The Foreclosure Pileup More Bad News For The US Economy | All Global News on One Page

The Foreclosure Pileup More Bad News For The US Economy | All Global News on One Page:

"Imagine a million-car pileup on the highway. Nobody moves. That’s
the housing foreclosure breakdown: houses stalled, waiting on the
housing market highway.
The cause of the pileup, like the cause of most pileups, is
volume. Too many mortgages have broken…"

Buyers Flock To Ridiculously Small Homes During Downturn (PHOTOS)

Buyers Flock To Ridiculously Small Homes During Downturn (PHOTOS):

"GRATON, Calif.:(By Terence Chea, AP) As Americans downsize in the aftermath of a colossal real estate bust, at least one tiny corner of the housing market appears to be thriving. To save money or simplify their lives, a small but growing number of Americans are buying or building homes that could fit inside many people's living rooms, according to entrepreneurs in the small house industry"

Susan Boyle messes up on ABC ’The View’: Nerves catch up with her (Watch here) - National Celebrity Headlines | Examiner.com

Susan Boyle messes up on ABC ’The View’: Nerves catch up with her (Watch here) - National Celebrity Headlines | Examiner.com: "Susan Boyle was on ABC The View this morning and she choked. Call it what you want, the entertainer has been under a lot of pressure to perform and she didn't have all her marbles in the bag this morning. The epic fail event just reminds us all just how tough the entertainment business is, even if we are prepared."

Home Values Decline in Third Quarter | RealEstateRama

Home Values Decline in Third Quarter | RealEstateRama:

"The Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series for the United States registered a 1.9 percent decrease (-7.4 percent annualized) in the third quarter relative to the second quarter on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. U.S. home values fell 3.1 percent relative to the third quarter a year ago."

Google news stilll going strong: Celebrity Columnist shares secret to becoming a Google News Sensation

ARticle staying in Google news - It is on how to earn money online writing for Examiner:
Celebrity Columnist shares secret to becoming a Google News Sensation - Tucson Celebrity | Examiner.com: "November 18, 2010 - Of all the secret strategies, this video is the one that can make your or break you. Leaked video number 4 found today, was recorded by Celebrity Columnist Jodi Jill. People wonder how Jodi achieves such a high volume of readers, she has the tips on how you can become an International news writing sensation. Where is your audience? Have you gone 'International' yet?. This video gives you tips on how to become a news sensation, getting into Google news. This is a unique tip that is seldom shared, the value of this advice is priceless. Take the time to learn how to work with the tools described in the Share the Wealth program."

ZAGAT releases Airline Survey!

November 30, 2010:  Zagat release survey about Consumer attitudes towards Airlines and Flying . Conducted on ZAGAT.com, the survey is based on over 8,000 frequent fliers who collectively took 139,300 flights in the past year.

Economy: While the industry continues to feel the effects of the recession, it has shown signs of recovery this year. Surveyors reported taking an average of 17.4 flights in 2010, which is up from 16.6 flights in 2009 and 16.3 in 2008. This is still below the all-time high of 19.7 in 2007. Business flights continue to outweigh leisure, by roughly 3-to-2.

Checking-In: When asked how they react to fees for checked luggage, 45% of surveyors say they try to avoid flying such airlines; 42% say they have frequent flyer status on an airline that waves luggage fees; 33% say they travel only with a carry-on and 18% grudgingly opt to pay the fees. Southwest Airlines is a favorite among surveyors, winning Best Check-in Experience, as well as Best Luggage Policy, Best Consumer On-Time Estimates, Top Website and Best Value among domestic airlines.

"While fliers are slowly but surely returning to the skies, they remain focused on good values and reliable service," said Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. "Airlines like Virgin America, Southwest, JetBlue and Continental score well with surveyors for precisely this reason."

Flying High: For the third year in a row, Continental is the Top Overall winner among large domestic airlines for its premium service. JetBlue took top honors among large economy class carriers. Virgin America is the top mid-sized carrier for both classes, earning 24 on Zagat's 30-point scale for its premium service, and 21 for economy. International carriers continue to outperform domestic airlines. Singapore Airlines, the perennial winner, earned an impressive 28 rating for international premium class airlines and 24 for international economy service. Other international winners were Cathay Pacific Airways,Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways, all rated a 26 for premium services. 

Choice Factors: When choosing a flight, respondents' main considerations are not surprising: direct routes (65%), ticket price (55%), past experiences (50%), time of day (48%) and seat comfort/leg room (46%). If a meal is not offered on the flight, and most aren't, 55% of surveyors opt to purchase food in the airport, while 18% bring food from home.

Just a few of the comments that were comical, which Zagat published: 

• PBS...paralyzed butt syndrome!
• The only difference between economy and business classes is a shrimp on your salad.
• "Unwelcome aboard!"
• Not sure if I really want to know that Captain Skippy is flying today.
• I don't love getting up-close-and-personal with the head of the person in front of me .
• Who made them mad at their customers?
• Point a to point b with a bag of pretzels.
• Entree selections should be labeled "choose your poison"
• When two crummy medium-size airlines merge, all you get is a crummy large airline.
• Seats make an iron maiden seem comfortable.
• Like a cattle car, except the cows are mercifully slaughtered at trip's end.

Sales could top $1 billion on a manic Cyber Monday - Yahoo! News

Sales could top $1 billion on a manic Cyber Monday - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK – Cyber Monday started as a gimmick to get people to shop at their desks on the first workday after Thanksgiving. But if you promote something enough, it can take on a life of its own.
This year, stores swamped customers with online ads and e-mail deals, and sales could top $1 billion, making it bigger than any single shopping day last year.
Online sales were already running 15 percent ahead of last year's by 3 p.m. Monday, with the biggest shopping hours of the day still to come, according to IBM's Coremetrics tracking service.
'The numbers are really strong,' said the service's chief strategy officer, John Squire, who added that he expects Cyber Monday to be the biggest online shopping day of the season."

Sales could top $1 billion on a manic Cyber Monday - Yahoo! News

Sales could top $1 billion on a manic Cyber Monday - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK – Cyber Monday started as a gimmick to get people to shop at their desks on the first workday after Thanksgiving. But if you promote something enough, it can take on a life of its own.
This year, stores swamped customers with online ads and e-mail deals, and sales could top $1 billion, making it bigger than any single shopping day last year.
Online sales were already running 15 percent ahead of last year's by 3 p.m. Monday, with the biggest shopping hours of the day still to come, according to IBM's Coremetrics tracking service.
'The numbers are really strong,' said the service's chief strategy officer, John Squire, who added that he expects Cyber Monday to be the biggest online shopping day of the season."

Obama calls for 2-year freeze on federal pay - Yahoo! News

Obama calls for 2-year freeze on federal pay - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a two-year freeze of the salaries of some 2 million federal workers, trying to seize the deficit-cutting initiative from Republicans with a sudden, dramatic stroke. Though signaling White House concern over record deficits, the freeze would make only a tiny dent in annual deficits or the nation's $14 trillion debt.
'Small businesses and families are tightening their belts,' Obama said in brief remarks at the White House. 'The government should, too.' The administration said the plan was designed to save more than $5 billion over the first two years.
The proposal, which must be approved by Congress, would not apply to the military, but it would affect all others on the Executive Branch payroll. It would not affect members of Congress or their staffs, defense contractors, postal workers or federal court judges and workers."

familys-fall-from-affluence-is-swift-and-hard: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

familys-fall-from-affluence-is-swift-and-hard: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance: "Grateful to have found work in this tough economy, Nick Martin teaches grape growing and winemaking each Saturday to a class of seven students in a simple metal building here at a satellite campus of Highland Community College.

Then he drives 14 miles in an 11-year-old Ford Explorer to a sparsely furnished tract house that he rents for $900 a month on a dead-end street in McFarland, a smaller town. Just across the backyard is a shed that a neighbor uses to make cartridges for shooting the prairie dogs that infest the adjacent fields.

It is a far cry from the life that Mr. Martin and his family enjoyed until recently at their Adirondacks waterfront camp at Tupper Lake, N.Y. Their garage held three stylish cars, including a yellow Aston Martin; they owned three horses, one that cost $173,000; and Mr. Martin treated his wife, Kate, to a birthday weekend at the Waldorf-Astoria, with dinner at the '21' Club and a $7,000 mink coat."

Small Banks Suffer, As Banking Industry Strengthens

Small Banks Suffer, As Banking Industry Strengthens:

"As the banking industry as a whole grows stronger, smaller banks are missing out on a recovery, a new report from the FDIC shows. Weakened local banks could signal trouble for small business."

House Flippers: The Forgotten “Victims” Of The Real Estate Implosion - 24/7 Wall St.

House Flippers: The Forgotten “Victims” Of The Real Estate Implosion - 24/7 Wall St.:

"Though several banks including Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and housing finance giant Fannie Mae have restarted at least some foreclosures, the process has been irrevocably tainted by the industry’s apparent willingness to put profits above the law. Their legal exposure may be gigantic — billions of dollars — particularly if courts find that they improperly evicted people from their residences. Not only could the foreclosure be reversed, but they could face punitive damages as could the realtors and attorneys involved in the transaction.

But what about the people who bought these homes? That’s where things get a little dicey. Clearly, their rights were violated as well. But in the legal tsunami created by the robo-signed documents, they should be last in the pecking order. Many of them, particularly sophisticated investors looking for a quick flip, probably knew or should have known that something was amiss. How is it that the foreclosure process — which is purposely cumbersome to protect the rights of homeowners — suddenly became streamlined? What about the same people’s names appearing in hundreds of documents? That did raise any red flags either."

Officials: New Foreclosure Scam Preys on Desperate Homeowners - ABC News

Officials: New Foreclosure Scam Preys on Desperate Homeowners - ABC News:

"U.S. Loan Auditors and similar outfits are promising to conduct 'forensic audits' of mortgage transactions to find evidence of 'predatory lending' and fraud, and use that evidence to haul lenders into court and obtain new mortgages at far more favorable interest rates, officials say.

The companies make 'very bold claims' but 'in most cases forensic loan audits cannot help homeowners to cancel their mortgages,' said James Reilly Dolan, assistant director for financial practices at the Federal Trade Commission."

Foreclosure "robo-signing" scandal impact: Sales dry up - Nov. 29, 2010

Foreclosure "robo-signing" scandal impact: Sales dry up - Nov. 29, 2010:

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Big banks are having trouble restarting the foreclosure process after this fall's 'robo-signing' scandal, and the once booming market for foreclosed homes has been hit hard as a result.

According to ForeclosureRadar, the number of properties coming to auction in hard-hit western states -- Arizona, California and Nevada -- has dropped more than 30%."

FL 4th DCA APPEALS COURT: "ATTORNEY FEES AWARDED" VALCARCEL v. CHASE BANK

FL 4th DCA APPEALS COURT: "ATTORNEY FEES AWARDED" VALCARCEL v. CHASE BANK:

As seen on "STOPForeclosureFraud.com

"The trial court granted the Valcarcels’ motion to dismiss as a sanction against Chase for sending a letter regarding the Valcarcels’ mortgage directly to the Valcarcels, rather than the Valcarcels’ lawyer. This mailing was a violation of rule 1.080(b), which requires service to be made upon a party’s attorney when he is represented by counsel."

INFLATION signs in the Price of Christmas: Twelve Days of Christmas costs more

 

Cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
Song Items Spike, According To 2010
PNC Christmas Price Index^®

According to the 27th annual survey, the price tag for the PNC CPI is $23,439 in 2010, $1,974 more than last year. This is the second highest jump ever and largest percentage increase since 2003 when the index rose 16 percent. That comes on the heels of a modest 1.8 percent increase a year ago.


Despite a sluggish economy and low inflation, the 2010 PNC Christmas Price Index^® surged 9.2 percent in the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management based on the gifts in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

“This year’s jump in the PNC CPI can be attributed to rising gold commodity prices, represented by the Five Gold Rings which went up by 30 percent, in addition to higher costs for wages and benefits impacting some entertainers,” said James Dunigan, managing executive of investments for PNC Wealth Management.

Cyber Prices: The Cost of Convenience
For those True Loves who prefer the convenience of shopping online, PNC Wealth
Management calculates the cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” gifts purchased on the Internet.

This year, the trends identified in the traditional index are repeated in the Internet
version, with the core rates more than total rates. True Loves will pay a grand total of $34,336 to buy the items online. That is a 9.2 percent more expensive than last year and almost $11,000 more than this year’s traditional index.

True Loves Be Warned: Despite Weak Economic Picture PNC Christmas Price Index® Jumps a Staggering 9.2 Percent In general, Internet prices are higher than their non-Internet counterparts because of shipping costs for birds and the convenience factor of shopping online,” Dunigan said.

Special Present: Updated Web Site
For a historical look at PNC’s index, the updated Web site can be viewed at www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com. This year’s site incorporates interactivity with a pop-up book theme narrated by Dunigan, allowing visitors to enjoy and reveal the 2010 PNC CPI results at their own pace. Each year, educators across the country use the Christmas Price Index to teach economic trends to middle and high school students. With that in mind, this year’s site includes interactive activities, annual results and PNC CPI trends in a Flash presentation, MP3 download, games and much more.

Educators who visit the site will also find lesson plans on the Christmas Price Index from The Stock Market GameTM (SMG), a program of the Securities Industry and Financial MarketsAssociation Foundation for Investor Education (www.sifma.org/education). The enhanced activities are specially designed to help students identify economic trends and to project their impact on this year’s Index, giving them the opportunity to make predictions and check their success against actual results. SMG is America’s premier educational stock market simulation.
Available in all 50 states for grades 4-12, the SMG program teaches children core academic and investment skills.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (www.pnc.com) is one of the nation’s largest diversified financial services organizations providing retail and business banking; residential mortgage banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. Follow @PNCNews on Twitter for breaking news, updates and announcements
from PNC.
 

'EPIC MICKEY' game release November 30th

Home | Mickey and Friends | Disney

Great site for finding Mickey music, movies, books etc... new game release out on November 30th 'EPIC MICKEY'
order on Disney site.

It’s Time to Thank Your Customers, the Social Media Way | BNET

It’s Time to Thank Your Customers, the Social Media Way | BNET: "3. Fund a business

Remember what it was like when you started your business? You probably had detractors, more than enough doubts of your own, not to mention the fact that it was likely challenging for you to raise the capital to get your business off the ground.

But now that you’re a bona fide business owner, how about helping someone else get their start?

There are a couple of ways you could do this.

First, if your preference is to support creative projects, consider checking out the several projects that are looking for funding on Kickstarter (Eat Your Serial is one example.)

Second, if you’re interested in extending your reach literally around the world, look at a micro-lending site such as Kiva.org. Essentially, you can choose from several small businesses, in a wide range of fields, that are looking for microfunding by browsing Kiva’s site, and support one. These loans are funded by people like you, and disbursed through Kiva and its “field partners” (read about the entire Kiva process here); and once the entrepreneur is off the ground, s/he repays the loan."

‘Harry Potter’ Tops Box Office Again With $50 Million - BusinessWeek

‘Harry Potter’ Tops Box Office Again With $50 Million - BusinessWeek:

"The weekend’s top 12 films grossed $173.9 million, down 0.74 percent from a year earlier, according to Hollywood.com. This year’s domestic box office sales total $9.66 billion, up 2.14 percent from a year earlier. Attendance is down 2.93 percent.

The amounts below are based on actual ticket sales for Nov. 26-27 and estimates for today."

Kim Kardashian talks about her brand on ’Today’ Show (Video) - National Celebrity Headlines | Examiner.com

Kim Kardashian talks about her brand on ’Today’ Show (Video) - National Celebrity Headlines | Examiner.com: "The interview did give Kim Kardashian a chance to plug her wares, the special about Kim Kardashian as well as others who are considered some of the most influential people airs on NBC tomorrow. There is promise to be even a bigger interview with the television reality star as well.

Take a minute to watch the video clip of Kim Kardashian talking to Matt on the Today Show."