MD property owners might be charged a maintenance payment

The number of foreclosures in the nation is continuing to rise in certain areas. A fee is supposed to address several of the issues associated with foreclosures. One Maryland county is hoping that payment might be the solution. This exact same bill would give the county the right to charge homeowners criminally if their home falls into disrepair.

Foreclosures in Maryland

Foreclosures in MD have been high for quite a while. This has been the case since 2008 when the housing collapse happened. For every 457 households, there was 1 foreclosure in Prince George County in MD in 2011. Property values are going down a lot with the people that refuse to maintain homes in Prince George County while inventory goes up. Not only does this lead to urban blight, Prince George County tax revenues are falling.

Appeal for foreclosure costs

In order to do something with homes that are not maintained, Prince George County has been trying to appeal to state lawmakers. A fee is something the county wants to put on foreclosed homes. It would be $75 a year. This money would go into a county fund that would pay for contractors to clean up abandoned homes. The short term installment loan of foreclosed would have to pay just one more payment. The county would also be given the right to send inspectors to check on foreclosed homes.

Problems with foreclosure fees

Getting a short-term loan in the form of foreclosure fees is meant to help the city care for foreclosed homes and improve property values. The fee would not be easy to get. It would become a severe issue. The $75 fee wouldn't be collected from the homeowner in debt by the county. Banks would end up having to pay the payment on any properties that are not maintained. In fact, it would be a per-house payment sent to banks. The county would have to discover a way to make sure that the payment gets paid. It might be done by simply creating a civil misdemeanor offense for not “keeping a property up to neighborhood standards.”

Information from

Washington Examiner

washingtonexaminer.com/local/maryland/2011/02/pg-council-wants-charge-fee-foreclosure-cleanups

Obama sharpens focus of medical care conscience terms

In parts of the United States, conscience clauses exist within health care laws that permit medical care workers to refuse performing procedures that breach their religious values. Critics of the clause believe that a doctor can’t refuse to treat a patient if that treatment can conserve a life. The Hippocratic Oath compels medical professionals to treat individuals fairly and without bias. Now several of those workers will no longer be able to site the conscience terms, reports the Washington Post. Obama’s reworking of the clause strips out many of the protections written in by the last Bush administration. People take out short term cash for health care, and do not expect their doctor’s spiritual beliefs to get in the way of their health care.

Conscience clause was something George W. Bush put in

During President Bush’s final days in office, a conscience clause was inserted into laws pertaining to medical care workers. There were many concerns stated by the Bush administration as to why the conscience terms were submitted. These involved giving single women birth control, treating homosexual patients and giving emergency contraception.

According to the Obama administration, the rules are "unclear and potentially over-broad in scope." The new version of the conscience clause, which goes into impact in 30 days, removes the above exceptions however maintains long-standing federal protection for those medical care workers who refuse on conscience/religious grounds to perform abortions and sterilizations. There was not any change in the process through which medical care workers can file complaints.

The easiest method to regulate federal funds

Under the Bush regulations, federal money to state and local governments, hospitals, health plans and clinics were cut off if the organizations didn’t accommodate medical care workers who exercised religious conscience in declining to perform procedures.

You will find clearer definitions of the conscience law with Obama though. There has been more attention put on women's health. The new regulation makes it much easier to get abortions, contraceptive and fertility treatments. The roadblocks are taken away.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made a statement about what Obama did:

"The administration strongly supports provider conscience laws that protect and support the rights of health care providers, and also recognizes and supports the rights of patients. … The rule being issued today builds on these laws by providing a clear enforcement process."

Citations

OFR

ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2011-03993_PI.pdf

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021803251.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert

Wikimedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience_clause_%28medical%29

Lou Dobbs’ story on the conscience clause

youtube.com/watch?v=Ge4k6IjERkQ

Internal Revenue Service e-mail scams can steal your identity

Each tax season, unscrupulous individuals come out of the cyber-woodwork to prey on unsuspecting working class individuals. Unfortunately, 2011 tax time is no different. Malicious Internal Revenue Service scam e-mails can ruin your computer and steal your private information. Article source – Beware the new IRS e-mail phishing scam, taxpayers by MoneyBlogNewz.

Private tax e-mails never from the Internal Revenue Service

The Times-Gazette spoke with Internal Revenue Service media relations representative Dan Boone who said that e-mails about tax returns are never sent out by the IRS.

"If you get an e-mail that looks like comes from the IRS and it looks like it has something to do with your personal taxes or business taxes, it’s a scam," said Boone.

While there is not one specific IRS con e-mail in circulation, there is a common theme. Social security numbers, bank account numbers and other personal information is what identification thieves are looking for in these e-mails to try and get credit in your name or your money. Typically, the fraud e-mail dangles a refund as a result of consumer however says the consumer must provide banking information on a special refund form in order to facilitate a "transfer" of funds.

"There is no refund form. Your tax return is your refund form," said Boone.

How to proceed with an IRS con

Boone states you need to not click on any links in e-mails or download any attachments if you get an e-mail from the IRS.gov. This can open up your computer to malware and viruses that can potentially steal sensitive data from your computer’s hard drive or record your keystrokes. Whether or not a connection in an information-seeking IRS scam e-mail redirects a taxpayer to a site that looks like IRS.gov, the fact is the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t send working class individuals e-mails that require private data.

The Internal Revenue Service encourages taxpayers to report fraud of any kind. Forward suspicious e-mails to phishing(at)irs.gov. There are not going to be IRS return receipts. Keep this in mind. If you would like more information, you are able to get it fairly very easily. IRS form IR-2006-49 is where to look.

Information from

IRS

irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=155682,00.html

Shelbyville Times-Gazette

t-g.com/story/1704349.html

Beware e-mails that appear to be from the IRS

youtube.com/watch?v=Kw7f7pO3CAM

Curveball confirms accusations he lied about Iraq WMD

The CIA mole known as "Curveball" who relayed information to the Bush administration about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq now states he lied. Curveball is really an Iraqi named Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, who said he had found secret labs in Iraq used to produce biological weapons. Curveball now states he lied about WMD so that Bush would invade Iraq and get rid of Hussein. This is a story a pay day loan couldn’t have bought to make up. Source for this article – CIA informer Curveball admits he lied to help Bush start Iraq war by MoneyBlogNewz.

Powell and Bush support lie from Curveball

Claims by Curveball that Iraq had WMD have long been discredited. Curveball has insisted for years that he told the truth. But on February 16 he told The Guardian newspaper he made it all up. After escaping Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and fleeing to Germany, al-Janabi started telling German intelligence agents that Iraq had hidden mobile bioweapons laboratories throughout the country. Curveball’s claims were presented as the truth in a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations and George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address. Bush admits that weapons of mass destruction were not really in Iraq after the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003.

CIA doubted Curveball from the beginning

When al-Janabi got there, it was hard to believe him. German intelligence wasn't so sure about what was going on. The false testimony on Iraqi bioweapons that al-Janabi gave was about the asylum application. This is what previous head of the CIA in Europe Tyler Drumheller believes. CIA Chief George Tenet was warned by Drumheller that Curveball wasn't reliable since he never believed the tale. After al-Janabi fesses up, Drumheller told The Guardian that if Curveball lied to oust Saddam Hussein, then he is “one of the world’s greatest strategic planners.”. Another thing Drumheller mentioned was the Bush administration needed evidence to go to war for the public. That is why they used Curveball's story.

Curveball faces backlash for coming clean

Even though about 4,500 U.S. military members and over 100,000 civilians in Iraq have passed away because of the Iraq war, Curveball said he was glad to have helped the Bush administration go to war. Al-Janabi's home of Germany doesn't approve of what was done. It is a criminal offense to lead to war with one's actions. Even though it had been known that al-Janabi lied, $4,000 a month was being paid to him still by German intelligence. He wants to return to Iraq. Nevertheless, politicians in Iraq want him to be totally exiled.

Citations

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/16/colin-powell-CIA-curveball

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/16/world/middleeast/16curveball.html

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/chatter/2011/02/curveball.html

Payday loans live to see another day in Kentucky

Kentucky lawmakers who stood behind House Bill 182 are actually wallowing in the pain of defeat, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal. The proposed payday lending legislation was voted down 13 to 10 in the Kentucky House Banking and Insurance Committee. Military loans in the state will remain at a federally mandated 36 percent.

Keeping cash advance businesses open

Louisville Democrat Rep. Darryl Owens, who served as the sponsor of House Bill 182, compared the payday loans bill to a cooked piece of meat.

"It’s done. You can stick a fork in it," he said.

Despite numerous extant studies that illustrate that payday lending is much less expensive than comparable alternatives and that a legitimate, non-exploitative market for the product exists, Rep. Owens and others cling to the belief that payday loan interest rates are "obscene.". Surveys show that most users of pay day loans have enough income to repay the loan while it is uncommon for there to be defaults and rollovers even though some people who use payday advances really are out of financial shape.

Kentucky disagrees with Rep. Owens and company

Kentucky Deferred Deposit Action is a payday lending industry group that John Rabenold is in. He said that House Bill 182 would have been "a job killer". When loaning $100 with an Annual Percentage Rate of thirty-six %, not much would be earned. Only one dollar in profit is made. The "profit" is taken away totally after a payday advance business pays for operational and salary expenditures. In Kentucky, about 650 payday lending outlets would have to shut down. That means around 2,000 jobs would be lost. No politicians who plan to run for office again want that on their resumes.

Kentucky wants to keep payday loans available

Consumers whose access to traditional credit has been restricted because of credit history will inevitably experience financial shocks from time to time, particularly when emergency expenses arise. It might be for medical bills or automobile repairs. Either way, it is necessary to have quick cash from payday advances. The Courier-Journal reports that Democratic Rep. Jim Gooch thinks that families in Kentucky need access to the payday lending industry. He is worried that families would have nothing to do when an emergency arises.

Information from

Louisville Courier Journal

courier-journal.com/article/20110216/NEWS01/302160106/1010/FEATURES/House-panel-rejects-payday-loan-bill?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Magic formula recipe for Coke reemerges in overlooked news column

The formulation for Coca-Cola is one of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the history of the United States. Yet the recipe for Coke was printed in a news story year’s back. The article the Coke recipe appeared in was featured in "This American Life," a public radio program. Coca-Cola denies the published recipe, which includes common ingredients available online, is authentic. Now there is no need to take out a payday cash advance loan to try and make the recipe.

How the secret Coke recipe was revealed

In 1886, the formulation for Coca-Cola was put together. An Atlanta doctor named John Pemberton came up with it. It has been reported that only two individuals who know how to mix the secret ingredient called “Merchandise 7X” are alive at any one time. However “This American Life” found what it said is the formula for Coca-Cola in an article published in the February 18, 1979, edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The hand written recipe for Coke was supposedly found by a columnist. This person said to have found it in a notebook that was passed down for generations by pharmacists. The article has a photo of a book open to a recipe which is referred to as a copy of Pemberton’s original formulation for Coca-Cola.

Learning to make Coke without cocaine in it

A recipe referred to as the original Coke formulation has turned up before. The designed original Coke recipe was put in a book called "For God, country and Coca-Cola" in 1993. It was written by journalist Mark Pendergrast. Coca-Cola has claimed that the recipe in Pendergrast's book differs from the formula used to make Coke. The executives might just be talking about the original recipe. The extract of coca leaves was required in it. The modern version of Coca-Cola uses “spent” coca leaves. The cocaine is extracted with the spent coca leaves. The cocaine extraction is not all that good. The cocaine alkaloids do not leave. Thus, today’s Coke contains trace amounts of cocaine.

Addicting part of Coke

When Dr. Pemberton formulated Coca-Cola extract, he took it to a local pharmacy, where it sold for five cents a glass. The "asymmetrical" flavors that have a ton of sugar and caffeine combined with sweet, sour, bitter and salty makes for an addictive Coke. Also, the pH level of the mixture is lowered with carbon dioxide under pressure, or carbonation, making it easier for the bloodstream to absorb the sugar and caffeine.

The alleged original Coke recipe:

Fluid extract of Coca 3 drams USP
Citric acid 3 oz
Caffeine 1 oz
Sugar 30 (it is unclear from the markings what quantity is required)
Water 2.5 gal
Lime juice 2 pints
Vanilla 1 oz
Caramel 1.5 oz or more to colour

7X flavour (use 2 oz of flavour to 5 gals syrup):
Alcohol 8 oz
Orange oil 20 drops
Lemon oil 30 drops
Nutmeg oil 10 drops
Coriander 5 drops
Neroli 10 drops
Cinnamon 10 drops

Articles cited

Today Show

bites.today.com/_news/2011/02/14/6051765-has-cokes-secret-recipe-been-uncovered?gt1=43001

This American Life

thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe

Daily Mail

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356810/Is-Coca-Cola-recipe.html

Guru Focus

gurufocus.com/news.php?id=120119

Trans fats increased danger of depression in six-year diet research

Danger of depression increased with the intake of trans fats during the course of a recently published study. But people in the study consuming a Mediterranean diet were less likely to be depressed. The connection among trans fat and depression could possibly be stronger in the United States where trans fats are much more prevalent in the food supply.

Trans fats trigger depression

Depression was much more likely to occur in people who ate trans fat by 48 percent. A research done at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain explained this. The increase in the danger in depression was documented in people who obtained more than 0.6 percent of their calories from trans fats. To draw their conclusions, scientists tracked more than 12,000 people for 6 years. In the beginning of the study, no participants had depression. This was clear. Everyone getting less trans fat at the beginning of the study had less of a chance of getting depression. However, anyone that had more trans fat had an increased risk.

Trans fats make inflammation take place

Part of the trans fat/depression research had a questionnaire on diet and medical conditions administered at the beginning. It was administered again at the end of the study. It was found the more trans fats consumed, the greater the risk for depression. A Mediterranean diet was good for people. Depression was uncommon in these people. Swelling is common among those with depression. This led the research director to suggest this has a link with depression also. Swelling goes up, which means higher heart disease chances, HDL cholesterol goes down and LDL cholesterol goes up with trans fat. Olive oil a key component of a Mediterranean diet, contains compounds that help reduce inflammation.

Trans fat consumption in the United States

Americans might get a wakeup call from the Spanish study. Milk and cheese was where much of the trans fat came from in the Spanish subjects. The highest amounts averaged 0.4 percent of total calories too. An American diet averages about 2.5 percent of calories from trans fat, in large part from processed foods. When it comes to intake of trans fats and cases of depression, the U.S. leads.

Citations

MSN

health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100269616&GT1=31009

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-26/saturated-or-trans-fat-in-food-may-increase-risk-of-depression-study-says.html

Medical News Today

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215021.php

The tough choices made by auto loan underwriters

Auto loan underwriters tend to be forgotten among the progenitors of the economic downturn, however careless choices concerning subprime loans created a great deal of defaults. Lack of care analyzing the subprime market’s ability to repay its automotive loans led to financial upheaval. Now, the automotive business is striving to pay closer focus on auto loan underwriting standards, reports Wards Auto. Article source – Underwriting auto loans after a recession by Car Deal Expert.

All the facts are needed in auto loan underwriting

In order to get approved with a credit history that isn't quite up to speed for an automobile loan, there has to be greater attention paid. Price Waterhouse and Cooper Consumer Financial Group senior manager Douglas Ekizian explained that a borrower can have a few dings in a credit history but doesn't appear to be in a terrible loan default could be approved. Sometimes it seems clear that the applicant has the ability to pay back the loan. In these cases, the underwriter makes a decision based on the consumer's history.

In general, better car loan underwriting choices come when there is as much information as possible that is available. Make sure the underwriter has your full income and employment data. Ekizian claims this so that analysts can do "more than a cursory review of credit-bureau forensic analytics.".

Using impulse to determine to lend

With added detail, an automobile loan underwriter can pinpoint specific incidents that can cause an odd loan default, in accordance with Alliance Acceptance CEO Ray Thousand. Often, a default right after job loss is something overlooked. This is only the case as long as there are not any other problems with a credit history. The market has relaxed when it comes to credit for auto loans. This is why consumer risk finance manager of Toyota Motors Financial Services, Adem Yilmaz, said borrowers are nevertheless considered with a bankruptcy on the report.

"Determining willingness to pay back a loan is the gut call of the day. We're looking for evidence of ultimately trying to make good on the loan," said Thousand.

Auto loan defaults: Children of recession

A boom in car loan defaults occurred in 2008 and 2009, years which were particularly bad for the United States economy. Many of vehicle loan corporations either had to get bailout dollars or went bankrupt because of this. Hopefully the auto financing business can now make cautious underwriting choices. Then, the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.

Citations

Wards Auto

wardsauto.com/home/auto_loan_analysts_110204/

Understanding the role of loan underwriting

youtube.com/watch?v=Q7OvlYjNt9w

AOL bets that Ariana Huffington can rescue it from irrelevance

AOL has announced the purchase of the Huffington Post, a news website founded by Huffington in 2005. AOL’s Huffington Post purchase is one of several recent deals the company has made in a try to remain viable. Huffington is going to take over AOL’s entire stable of editorial content material, which has been criticized for emphasizing quantity over quality. It makes you wonder if AOL had to take out a personal loan to pay that price tag.

Huffington change of heart is what AOL wants

A deal with the Huffington Post/AOL could be an intelligent move. It might revive AOL. While the Huffington Post has been on the rise, AOL has turn into a fading figure in the shadow of Google and Facebook. As the AOL dial-up customer base either dies off or realizes that AOL is no longer necessary, the company has scrambled to reverse a ten-year slide. Revenue went down from ads 29 percent from 2009 to 2010 while AOL cut 2,500 jobs. There wasn't a very good search for fourth quarter earnings either. There was a 26 percent drop. The Huffington Post should be able to help AOL become profitable again. Hopefully this happens by 2013 for AOL's sake.

Huffington changes AOL writing

The liberal blog was how the Huffington Post started. A $1 million purchase was given to Ariana Huffington to start it. Now there are 200 people working for the Huffington Post. In 2010, it made $31 million in revenue. At the beginning, the Huffington Post got news from traditional outlets. That changed though. Journalists from the New York Times and Newsweek have been employed on to the Huffington though. AOL, which has built a reputation as a glorified content farm, is betting that Huffington and the Huffington Post will counter that negative image. The AOL new Huffington Post Media Group would have Huffington as the president and editor in chief. That would mean things such as TechCrunch, 5min Media and Thing Labs would be at her disposal.

Huffington snapshot

Athens, Greece, was where Ariana Stassinopoulos was born. She then went to the Cambridge University of England and got an MA in economics. She married Michael Huffington, a Bay Area oil millionaire, whom she divorced in 1997. Huffington ran as an independent candidate for governor of CA in a 2003 recall election won by Arnold Schwarzenegger. You will find 26 million visitors a month to the Huffington Post now which was started in 2005. Soon the AOL/Huffington Post deal should be closed. This spring is when it is expected to happen.

Citations

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/07/business/media/07aol.html?_r=1&hp

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704422204576130002551387710.html

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2011/02/07/technology/aol_huffington_post.cnnw/

Personal buyers drive United States automobile sales to a powerful start in 2011

The new year is starting out on a high note for United States automobile sales. United States automakers reported year-over-year revenue gains for January. Historically, January is a notoriously slow month for United States car revenue. Coming off a late 2010 surge, analysts expect U.S. auto sales to gain further momentum with new models and an economy that gradually improves.

Recovery of U.S. automobile industry evident

The automobile sector sale and pricing site, truecar.com reported sales increases in January. Almost every United States automaker reported this. The low financing rates, stable fuel prices, demand, consumer confidence going up and new models of automobiles are what are making the U.S. auto industry do so well. The Ford Motors explorer was redesigned. Others are also anxious about the General Motors Volt plug in hybrid and the Ford Explorer. The biggest sale increases in U.S. automakers occurred with Ford Motors and General Motors that got the new models and public perception in manufacturing fixed.

Car sales within the United States statistics

The fact that January’s United States car revenue figures showed less emphasis on fleet revenue at deep discounts than in 2010, is another encouraging sign for the sector. The slide in fleet revenue means households are returning to dealer showrooms. There was a 9 percent increase in revenue that Ford recorded in Jan while General Motors had a year to year increase of 22 percent in sales. General Motors increased automobile sales to individual customers 36 percent and Ford Motors saw a 27 percent improvement in that category–the largest year-over-year increase for the business in more than 10 years. A 23 percent increase in January was reported by Chrysler while a 15 percent increase was reported by Nissan. Toyota reported a 17 percent increase, which was below expectations. Since Toyota Motors had to recall over 10 million vehicles within the world, the performance wasn't that great.

More and more auto sales in The United States

January sales were really good for U.S. automakers. It was 17 percent higher than January 2010 showed. The annualized rate is steadily climbing, from 10.8 million autos in January 2010, to 12.5 million in Dec., to 12.6 million last month. There was an 11 percent increase to 11.6 million automobiles in 2010 shown in the United States car industry. U.S. car sales bottomed out in 2009 at 10.4 million. Automakers project U.S. sales in excess of 13 million in 2011. United States automobile revenue got, in 2007, to 16.1 million before the recession.

Articles cited

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/02/business/02auto.html?src=busln

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-01/ahead-of-the-bell-us-auto-sales-keep-up-slow-rise.html

Daily Finance

dailyfinance.com/story/toyota/january-auto-sales-should-build-on-2010s-momentum/19820056/