Articles from VIActin - investment opportunities

Moody’s Economy.com: Survey of business confidence for world
2007-12-24 02:46:00
“Global business sentiment is very weak and fragile. This is particularly true in the US where confidence slumped last week to its lowest level in the five years of this survey, and where it is now consistent with a contracting economy. Expectations regarding the outlook through mid-2008 are particularly bleak, and responses regarding sales strength, inventory investment, and office space are also soft. Confidence is stronger outside the US, but it has notably weakened across the globe during the past month. While pricing pressures have risen with oil prices near $100 per barrel, they remain notably muted compared to the pressures that prevailed during previous oil price spurts.”Source: Moody’s Economy.com ...

China to Play a Greater Role as Donor at the World Bank
2007-12-24 02:14:00
Source: World Bank works with Chinese on Africa; China to Play Greater Role in World Bank World Bank President Robert Zoellick visited Li Ruogu, the chairman of the Chinese Export-Import Bank to discuss the possibility of conducting joint development projects in the future. The visit also addressed international concerns about Chinese lending in Africa. China has distinguished itself from other donors by not attaching conditionalities to its loans; however, it has yet to provide guarantees of debt forgiveness, either.Zoellick’s visit reflects the change in the World Bank’s approach to China. The Bank is now working to accommodate China as it transitions from recipient to donor country. As Zoellick noted at his meeting with Li, China has recently made donations to the International Development Association at the World Bank. The Bank is now seeking to recruit more Chinese staff. ...

Greenspan Backs Help For Homeowners
2007-12-17 08:03:00
USA Today reports former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan "suggested Sunday that a tax break or other government financial help for homeowners facing the mortgage crunch would be the best political fix for the economy," but he "cautioned against meddling with home prices or interest rates to address the housing problem." On ABC's "This Week," Greenspan said, "Cash is available and we should use that in larger amounts, as is necessary, to solve the problems of the stress of this."The Financial Times reports Greenspan's remarks were "likely to fuel growing political pressure for a more radical response to the housing crisis." The New York Times reports, "Two ways to help homeowners directly would be to reduce taxes or to give cash grants similar to those given to disaster victims. Either approach would strain the federal budget, but Mr. Greenspan said, 'It's far less damaging to the economy to create a short-term fiscal problem, which we would, than to try to fix the pri ...

How Top Companies from Rapidly Developing Economies are Changing the World
2007-12-11 08:22:00
Companies from rapidly developing economies (RDEs) are globalizing so quickly that they pose an urgent threat to industry leaders, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) warns in the second edition of its report on 100 of the most formidable companies from RDEs. The report -- titled "The 2008 BCG 100 New Global Challengers: How Top Companies from Rapidly Developing Economies are Changing the World" -- is being published today."Industry leaders need to understand these new rivals and act quickly," urges David Michael, the report's coauthor and a Beijing-based BCG senior partner. "For those who move fast, the challengers could become key clients, suppliers, and even strategic partners. For those who don't, the challengers will represent fierce competition and, in time, become potential acquirers." By many measures, the BCG 100 New Global Challengers are already outperforming established industry leaders. In the past five years, the Challengers grew revenues faster than the S&P 500 -- in ...
Developing

That crisis has hurt only two types of borrowers
2007-12-11 03:46:00
That crisis has hurt only two types of borrowers: Those who want a lot of money -- more than $417,000 to be exact. And anyone with bad credit -- those with credit scores below 620.Here's why:Banks and finance companies obtain much of the money they loan for mortgages from two government-chartered companies -- commonly referred to as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- or large private investors such as retirement plans, hedge funds and insurers. Those investors panicked at the prospect of billion-dollar losses because a growing number of homeowners are defaulting -- primarily borrowers with poor credit who were given dangerous, adjustable-rate mortgages.By early 2009 more than 2 million ARMs given to borrowers with credit scores below 700 will have reset to higher interest rates, pushing payments up by 30% to 100%. That's more than many of those homeowners can afford.lmost everyone blames this mess on lax lending standards and a screwed up system that rewarded mortgage brokers for pushing ...

Negative Ripple Effect on the Economies of the Nation's Metropolitan Areas
2007-12-06 05:56:00
Using Global Insight's proprietary databases and extensive housing analyses, the report for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, "The Mortgage Crisis: Economic and Fiscal Implications for Metro Areas," examines the effects of the housing recession and mortgage crisis on the economic growth prospects for 361 of the nation's metropolitan areas. Weak residential investment, lower spending and income in the construction industries, as well as curtailed consumer spending resulting from decreased home equity will have "multiplier effects" on the nation's economy. Other report findings include: The foreclosure crisis alone will reduce home values by an additional $519 billion in 2008, bringing the total forecast of lost equity for the nation's homeowners to$1.2 trillion. In 2008, the economy will grow at a rate of 1.9%, a full percentage point lower than would have been the case without the mortgage crisis. Foreclosures will increase by at least 1.4 million in 2008; these homes represent a mark ...

Update - Federal Debt Consolidation Program
2007-11-29 01:50:00
A federal debt consolidation program covers federal student loans as well as other federal loans. Interest rates, regulations and benefits keep changing. Find some of them right here.The United States Department of Education is the governing body for the Federal Family Education Loan Program(FFELP). Federal debt consolidation loan interest rates are fixed across the board. Subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford, Perkins Loans, Nursing Loans and Health Education Assistance loans may be consolidated only after graduation. Only fully disbursed loans can be consolidated. Married couple cannot combine their loans. School students do not qualify for loan consolidation. They must wait till graduation to be eligible for federal loan consolidation. --------------------A private lender can consolidate almost all your federal loans, including cases of multiple lenders. You must be wondering, why one should ever go to a private lender when the loans can be consolidated through the federal Government ...

House mortgage bill
2007-11-16 01:04:00
House mortgage bill. The bill, passed Thursday evening by a 291-127 vote, garnered support from 64 House Republicans. No Democrats were opposed.The bill would ban lenders from making loans that borrowers can't repay, create a nationwide licensing system for mortgage brokers and make Wall Street banks that package mortgage securities into investments liable for violations of lending laws.Many Republicans were critical of the bill's provision to increase banks' liability, with Rep Ed Royce, R-Calif., calling it a "trial lawyer's dream."Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., on Thursday blocked an effort by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to get quick approval of a bill to expand authority for the Federal Housing Administration, a Depression-era agency that insures loans made to low-income borrowers.A similar bill, backed by the Bush administration, passed the House in September.It would permit the agency to insure loans at large as $417,000 -- about $54,000 more than the cur ...

Buffett backs estate tax, decries wealth gap
2007-11-15 08:06:00
Billionaire Warren Buffett on Wednesday endorsed the estate tax as a check on wealth accumulation, while two senior U.S. senators said they want the tax repealed.Revisiting a long-standing debate over the controversial tax, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing where Chairman Max Baucus said he supports ending the estate tax, although he said he did not expect this to happen any time soon."I think everyone in this room knows we're not going to repeal the estate tax. It's not going to happen in the foreseeable future," he said.The Montana Democrat was joined by Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the panel's top Republican, who said, "The estate tax is unjust. ... Death should not be a taxable event."But Buffett, the second-richest man in America after Bill Gates, according to Forbes magazine, said recent tax law changes have tended to benefit people like him."Dynastic wealth, the enemy of a meritocracy, is on the rise. Equality of opportunity has been on the decline," Buffett said. "A ...

Second Generation 80 GB Microsoft Zune Review
2007-11-15 07:47:00
The much-anticipated wait for the next-generation Zune is now over with the release of the 80 GB Zune in November, 2007. This new Zune sports some nice upgrades over the first generation Zune including more Wi-Fi capabilities, smaller size, podcast support, and larger LCD screen. Microsoft is getting closer and closer to Apple's reign as king of the portable media devices.Microsoft has redesigned the new Zune to be a bit smaller than the first generation model which was bulky and a little heavy. The new Zune is just a tad larger than the iPod Classic, so it is much better suited for traveling in a pant pocket than before.Microsoft has also increased the screen size in the 2nd generation Zune to 3.2 inches. The LCD screen also has an optical glass protective shield which further improves clarity and protects the screen from scratches.The new navigational pad is called the "Zune pad" by Microsoft, and it is somewhat like the touch-pad on your laptop. The Zune pad can also be used like a ...
Microsoft

U.S. MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Rose 5.5% Last Week
2007-11-14 09:36:00
The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to buy a home or refinance a loan increased 5.5 percent to 707.3, the highest this year. The group's refinancing gauge rose 6.4 percent and its purchase index climbed 4.8 percent. Even with the rise, economists foresee little chance of recovery in the two-year housing slump until at least mid-2008, as stricter lending practices and a glut of unsold homes for sale prompt buyers to wait for further prices declines."We look for the housing market to continue to restrain growth through deeper construction cuts and weaker consumption,'' Michelle Meyer, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York, said before the report. Subprime mortgage foreclosures will cut U.S. home values by $223 billion, the Center for Responsible Lending said in a report yesterday. Homeowners living near foreclosed properties will see their property values fall $5,000 on average and about 44.5 million houses will be affected, the Durham, North ...

Quebecor World Announces Refinancing Plan
2007-11-14 09:22:00
MONTREAL - Quebecor World Inc. (TSX:IQW) says it will sell up to $778 million worth of additional shares and debt securities to investors and to its controlling shareholder, Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B), in a refinancing of its debt and credit facilities.Quebecor World also said its syndicate of lenders will reduce their credit facility commitment to $375 million, but extend the maturities by one year to 2010 and provide the company with greater financial flexibility under its covenants.The announcement Tuesday come as Quebecor World's shares are trading at their lowest prices in at least a decade. ?????????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ???????????. They traded at an intraday low of $4.85 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down 25 cents from the previous close.The shares, worth $13.17 a year ago, have been trending down since February with major ...

High cost home insurance for UK homeowners
2007-11-14 04:56:00
According to the organisation some 26 per cent of homeowners do not get more than one quote for their home insurance. This means up to 8.55 million homeowners could be turning their backs the best possible deal. A further 16 per cent only secured one further quote when securing home insurance. Worryingly, only 22 per cent of homeowners got more than three quotes when they renewed their insurance. Homeowners cited a number of reasons for their unwillingness to look for the best deal on their home insurance. Up to 45 per cent trusted their existing insurer to provide them with a good value quote. However, eight per cent of homeowners did not have the time to look for more than one quote, while 12 per cent admitted they simply could not be bothered. Only one per cent thought they could not get a cheaper quote. ...

Social Network for Neighbors Fatdoor Raises $5.5M, Hires New CEO
2007-11-14 00:14:00
Social network for neighbors Fatdoor has raised $5.5M in its first round of institutional funding. The company has also brought aboard ex-Yahoo Jennifer Dulski as its CEO.The investment group was led by Norwest Venture Partners with the participation of KeyNote Ventures. Dulski comes to Fatdoor after nine years at Yahoo where she served variously as VP/GM of Local Markets and Commerce, VP/GM of Yahoo Autos, and VP of Business Unit Marketing.Fatdoor aims to connect you with your neighbors by providing a localized social network for your physical community. Although the site will be in private beta until the spring of 2008, a handful of details have been publicly available since at least June. The website will integrate with Microsoft Virtual Earth to display local business and residential listings on an interactive map. Once users claim their listings, they can add profiles and put down their interests. Users can then plan events and form local interest groups with the site.Fatdoor will ...

Windows 7 feature request list leaks out
2007-11-13 09:20:00
Although the Vista transition is far from complete, that doesn’t mean Microsoft isn’t already hard at work on Windows 7, the next version of the venerable operating system — and this list of user-requested features unearthed by the folks at NeoWin might hold some clues as to the future. The “wish list” was sent out by Microsoft before Windows 7 development even began, so most of these features probably aren’t even on the radar, but what’s most interesting is that seemingly small fixes like “Window Update progress indicator” vastly outnumber big-ticket items like “integrated audio / video codec manager” and “Windows ‘Game’ Mode.” We’d say that speaks to a major lack of imagination, so consider this a years-early How Would You Change?, and sound off in comments — personally, we’re hoping for a transactional file system, but we know you all can totally outdo us. ...

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