From HousingWire:
PMI Group units forced to stop writing new insurance
The PMI Group’s market share “is going to be eaten up by competitors” in the aftermath of Arizona regulators placing the mortgage insurer under state supervision and curtailing the writing of new business, according to Rob Haines, insurance analyst with CreditSights.
The Arizona Department of Insurance, the primary regulator for PMI, instructed The PMI Group to cease issuing new mortgage insurance commitments in any state. The move was largely expected with the insurer warning investors earlier this month in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Based on the state’s supervisory order, PMI can issue new mortgage insurance through pending commitments until Sept. 16, but must stop making interest payments on $285 million of surplus notes the company issued.
The company also cannot enter any new contracts, mergers, and acquisitions nor withdraw from any bank accounts. Arizona regulators said executives must submit a plan for rebuilding The PMI Group’s financial condition within 60 days.
The next step, Haines said, is a potential regulatory seizure of the insurer.
“The regulatory seizure might not happen, but that depends on the company’s success trying to execute some type of recapitalization,” Haines said.
The company warned if Arizona appoints a receiver and begins liquidating the insurer, roughly $735 million of outstanding debt would become due. PMI said it doesn’t have enough capital to meet those obligations. The company hired Willis Capital Markets & Advisory and Evercore Partners as advisers to help find options.
The PMI Group is still facing a difficult situation with other mortgage insurers not facing the same restrictions on new business — a key tool in any type of recapitalization plan.
“They are all facing the same headwinds, but they went into this storm in different conditions,” Haines said when discussing all private mortgage insurers. He said the problem for The PMI Group is the firm does not “have the same capital resources that these other companies had” heading into the volatile period.
From the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/its-a-flawed-settlement.html
The Obama administration has turned up the heat on Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, to go along with a proposed settlement with the nation’s largest banks over dubious foreclosure practices. Mr. Schneiderman should stand his ground in not supporting the deal. The administration says that a settlement would quickly deliver much needed relief to hard-pressed borrowers, but it’s doubtful it would provide redress on a par with the banks’ wrongdoing or borrowers’ needs.
The deal has been in the works for nearly a year, after the state attorneys general announced an investigation into a robo-signing scandal in which banks were found to have filed false foreclosure papers in state courts. It was widely believed that the scandal would lead to a broad inquiry into how banks inflated the housing bubble, profiting as it expanded.
As it turned out, the inquiry was narrow. Mr. Schneiderman, who became the attorney general of New York after the scandal broke, has rightly refused to go along with a settlement that is not based on a thorough investigation, and has ordered investigations of his own. He has been supported by a handful of other state prosecutors, who say that the proposed deal would restrict their own investigations and prosecutions.
Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, however, says that a settlement on the narrow issue of robo-signing would not preclude other investigations by individual attorneys general. But, clearly, once the robo-signing issue is off the table, investigators would lose leverage to pursue remedies for other possible illegalities in the packaging, marketing and transferring of mortgage securities.
The administration also says that the proposed settlement would require the banks to write down the principal balance on underwater loans. According to news reports, the banks are likely to pay around $20 billion in the deal. With 14.6 million homeowners owing $753 billion more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, how far does the administration think $20 billion would go?
Good Morning New Jersey
From the Record:
Builder seeks $1B in public financing and tax breaks to complete ‘Dream’
The potential operators of American Dream Meadowlands — the project formerly known as Xanadu — are seeking to raise as much as $1 billion in public financing and tax breaks this fall, with the goal of resuming construction of the $3.8 billion project by the end of the year.
Kurt Hagen, a senior vice president for Mall of America, said Monday that while the plan may remind some North Jerseyans of the failed EnCap project just a few miles to the south, there is a critical distinction between the two projects.
“This is not public funding, it’s public financing,” Hagen said. “I know there were a lot of mistakes made in that [EnCap] project, and no one will want to make that mistake again. That’s a good thing, from the public’s standpoint.”
Bondholders lost hundreds of millions of dollars on Bergen County Improvement Authority-issued bonds when the EnCap project fell apart in 2008, because the money was to be repaid from annual revenue streams when the project opened.
New Jersey taxpayers lost more than $50 million, as well, because the state Department of Environmental Protection put up that additional money with repayment to be made in similar fashion.
Under the concept laid out by Hagen, the state would not risk any taxpayer money if a public entity is used — whether the Borough of East Rutherford, the BCIA or the state Meadowlands Commission, for instance — as a conduit to issue tax-free bonds.
Bergen County officials said last week that the BCIA would consider issuing at least $300 million in bonds for the project — but only if county taxpayer dollars were not at risk. Hagen said that potential bondholders would risk losing everything if the project failed, because various revenue streams from the project would be the only method of repayment.
“They would need to do due diligence, have their own bond underwriters look at it and have faith in the project and faith in us,” Hagen said.
From the Daily Record:
Foreclosure rates: NJ near the top in percentage of problem loans
Richard Redy expects his foreclosure notices to arrive soon. The 60-year-old Brielle resident lost his job as a construction manager in 2009 and, with his industry in the doldrums, still hasn’t found a replacement.
So Redy stopped paying his mortgage, even after his mortgage company agreed to lower his monthly payments from $2,800 to $1,800. He now hoards his money to help fund the inevitable move.
“When your living is taken away from you through really not any fault of your own, it’s a rough thing,” Redy said. “I should be in the prime of my earnings career now. To have that stripped away from you, it’s sobering and kind of leaves you feeling, I don’t know, empty inside.”
A lot of other New Jerseyans are feeling empty inside, or at least in their wallets.
A new report published Monday shows that more than one in 10 in New Jersey homeowners with a mortgage are either in foreclosure or are more than 90 days late on payments. And one expert says the numbers will get even worse.
The Mortgage Bankers Association second quarter report showed that New Jersey’s combined foreclosure/seriously delinquent rate — 11.36 percent — was the third highest in the country.
That includes 8 percent already in foreclosure, and another 3.39 percent three months or more behind.
Only Florida and Nevada had higher rates.
Appraisal expert Jeffrey Otteau called the report “stunning,” and said he expected the number of homes in foreclosure to increase this year, now that a state judge lifted a foreclosure moratorium on the large banks.
“It will really stretch out the housing recovery,” Otteau said. “That is what you’re heading to …. It is alarming.”
Otteau said that lower income areas are being hit the hardest, both in cities and in affordable suburban areas such as Ocean County or Cumberland County, where residents fled higher housing costs but are now grappling with high gasoline prices and unemployment.
Schab,
Howard Dean on MSNBC just proclaimed Obama as the best foreign policy president since Truman or Roosevelt.
No cheerleading going on here.
BTW, Michael Steele pointed out that Obama has continued the Bush Doctrine, a stark contrast to Candidate Obama, yet nary a peep from the left. Hypocrisy? I think that fits the definition well. Yet Dean said it wasn’t the Bush Doctrine anymore, it was the Obama Doctrine.
In other news, DoJ and SEC plan to drop all investigations of Goldman Sachs on news that GS plans to change its name.
I had considered establishing a “church” for the Nompound, in part for tax purposes. . . . yeah.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903635604576476340089320176.html
FWIW, the judge that wrote the Driscoll decision is a troll. Literally. She looks like a troll and has the personality of one too.
OT Alert.
I found this interesting.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/debevoise_and_skadden_1st-years_to_spend_first_month/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=ABA+Journal+Daily+News&utm_content=Netvibes
Skadden used to have a pair of training sessions that lasted approx. 4 days total. When I was in it, asking questions, the 20 something junior associates around me wanted to know how I knew so much about business, accounting, and capital markets. I told them that I was older and smarter than you. What I was actually thinking was “You’re a Skadden associate. How the fcuk do you NOT know anything about accounting or business?”
From Financial Armageddon:
The Bernanke Take
http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2011/08/the-bernanke-take.html
Keep your shiny in a safe place
The Mortgage Bankers Association second quarter report showed that New Jersey’s combined foreclosure/seriously delinquent rate — 11.36 percent — was the third highest in the country.
Only Florida and Nevada had higher rates.
Appraisal expert Jeffrey Otteau called the report “stunning,” and said he expected the number of homes in foreclosure to increase this year.
Let me know if you’re having a problem understanding the big words. Look for a 20% nominal drop by 2013 from the current average sales price. For those who sign today… you’ll be getting a whiff of the swamp this time next year. By late 2013, you’ll be underwater or break-even if you put 20% down.
Behooves some of these fancy-ass lawyers to do some RE closings or get into court and defend DUI cases at the beginning of their careers. Like a bunch of goddamned school-trained cooks who can sear foie gras but can’t make a decent hamburger.
Putting cart before horse in this job market is a great way to experience unemployment.
But wait Bergen County is still 66% white,housing never goes down in BC. Its high
end and close to NYC.
Nom,
Guantanamo still open. 40,000 troops still in Iraq despite some bs. declaration that military operations are over and word is that we’ll be in Afghanistan another ten or twelve years.
Yeah hope and change. He’s continued the same economic policies, the same foreign policies. With the exception of Obamacare this guy is nothing more than GW Bush in blackface. To be honest I am kind of surprised Republicans are even upset with the dude.
Question to the real estate people, what is the impact of this to those who have PMI mortgage insurance on their homes if the company goes poof? Does the lender have to go out and get another policy with another insurance company?
When you are 60, you shouldn’t even have a mortgage, so someone explain how he is being foreclosed……
grim says:
August 23, 2011 at 6:55 am
From the Daily Record:
Foreclosure rates: NJ near the top in percentage of problem loans
Richard Redy expects his foreclosure notices to arrive soon. The 60-year-old Brielle resident lost his job as a construction manager in 2009 and, with his industry in the doldrums, still hasn’t found a replacement.
86 (yesterday): Pat,
Very sorry to hear. Tough sell, indeed.
Seems the no fly zone over 55 Water Street the S&P Headquarters was a success, they replaced the President with the Citi group COO.
Back to AAA folks! Party on!
North Philly gastropub Review:
First off, the area was not bad at all, nor was parking difficult on a Saturday afternoon/evening. The area is pretty much rowhouses, reminiscent of downtown Jersey City. We first stopped at Kraftwork, which is really a very cool bar with the best beer list I have ever written. Best of all, the place is not precocious, nor that well known yet, so the prices are extremely reasonable. Didn’t sample the food here, but they are true beer connoisseurs and the bartenders will really help you decide what kind of beer you would like unfamiliar. They have 25 taps and the choices change each time a keg is tapped. They update their extremely well-detailed beerlist daily and you can see the next twenty five kegs in the queue, which is really, really cool and the first time I have every witnessed this. The decor is modern industrial, but it’s not cold, like a Chipotle Mexican Grill. If this place was in my neck of the woods, I would certainly become an alcoholic. Their prices are extremely fair as well, and might I say, even cheap. I sampled 4 brews and all were fantastic and fresh.
Next we moved on to the Memphis Tap Room, a la ChiFi fame. I would say this place was a bit overrated, except for the coconut club, which looked a bit bizarre, but tasted awesome. For apps, we sampled wings, which were very very good, onion rings which were uniquely spicy, but more greasy than crispy, their infamous fried pickles, which were decent and Gator made us get the grilled peach, which she claimed was good and the only healthy food on the menu. For dinner, I got the pulled pork sandwich and it was so salty, I really couldn’t eat it. Gator got the club as previously mentioned. My brother ordered the pork belly salad which was mediocre and way too salty as well and his wife ordered the Mac & Cheese which she said was good. Their beer list was crafty as well, but the selection included a lot more of the mainstream brews than Kraftwork. Our beers included a BSDA from 10 Commandments, an Erie Monster, a Duck Rabbit, A Racer5, a Tarras and a Weihenstefaner. The last beer I had was a smoky Rauschbier which tasted like burnt microwave popcorn. It was a huge disappointment and kind of soured the idea of more beer for the night. After we ate, we went outside to the beer garden to check out the hot dog truck. Honestly, the dogs looked better than anything on the indoor menu. Plus, they painted a large section of one side of the brick wall white and projected the Phillies game on the wall (which was very cool). The hot dogs were huge and the variety of toppings were much more creative than the food inside. The rolls were heros and the dogs were huge. They were all $5 each and even the beers they sold from the truck were nice.
If I ever were to go back. I would probably just order the coconut club to go and would eat outside. If I was still hungry, I would sample a dog. I think the taproom is trying to hard to be extreme (which is in right now) and would do a lot better if they focused on their quality to compliment their uniqueness. Also, they need to get rid of those Accelerator hand dryers in the bathrooms. They are so loud that they annoy the entire dining room every time someone washes their hands. The bathroom stank too. Fortunately, their prices were not too bad.
No word from JJ yet, the Hurricane is right over Turks and Caicos now. He did say 10 days did he not?
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/78114.html
Perhaps we can say good bye to Bank of America . Stock slammed
19,
Join me on a trip through the Wall St safari. The stench from the rotting corpse emanates from Manhatten all the way to Charlotte, NC.
Might want to sell real estate in NC. Charlotte will be the next Las Vegas.
I expect Uncle Sam will save BAC once it’s under $5.
I saw a bumper sticker in Nags Head, NC (the “o” was the “Obama “O””:
“So far, the change sucks”
There is a D’jais in Turks and Caicos?
Nom, this made me think of moose as just cause for posting this. don’t take it personally
http://volokh.com/2011/08/22/is-it-time-to-deregulate-the-law/
18: Juice,
I’m sure HTJ is looking forward to riding the monster waves this will produce and perhaps adding to his list of Guinness Record Book achievements. Maybe he can save the plane fare and just ride it back up the coast.
(17) Stu
You lost me at north philly.
My carry permit no longer valid there so I’m not going there.
Can’t wait for a sexy huricane story of people barricaded in the basements from JJ.
Is Michelle Obama or Bachman or anyone cool vacationing down there right now?
HEHEHE – 80% of the homes on Turks were destroyed by Hurricane IKE 3 years ago, I would think JJ got out if he wanted to ever see D’jais again.
(21) stu,
Hope not. Aside from family in Charlotte that I would not want to see suffer, I am enjoying BACs pain immensely.
(24) pain,
When it comes to legalzoom and that crowd, you get what you pay for.
[5] So now Obama’s kinetic military action in Libya qualifies him as a Roosevelt/Truman in foreign policy? That’s a good one.
I am fine with Chairman O putting his Nobel Peace Prize to work dropping bombs in North Africa, and frankly I couldn’t care less about Libya, but I must admit I forget why we are there.
Back when this started — you know, quite a number of “days not weeks” ago — I vaguely remember it had something to do with preventing the Libyan military from bringing the fighting into the city of Benghazi, you know, to protect civilians. Now, it seems Operation Clausewitz is unfolding in Tripoli. And once that is over, I am sure the Libyans can look forward to years of tribal war. Let’s pat ourselves on the back.
At least The One managed to find a creative way to kowtow to the wishes of even the wimpy Europeans. I am sure the French oil companies will thank him with a nice villa in the French countryside where he can spend his post-2012 years writing his memoirs and living like a rock star.
Roosevelt, indeed.
[27] Gotta be at least a few Kennedys there. JJ is about due for a Kennedy story.
re: #31 – cutting off oil supplies to Europe is a threat to NATO, that is why we are there.
We didn’t do it for the rebels, we did it to kick out the Chinese.
Pain [24];
Whatever you think I do for a living, and whatever you believe about lawyers, I’ve said before and it remains true that I create what would not exist but for my skill and effort.
The average J6P has more interaction with licensed and regulated barbers, opticians and undertakers than he does with a lawyer, but I hear no clamoring for deregulation of those industries. You want no barrier to entry? Make the legal business to run like the real estate business? So be it — “HYMAN ROTH always makes money for his partners. One by one, our old friends are gone… HYMAN ROTH is the only one left — because he always made money for his partners.”
Consider also that the rules vary immensely by state. In AZ you can transfer real property by signing the back of the title, like a used car. That feature of the law didn’t seem to prevent their bubble trouble.
[33] Libya didn’t cut off oil supplies to Italy just for kicks. Any temporary disruption to the oil supplies was due to the insurgency created by the ragtag rebels, which would have been put down — truly — in “days not weeks” had we just stayed the heck out of it. Instead, we dragged it out for 6 months, and gave the government in Libya actual reason to cut off oil supplies to Europe/NATO.
Genius.
There should be no state-mandated licenses of any kind. Yes, it restricts competition, and it does not ensure the person is competent in any way.
How many bad drivers are licensed? How many idiots have a college degree? How many bad lawyers/doctors/etc etc? It guarantees nothing… except for licensing fees and restricting competition.
Regulation has the effect of offering protection to regulated firms, but also serving to keep out competitors.
Moose and Nom,
Once upon a time a man like lincoln could study for the bar and become a lawyer through apprenticeship and own due diligence as a student of legal theory. Now if you don’t go to an accredited law school and pay mucho bucks becoming a lawyer is impossible.
The same thing goes for barbers, opticians and every other moronic accredting agency. the idiots at my job only want six sigma belt holders for certain positions even though most of those folks would’t know efficiency it the were hit it the face by a trout. Accreditation and licensing are jokes that serve to fill the coffers of two masters.
Caveat emptor
Howard Dean on MSNBC just proclaimed Obama as the best foreign policy president since Truman or Roosevelt.
He’s had some foreign policy success, if little else. And I’d think it’ll contrast nicely with some of the things the GOP contenders probably regret saying about Libya.
#5 Nom
For someone who rails so much about MSNBC, you sure do watch a lot of it.
Did Newark Bet on the Wrong Sport?
NEWARK — When the first pitch was thrown, there wasn’t much of a crowd in the ballpark to see it. Entire sections were unoccupied. The flow of people through the front gate was a trickle. The most fan-generated noise came from a children’s birthday party on a concourse in the right-field corner.
The Rev. Joe Kwiatkowski, among the few in attendance, said this was not the loneliest feeling he had ever had at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, capacity 6,200.
“I’ve been here on nights when I literally counted the crowd and it’s been like 90 to 100,” he said from a seat behind first base. “Tonight will probably be a little more because they’ve got fireworks.”
It was an overcast Saturday evening, rain on the way, but that only partly explained the meager attendance to watch the Bears play the Quebec Capitales in an independent Can-Am League game.
After a promising start to the return of minor league baseball here 13 years ago, a persistent dark cloud has settled over the Bears and their cozy ballpark near the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. In recent years, the team has changed ownership several times, gone into bankruptcy and emerged to an almost nonexistent fan base and grim financial reality.
The Bears are more than $800,000 in arrears on rent to Essex County and have provided little in ticket and sponsorship revenue due the county. Whatever the team’s fate, the county and the city must each pay $1.1 million a year in debt service on the ballpark until 2029.
Given the large soccer constituency in the city’s Portuguese and Latino strongholds, did Newark get its demographics crossed and build the wrong field of commercial dreams? Did the city bet on the wrong sport?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/sports/baseball/did-newark-bet-on-the-wrong-sport.html?scp=1&sq=newark%20soccer&st=cse
Headline sounds like a ringing endorsement.
Where the Taxes Are Below Average
CLAUDIA REIS and her husband, Scott Gorman, loved the comforts and convenience of condo living in Springfield, in Union County. But that changed somewhat when the couple, lawyers who commute to Morristown (her) and Hackensack (him), had their first child three years ago. They decided they needed a house — and a town — in which a family could nestle.
“It seemed like the homes in Union County were overpriced,” Ms. Reis said. “We hadn’t even considered Essex County, because they say, ‘The taxes are so high, the taxes are so high.’ ”
The couple did not know much more about Roseland, a three-and-a-half-square-mile borough of 5,819 residents in western Essex County, than that it was home to an office complex, which they had seen looming off Interstate 280. But once they wandered in, they found a place that still feels a lot like a farm town, with open space and street signs that offer laid-back advice: “Watch children playing.”
In September they paid $460,000 for a three-bedroom two-bath colonial, built in the 1940s on a quarter acre in the western part of town, a block from one playground and two blocks from another. Ms. Reis is expecting a new baby soon, and they are delighted to be there.
“It’s really serene and nice,” she said. And the serenity and niceness reach even higher levels when they consider the relative affordability of their tax bill, which is $7,000 a year.
The reason for this boon within Essex County is the presence of the office complex, said Richard Leonard, a broker who grew up in Roseland and was mayor for 12 years. Built on part of what until the mid-1960s was known as Becker’s Farm, on the southwestern edge of the borough, it houses the corporate headquarters of Automatic Data Processing, two Prudential offices and several law firms.
Ms. Reis concurred about the taxes, although she added: “I’m not saying they’re cheap. Nothing is, in New Jersey. But they are less than comparable houses in surrounding areas we’ve looked.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/realestate/where-the-taxes-are-below-average-living-inroseland-nj.html?ref=realestate
11. Freedy, you are spot on… There is, and never will be much movement.
earth quake in central jersey? Just had my desk shake for a few seconds and my kid felt it too.
Barb – felt it very strong in Manhattan too
[43] I didn’t feel a thing because I was walking around, but several people in my office (lower Manhattan) also swear that they just felt the aftershocks of an earthquake …
I heard in Virginia 5.8
CNN reporting “Magnitude 5.8 earthquake shakes Virginia, D.C. and New York” must have been centered in VA though, if I could walk right through it without noticing.
I blame my Ikea wire desk, if I had something sturdier I wouldn’t have noticed.
felt in northern nj. thought i was in LA for a minute
Wow we were shaking pretty good over here in Wayne
Felt in Midtown. Building management repeatedly announces that they are investigating the situation and then announces they are making a script to read. Confidence inspiring.
Shutting down the airports…
Stu – #17:
Next time you brave out to Philly, check out Modo Mio. Great local joint in the area. BYOB, cash only.
no cell service on our iphones
Helps to provide some context for you when reading financial headlines……people with no sense of proportion compose this crap…..
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks cut gains after a minor earthquake sent tremors along the east coast on Tuesday but a highly anticipated address by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later this week kept markets higher.
Barb apparently there is an app for that
It is the beginning of the end of days.
Earthquake
BAC = Lemon Bros.
jj lost in Carribean
That candy-ass temblor was nothing like a CA quake. Those mf’ers are scary.
Shock waves from the quake made the press box sway slightly during the first game of a doubleheader between the Indians and Seattle Mariners.
As the Mariners were batting in the fourth inning Tuesday, the press box high above home plate and the third-base line moved left and right and continued for nearly 30 seconds.
Fans at Progressive Field did not seem to notice any unusual movement. Play was not interrupted on the field.
The Indians had no immediate word if there was any structural damage.
Phones in NYC were jammed just like Sept 11, 2001 seems we haven’t come all that far.
BRIGADOON-ON-HACKENSACK (Reuters) – House prices rose 3.5% today after a minor earthquake sent tremors along the east coast and shook rainbow sprinkles upon The Little Community That Could! (TM). A higher than usual number of skittle droppings contributed to the festive atmosphere.
Hi, nice article, I think I understood most but there are still some words to learn for me: p (I am French and I’m learning German)
Earthquake was actually only a 4.0, but the tremors knocked so many cars off of their cinder blocks that is measured a 5.9.
Lib gold star of the day
kettle..you’re the expert…is it time for Domenica..someone sent me this.
Where the quake hit http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps…
Where that is: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Lake+Anna,+VA&hl=en&sll=3…
Ranked 7th most vulnerable to earthquake http://www.nbc29.com/story/14265528/lake-anna-reactor-r…
“According to Jim Norvelle with Dominion Power, North Anna was designed to withstand a magnitude 5.9 – 6.1 earthquake.”
I got a bad feeling here.
5.9 MAG QUAKE ROCKS DC-NYC
HURRICANE NEXT?
maybe the invisble sky wizard is trying to get rid of the banksters
A spokesperson for the Oblama administration just stated that the earthquake is Haliburton’s fault. ;)
The End Is Nigh (Kettle Wiki-steroid Edition):
By TENNILLE TRACY
A nuclear power plant in central Virginia has lost offsite power in the wake of a 5.9 earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., U.S. nuclear officials said.
The North Anna Power Station, which has two nuclear reactors, may be using four diesel generators to maintain cooling operations. The plant automatically shut down in the wake of the earthquake.
“As far as we know, everything is safe,” said Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre.
There are seven additional nuclear plants that have declared unusual events, which is the lowest of four emergency situations, the NRC said.
Those plants are located in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
5.8 Earthquake epicenter about 34 miles NW of Richmond, VA. 87 miles SW of DC. Apparently the apartment shook a little, but I was napping.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — New York City’s overall crime rate could increase for the first time in decades, driven by alarming spikes in murder, rapes and robberies in many neighborhoods.
A 400 percent increase in murders in tony Williamsburg; a 400 percent increase in rapes in Sheepshead Bay and a 250 percent increase in killings in Washington Heights are all troublesome statistics that have Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and police officials concerned. “We worry every day about trying to make this city safer,” Mayor Bloomberg said Monday.
Mayor Bloomberg Says NYC Is The Safest Big City In The Country. 1010 WINS’ Stan Brooks Reports Although crime has fallen an enviable 35 percent since Bloomberg took office, in the past year it has risen in 34 of the city’s 76 precincts, and alarming spikes in some neighborhoods could lead to the first city-wide increase in decades.
According to the NYPD:
* The 100th Precinct in Rockaway, Queens has seen a 37 percent increase in crime
* In the 34th in Washington Heights it’s up 24 percent
* In the 77th in Crown Heights it’s up 21 percent.
* In the 113th in St. Albans, Queens it has spiked 17 percent
* In the 76th in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn it’s up 11 percent
“I’m not worried about a crime wave. Once you get down to a certain level you probably can’t statistically get lower than a certain amount, so each year some will be up and some will be down but the police commissioner’s working full time on it,” Bloomberg said.
In Crown Heights, which has seen an increase in robberies, rapes, burglary and grand larceny, people are talking about it.
“It is getting worse,” one resident said.
“Since the beginning of the year I heard about a couple of shootings but one big one was over there,” resident Maverick Dunkley said, motioning.
“Quite recently in my apartment building I know that they were looking for an individual. Police officers came to the building looking for someone. It was a large number of police officers about 10 to 20,” another resident said.
“I’m very concerned about it. The mayor needs to do something about it,” said Abdul Hamiyd, who works in the area.
Some in Crown Heights think the increase is due to the economy because there are lots of people unemployed right now, young people who need jobs. The mayor, however, disputed that claim.
Bloomberg Says The Numbers Go Up And Down In Some Precincts. WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb Reports.
“People who commit crimes don’t read the Wall Street Journal,” Bloomberg said.
The NYPD is fighting crime with 6,000 fewer cops since the mayor took office. Still, it’s launched a “get tough” policy with precinct commanders.
The commander of the 34th Precinct in Washington Heights, for example, was removed recently because crime shot up so much on his watch.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/business-government-corporate-control_n_933581.html
Corporate Power Decried By Former Lawmaker
Lawmakers rarely speak candidly about the relationship between large corporations and government, avoiding the ugly realities surrounding campaign contributions and legalized corruption. But occasionally when lawmakers leave office, they’re more frank about the intersection of business and politics. In an interview with The Huffington Post, former Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) issued a stark warning about the government’s inability to rein in the growing power of multinational corporations.
“Because [corporations] have become so international and global in nature, it’s highly questionable whether governments can actually control corporations to a sufficient degree to prevent them from controlling governments,” said Kanjorski, who served for 26 years in the House of Representatives until he was ousted last year amid a swarm of Republican congressional victories.
Two of the most worrying examples of the increasing ungovernability of corporations, Kanjorksi argued, are the current push to bestow tax breaks on American firms for stashing capital overseas and the failure to implement a new rule breaking up too-big-to-fail banks.
A coalition of tech firms, drug companies, energy conglomerates and lobbying front-groups have been pushing for a tax holiday on corporate cash that companies hide overseas. American companies hold money in nations that have very low tax rates, such as Panama, in order to avoid paying into the government’s coffers.
Current laws allow that money to remain untaxed until companies bring it back to the U.S, and naturally, some of the firms who are most active in this kind of tax avoidance are now lobbying to be allowed to bring the money back at a rate as low as 5 percent.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t adjust our tax code otherwise — there are thing we need to do there — but to give them a free ride, what are you encouraging? The next guy who doesn’t like the law will just do the same thing,” Kanjorski said of the proposed tax holiday. “The reality is, why should we be bargaining with super-national corporations who are actually acting against our interest in avoidance of what our law is? We are impotent to get them to respond.”
Kanjorski was speaking from experience. The district he represented has long been neglected by corporate America. Home to the small cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, the 11th District of Pennsylvania was a significant manufacturing hub for much of the 20th century, but firms shipped most of those jobs elsewhere decades ago, leaving the region struggling economically well before the financial crash of 2008 devastated the national labor market.
……
But Kanjorski said he’s concerned that his plan only made it through Congress because top regulatory officials and top financiers had reached an understanding that it would never actually be used.
“There may have been a tacit agreement between the regulatory people and the financial institutions that they were not going to implement this provision — they were just going to let it float,” Kanjorski said. “I think that would be unfortunate.”
SUN
NE WINDS 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 50 KT. SEAS AROUND 22
FT…BUILDING TO 24 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN. VSBY 1 NM OR LESS.
wow-zer
Who wants to go boating on sunday? I have a sweet boston whaler
This hurricane is no joke, NY/NJ heads up.
Models are generally run twice a day(12z) 8:00am and (00Z)8:00pm. there are “intermediate” runs at 06z and 18z which tend to have more errors in them. But having said that, you need to be concerned. The models keep trending East, but I don’t think Irene makes it around the Outer Banks. However, it is quite possible she could cruise over the Pamlico sound as a Cat 3, barely weaken and then unleash fury over the Delmarva and South Jersey. Keep in mind, a Cat 3 caine makeing landfall around Atlantic city, NJ would put lower Manhattan under 20 feet of water(according to the Slosh model). I don’t want to be an alarmist, but I want all my friends and the NYNJ Surf community to be smart, make plans and realize if brown trout goes bad quickly, it is very difficult and slow to get off LI. What concerns me the most, is that here in NJ we have seen 3 times the normal amount of rain for August. Inland/River flooding has the “potential” to be catastrophic. Stay safe everyone new updates out from the Hurricane Center at 11:00am. I’ll be checking this thread frequently…
What would happen if we had a hurricane, earthquake, and a flood simultaneously?
WickedOrange says:
August 23, 2011 at 4:47 pm
This hurricane is no joke, NY/NJ heads up.
re #75 – stock market would go up
I normally dont worry about hurricanes but this one has me squeezing my cheeks together.
Earthquakes feel weird when you’re lying on the beach. It was fun watching people flee afraid of a tsunami.
St. Thomas VI is still without cellphone, TV, or internet on the east end of the island in the aftermath of Irene. My sister said they had 85 MPH winds.
77,
I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.
Chifi(76),
mustard seeds and pent up demand.
Remember Hurricane Floyd?
Hurricane Floyd put Bound Brook under in more ways than one.
Barbara. Remember that well. The Williams Harley Davidson dealership burnt down during that storm. debris all over the place. Good times.
Partial building collapse in Newark, chunks of concrete and bricks dropped onto the sidewalk below:
http://photos.nj.com/star-ledger/2011/08/6073695559_c10a2dec50_zzip_11.html
Babylon is getting ready to burn. The perfect trifecta. Earthquake, hurricane, and economic doom is upon us.
83. NJescaPee
for a few years before Floyd, Bound Brook was having a moment. Nice indie movie theater, cute shops, some good restaurants. After Floyd no one rebuilt and it turned into a sanctuary city/town almost overnight.
When is the tsunami set to strike Wayne?
We used to take my son and his friends out for Stan Chitches thin crust pizza. The Inn served great steaks back in the day.
chi (75)-
We’d be Los Angeles.
Barbara: please smile once in a while, huh? You are a home owner now….you are realizing the American Dream…..or is that a mall?
Barbara says:
August 23, 2011 at 6:04 pm
83. NJescaPee
for a few years before Floyd, Bound Brook was having a moment. Nice indie movie theater, cute shops, some good restaurants. After Floyd no one rebuilt and it turned into a sanctuary city/town almost overnight.
“What would happen if we had a hurricane, earthquake, and a flood simultaneously”
QE 3, 4, 5…….. Trichet will sh#t a gold brick. Dick Fuld will rip your heart out and BAC would be slapped with a Bear Stearns 2. In addition to this, Otteau will tell us that RE has stabilized. In other words, absolutely nothing.
I suggest NJ offer the corpse of BofA to the Gods for mercy. Preferably within the communist enclave of Montclair.
We almost bought on the border of bound brook way back when. Then some floods happened and we pulled the contract. I live in one of the higher spots in Morris county not worried rain away long island and south jersey could use a good cleaning and I want a salvage hull of a 30 footer so I can finally get my fishing boat
Keys breathe easier, but Carolinas in crosshairs
kwadlow@keynoter.com
Posted – Tuesday, August 23, 2011 05:05 PM EDT
Once Hurricane Irene finally makes its predicted turn to the north sometime today, Florida Keys residents and emergency managers may be able to exhale.
The strong storm that seemed to have the Florida Keys in its crosshairs early Saturday appears almost certain to stay east of the Keys, moving up the coast toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks, according to forecasts late Tuesday.
“The only time I get super comfortable is when the storm is far, far from us,” Monroe County Emergency Management Director Irene Toner said.
“We’ll continue to monitor the hurricane for the next 48 hours or so,” Toner said. “But the good news is that we are finally out of the cone.”
That cone of uncertainty outlined by the National Hurricane Center lays out a balloon-shaped track to indicate where an active storm seems most likely to head. Late Tuesday advisories had the nearest edge of the cone shifting away from South Florida.
“Given the history of previous storms, you have to remain vigilant,” Toner said. Still, by Tuesday morning, “the situation started looking much better for us.”
Government officials went into the watchful mode as Hurricane Irene picked up strength in the Caribbean over the weekend. But school opened for the new year as scheduled Monday, and no visitor evacuations were ordered or expected.
The eastward shift of the storm proved fortuitous for the Keys as Irene appears likely to become a major storm. By Thursday, the hurricane may pack fearsome Category 4 winds — sustained between 131 and 155 mph — and raise a storm surge of more than 12 feet in the Bahamas, according to National Hurricane Center forecasts.
Some effects on marine traffic may be felt in the Keys today, particularly in Upper Keys waters closest to the storm’s path. “We are advising people to stay off the water,” Toner said. “You don’t want to get caught in that.”
The approach of Hurricane Irene threatened to divert cruise ships from calls in Key West, but the current track actually will add three ship visits, city spokeswoman Alyson Crean said Tuesday.
The Carnival Destiny docked Tuesday in Key West after a change of route. The Monarch of the Seas makes a newly added call today, and Majesty of the Seas arrived a day ahead of schedule and will remain overnight. The Norwegian Sky will be in port from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in an added call.
More could come to Key West, Crean said.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty,” she said. “For example, if the storm hits the Bahamas hard, there may be some that schedule, depending on how long it takes to clean up. And others could cancel.”
The hurricane serves as a reminder that the Keys are now entering the peak season for hurricane formation, Toner said. “This season has been one storm after another. They keep rolling out,” she said. “We can relax today and tomorrow, then begin watching to see what the next one does.”
When is the tsunami set to strike Wayne?
To what effect? We’re already underwater.
Guy I know bought a house at peak bubble near the Raritan River which floods his street all the time. He cannot refi without allot of cash up front, paying 6.5% now. I jokingly told him to unbolt it from the foundation and fill it with ping pong balls so it floats out to sea if the big one comes!
Always wished i could live in one of those real nice houses up on the hill on Canal Rd near Griggstown. Beautiful area except during / after rain / snow storms.
nj escapee, are you talking about Millstone village?
Barbara, not sure what it’s called. it’s across the Griggstown bridge from River Rd heading towards Rocky Hill / Princeton. We used to live in Belle Mead.
90. chi fi
I know you made an attempt at something witty and biting, but I can’t find it. Try again, but this time make it clever.
99.
I think that’s Millstone, I knew a couple that lived there in a big historic house, stone foundation. It was a nightmare during heavy rains, but a really beautiful area.
Occasionally used to ride my bicycle on the tow path. was pretty cool. Had thge same vibe as being in Bucks County.
That area was washed out for a couple weeks after Floyd so everyone had to drive Rt 206 or 27.
The rotting corpse stench of Bank of America continues to permeate the land. Thankfully the prevailing winds in NJ this time of year are westerly. I can only imagine what it feels like to be a wounded wildabeast on the side of a safari road with a pack of hyenas salivating and hovering over my now rotting corpse. The jaws of a hyena are known for their ripping power. I sure hope they dont go for my soft under belly.
So what is BofA worth? Surely they have some assets worth something no? Thats not for me or you to decide. Let the hyenas and maggots figure it out.
“That area was washed out for a couple weeks after Floyd”
NJE,
Eigthth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she’s puttin’ on me the stare
And Bronx’s best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five quick shots, the cops come up for air
And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they’re shootin’ up the street
And that cat from the Bronx starts lettin’ loose, but he gets blown right off his feet
And some kid comes blastin’ ’round the corner, but a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg, screaming something in Spanish, still breathing when I walked away
And somebody said, “Hey man, did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud”
I wonder what the dude was sayin’, or was he just lost in the flood?
Hey man, did you see that, those poor cats are sure messed up
I wonder what they were gettin’ into, or were they just lost in the flood?
Believe it or not, some of that beautiful area you are talking about is not just Millstone. It’s also parts of Franklin Twp. (otherwise known as Somerset).
“So what is BofA worth?”
AG,
Currently, approx 1/370th.
Ill bid on that 1/370th but JP Morgan may beat my bid. How sad. The doom is so thick in the air that I can lick it.
Consolidation of wealth and power will continue. Its all so easy. All of us peasants will be left to ourselves. Some will fair better than others.
Whine, I am aware it is Franklin but couldn’t recall the name of that particular section. A little trivia: Many years ago there was a plan on the table to flood the lowlands (farmland) of Franklin and turn it into a huge resevoir. I guess Hovnanian had other plans. Maybe they will reconsider.
We rented just off main street in Bound Brook when Floyd hit. The water crested 30 yards from our front porch. There are three superfund sites between the river and town in Bound Brook and everything was covered in that dirt — I remember watching the TV news coverage and seeing pictures of metal barrels floating down the street two blocks from where we were. Luckily our lease was up the next month and we moved out to Hunterdon County. I drive through Bound Brook about once a year now and each time it looks a little worse.
Hurricane, earthquake and flood at the same time? Did anyone else immediately think of JJ’s conquest stories when they read that?
chicagofinance says:
August 23, 2011 at 4:54 pm
What would happen if we had a hurricane, earthquake, and a flood simultaneously?
I think I found the answer…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDwODbl3muE
The floods in Bound Brook allowed the slumlords there to raise the practice to an art form. You can’t beat the margins to be made by forcing 26 illegals to pay $500/mo rent apiece- in cash- for a 2 BR, 2 BA shotgun flat.
No kidding…the current center of the Hurricane Irene path zone takes it just west of Cape May as a Cat 1 and heading due north toward NE NJ on Sunday. I’m sure to be revised significantly between now and then….
I think a hurricane has already hit BAC.
Hurricane Tangelo.
WHAT A RESUME! “…CRSC has a broad footprint in railway signaling and operates ventures in at least 20 countries including Zambia, Iran and North Korea….”
I think the correct technical term for Ma Cheng is NO TICKEE, NO SHIRTEE….bastard, I hope he burns in hell……
WSJ
BUSINESSAUGUST 24, 2011
Chinese Rail-Signal Executive Dies
By JAMES T. AREDDY
As Beijing pledges it will soon identify the culprits for a deadly high-speed rail crash last month, a Chinese railway signaling company that earlier apologized for its responsibility in the accident said its 55-year-old general manager collapsed and died during an inspection.
China Railway Signal & Communication Corp. on Tuesday identified the deceased executive as Ma Cheng and said he died Monday “during a safety inspection in Shenzhen.”
A spokesman for the state-owned company couldn’t be reached to comment.
Hours after the July 23 crash that killed 40 people, government inspectors began pointing to flawed signaling as the explanation for why a speeding train on a two-year-old track rammed the tail of a nearly stationary train outside the eastern city of Wenzhou.
The government said this week that it has concluded a preliminary assessment of what went wrong and will make public the results by mid-September. Until now, officials have said only that a signal light flashing green should have been switched to red and that lightning may have played a part.
Huang Yi, spokesman of the State Administration of Work Safety, said Monday in an online interview with state-run Xinhua news agency that preliminary investigations revealed serious design flaws in railway-signaling equipment, as well as poor emergency-response and safety-management loopholes. He reiterated a position voiced by inspectors earlier that the crash should have been avoided.
“The next stage will be to identify those who are responsible for the crash,” Mr. Huang told Xinhua.
A handful of railway officials have already been dismissed from their posts. The government has warned that individuals, and possibly their supervisors, will be punished if found at fault for the accident.
The dead man, Mr. Ma, was an important Communist Party official in the railway industry and held the post of deputy party secretary at the signaling company. He was closely identified with China’s high-speed rail signaling system, a homegrown version of a European standard, and was honored in April as one of China’s top innovators at a Beijing conference called the World Metro Rail Summit.
In September 2010, Mr. Ma sounded triumphant in announcing plans to install control systems on a Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line. “We are going to improve ourselves through the construction of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail…aiming at lifting CRSC up to the world’s first class high-tech group on railway signaling and communication,” he said, according to the company’s website.
Chinese media reports Tuesday said he collapsed with an apparent heart attack as government investigators were probing for details of the July 23 crash. The reports carried no suggestion of foul play.
China Railway Signal, known as CRSC, is the country’s dominant producer of the signaling equipment that allows dispatchers to organize rail and subway carriages. One of its subsidiaries is the only company so to far accept blame for a role in the Wenzhou accident. The unit, Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal & Communication, on July 28 issued a statement expressing “deep” sorrow about the loss of state property and individual lives. “We will shoulder our responsibility, accept the deserved punishment,” the institute said without elaboration.
CRSC has a broad footprint in railway signaling and operates ventures in at least 20 countries including Zambia, Iran and North Korea.
—Yang Jie contributed to this article.
Did I go to the wrong high school….man!?
“Some of the language is inappropriate,” said Chuck Earling, superintendent of Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown. “We were not trying to create controversy. We were just trying to get students to read.”
Dear Mr. Earling: Please accept our invitation to resign.
New Jersey school district yanks lesb!an s-x book from required reading list
WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J. — A New Jersey school district has apologized to parents after requiring high school students to read books that include graphic depictions of lesb!an s-x and a homos-xual 0rgy, FOXNews.com reported Tuesday.
“Some of the language is inappropriate,” said Chuck Earling, superintendent of Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown. “We were not trying to create controversy. We were just trying to get students to read.”
The books were on a required summer reading list for middle school and high school students. The district decided to pull the book off the list, with the start of school just days away.
“There were some words and language that seemed to be inappropriate as far as the parents and some of the kids were concerned,” Earling said.
One book, “Norwegian Wood” by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, was on a list for incoming sophomores in an honors English class. The book includes a graphic depiction of a lesb!an s-x scene between a 31-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl, according to a report first published in the Gloucester County Times.
“I don’t think that’s relevant for any teenager,” parent Robin Myers told the newspaper. Her daughter was assigned to read the book. “I was just kind of in shock,” she said.
The other book in question was “Tweak (Growing up on Methamphetamines)” by Nic Sheff. That book included depictions of drug usage and a homos-xual 0rgy.
“That has created a controversy,” Earling told FOX News Radio, referring to the drug usage — along with the lesb!an and gay s-x scenes. “We’ve pulled them from our summer reading list.”
Peter Sprigg, with the Family Research Council, said he was not surprised by the controversy surrounding the books.
“Here we see the intersection of parental values being offended, the hyper-s-xualization of our youth and the homos-xual agenda being pushed,” Sprigg told FOX News Radio. “This just illustrates why a lot of American parents are not willing to entrust their children to the public schools anymore.”
Earling said the school district’s summer reading list was prepared by a committee made up of teachers, librarians and school administrators. The board of education ultimately approved the list.
Only thing you need to read this summer is Steal This Book, by Abbie Hoffman.
thats enough of the mortgage free ride, let them pay RENT!! Let them pay something, not just live rent and mortgage free for years.