex Thursday morning its eighth consecutive quarterlynet loss. MGIC said its net loss for the quarted ending June 30was $339.8i million, or $2.74 per compared with a net loss of $99.9 million, or 81 centxs in the same quarter a year ago. Chairmahn and CEO Curt Culve r saidthe company’s financial resultsz continue to be adversely impacted by increaserd mortgage delinquencies and the “severe housing correction.” MGIC executives continue to believs that MGIC has more than adequate resources to pay all of its insurex claim obligations on the existing insurancr in force.
The subsidiary, known as , will writee new business starting Jan. 1, 2010, the company said. to the U.S. Securitiex and Exchange Commission that they were formulating a plan for writing new business viathe subsidiary. The subsidiaryg previously wrote mortgage guaranty insuranc but has not written new businesssince 1985, when MGIC emergedd from what, until recently, had been the most traumatic period in its 52-yea history. The Wisconsin insurance commissioner placed MGIC in conservatorship in 1985 afterthe company’xs then-owner, Baldwin-United Corp. of Cincinnati, filed for Chapter 11 MGIC emerged from those troubles when managemengt led a buyout financedby Milwaukee-basecd .
MGIC has received approval from itsprimaryt regulator, the Wisconsin Office of Commissioner of to proceed with reactivating the subsidiary. The compangy needs to secure further regulator approvals before it can write new The company is tapping the subsidiary to address concernsx thatits risk-to-capital ratio mightt eclipse regulatory requirements and prevent MGIC from writingb new business. “In order to provided certainty that we would be able to continue writinfg new business on anuninterrupted basis, we needed to write new busineses in a company which has a lowe r risk-to-capital ratio,” Culver said.
MGIC will provide capital for the subsidiar y intwo $500 million installments, the first of which is to be made by July 31, and the seconxd within five business days after Jan. 1, 2011. When the subsidiary becomew fully operational, MGIC will stop writing new business. MGIC will continure to collect premiums on its insurance business and will pay claims on that businesw but will no longer writenew insurance, the company The subsidiary will be run by executivews of Total revenue for MGIC’ second quarter was $454.5 million, compared with $424.5 million in the second quarter of 2008. Net premiums writtemn for the quarterwere $330.4 million, compared with $371.
8i million for the year-ago Net premiums written for the first six months of 2009 were $677.9 compared with $740.3 million a year earlier. Included in other revenue for the second quarter was a gainof $8 milliohn that resulted from the company’s repurchase of $40.3e million of long-term debt due in September 2011. New insurancer written in the second quarterwas $5.9 compared with $14 billion in the second quartedr of 2008. New insurance written for the firsg six months of 2009was $12.3 billion comparesd with $33.1 billion in the first half of 2008. MGIC stoclk opened lower Thursday, but rose by mid-morning before closing up 76 cents at $4.70, or more than 19 percent for the day.
The Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer (NYSE: MTG) also announcex Thursday morning its eighth consecutive quarterlynet loss. MGIC said its net loss for the quarted ending June 30was $339.8i million, or $2.74 per compared with a net loss of $99.9 million, or 81 centxs in the same quarter a year ago. Chairmahn and CEO Curt Culve r saidthe company’s financial resultsz continue to be adversely impacted by increaserd mortgage delinquencies and the “severe housing correction.” MGIC executives continue to believs that MGIC has more than adequate resources to pay all of its insurex claim obligations on the existing insurancr in force.
The subsidiary, known as , will writee new business starting Jan. 1, 2010, the company said. to the U.S. Securitiex and Exchange Commission that they were formulating a plan for writing new business viathe subsidiary. The subsidiaryg previously wrote mortgage guaranty insuranc but has not written new businesssince 1985, when MGIC emergedd from what, until recently, had been the most traumatic period in its 52-yea history. The Wisconsin insurance commissioner placed MGIC in conservatorship in 1985 afterthe company’xs then-owner, Baldwin-United Corp. of Cincinnati, filed for Chapter 11 MGIC emerged from those troubles when managemengt led a buyout financedby Milwaukee-basecd .
MGIC has received approval from itsprimaryt regulator, the Wisconsin Office of Commissioner of to proceed with reactivating the subsidiary. The compangy needs to secure further regulator approvals before it can write new The company is tapping the subsidiary to address concernsx thatits risk-to-capital ratio mightt eclipse regulatory requirements and prevent MGIC from writingb new business. “In order to provided certainty that we would be able to continue writinfg new business on anuninterrupted basis, we needed to write new busineses in a company which has a lowe r risk-to-capital ratio,” Culver said.
MGIC will provide capital for the subsidiar y intwo $500 million installments, the first of which is to be made by July 31, and the seconxd within five business days after Jan. 1, 2011. When the subsidiary becomew fully operational, MGIC will stop writing new business. MGIC will continure to collect premiums on its insurance business and will pay claims on that businesw but will no longer writenew insurance, the company The subsidiary will be run by executivews of Total revenue for MGIC’ second quarter was $454.5 million, compared with $424.5 million in the second quarter of 2008. Net premiums writtemn for the quarterwere $330.4 million, compared with $371.
8i million for the year-ago Net premiums written for the first six months of 2009 were $677.9 compared with $740.3 million a year earlier. Included in other revenue for the second quarter was a gainof $8 milliohn that resulted from the company’s repurchase of $40.3e million of long-term debt due in September 2011. New insurancer written in the second quarterwas $5.9 compared with $14 billion in the second quartedr of 2008. New insurance written for the firsg six months of 2009was $12.3 billion comparesd with $33.1 billion in the first half of 2008. MGIC stoclk opened lower Thursday, but rose by mid-morning before closing up 76 cents at $4.70, or more than 19 percent for the day.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Wachovia report: Florida hit harder by recession - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
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Florida went into the recession nine monthe ahead of the rest of theUnitexd States, and excesses in housing and commerciap real estate are considerably worse than the natio n as a whole, the report Statewide, the median salesx price of existing homes is down aboutg 45 percent from the peak of the housing boom in Novembe 2005, but the drop in the Tamps Bay area is even steeper at about 60 Employment conditions continue to the report says.
The state’s unemploymenf rate is expected to top out arounfd11 percent, Wachovia projects, with a loss of 720,000 including 430,000 jobs lost this reported 137 layoff events during the firsf quarter, more than double the previous Job losses are heaviest in industries with directr ties to the building boom, including construction and Wachovia said. Wachovia estimates Floridians saw a net lossof $1.2 trillionj in household wealth during 2008 with about two-thirds of that drop occurring in financia assets.
Florida went into the recession nine monthe ahead of the rest of theUnitexd States, and excesses in housing and commerciap real estate are considerably worse than the natio n as a whole, the report Statewide, the median salesx price of existing homes is down aboutg 45 percent from the peak of the housing boom in Novembe 2005, but the drop in the Tamps Bay area is even steeper at about 60 Employment conditions continue to the report says.
The state’s unemploymenf rate is expected to top out arounfd11 percent, Wachovia projects, with a loss of 720,000 including 430,000 jobs lost this reported 137 layoff events during the firsf quarter, more than double the previous Job losses are heaviest in industries with directr ties to the building boom, including construction and Wachovia said. Wachovia estimates Floridians saw a net lossof $1.2 trillionj in household wealth during 2008 with about two-thirds of that drop occurring in financia assets.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
LandMar files for bankruptcy - Triangle Business Journal:
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The Jacksonville-based residential development company was amontg 125 affiliates that filed along with itsparent Charlotte-based , in the Western District of Crescent’s estimated liabilities are more than $1 billion, according to the and its largest debt, at $13.6t million, is to Bank of America. The filing was according to a statementon Crescent’s Web site, for the companyh to reorganize its finances, reduce its debt leveo and improve its capital Crescent intends to operate its continuing businessesz without any significant interruption during the restructuring process because of a recently obtained debtor-in-possession financing facility of $110 millionb from a group of its existingy lenders, according to the statement.
Andrew Hede, Crescent’d chief restructuring officer, has been nameed CEO while its formerchief executive, Arthur Fields, has retired and will work with Crescent in an advisory “We have been in active discussionsz with our lenders and other stakeholders as we work towardxs an agreement that will bring our capital structure in line with the currenf economic environment,” Hede said in a statementt on the company’s Web site.
Charlotte-based Crescent has been pursuing alternatives to shores up its balance sheetfor months, including selling some of its The company is jointly owned by (NYSE: DUK) and Morganb Stanley and has 38 residentiap communities under development in the Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Crescent acquired a controlling interesty in LandMar in 1999, but left LandMar’s Ed Burr, in controkl of the company until he resignesd after a failed attempt to buy back the compant in 2007. The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission authorized city lawyers in May to start the foreclosure process onthe 41-acrr parcel that was to be the Shipyards.
Plans for the Shipyardxs included 1 million square feet ofoffice 100,000 square feet of commerciak space, 662 residential 350 hotel rooms and 150 marina LandMar has developed or had plans to develol dozens more properties in Florid a and throughout the
The Jacksonville-based residential development company was amontg 125 affiliates that filed along with itsparent Charlotte-based , in the Western District of Crescent’s estimated liabilities are more than $1 billion, according to the and its largest debt, at $13.6t million, is to Bank of America. The filing was according to a statementon Crescent’s Web site, for the companyh to reorganize its finances, reduce its debt leveo and improve its capital Crescent intends to operate its continuing businessesz without any significant interruption during the restructuring process because of a recently obtained debtor-in-possession financing facility of $110 millionb from a group of its existingy lenders, according to the statement.
Andrew Hede, Crescent’d chief restructuring officer, has been nameed CEO while its formerchief executive, Arthur Fields, has retired and will work with Crescent in an advisory “We have been in active discussionsz with our lenders and other stakeholders as we work towardxs an agreement that will bring our capital structure in line with the currenf economic environment,” Hede said in a statementt on the company’s Web site.
Charlotte-based Crescent has been pursuing alternatives to shores up its balance sheetfor months, including selling some of its The company is jointly owned by (NYSE: DUK) and Morganb Stanley and has 38 residentiap communities under development in the Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Crescent acquired a controlling interesty in LandMar in 1999, but left LandMar’s Ed Burr, in controkl of the company until he resignesd after a failed attempt to buy back the compant in 2007. The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission authorized city lawyers in May to start the foreclosure process onthe 41-acrr parcel that was to be the Shipyards.
Plans for the Shipyardxs included 1 million square feet ofoffice 100,000 square feet of commerciak space, 662 residential 350 hotel rooms and 150 marina LandMar has developed or had plans to develol dozens more properties in Florid a and throughout the
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Society's dilemma with lone-wolf killers - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Minneapolis Star Tribune | Society's dilemma with lone-wolf killers Minneapolis Star Tribune Tom Sullivan, center, embraces family members outside Gateway High School where he has been searching franticly for his son Alex Sullivan who celebrated his 27th birthday by going to see "The Dark Knight Rises," movie where a gunman opened fire ... OCCUPIER IN CHIEF Batman is proving a flashpoint for anxieties about the mob versus the individual |
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