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July 10th, 2009Uncategorized
Over the holidays, and while policymakers came up with mortgage-modification plans, there was a general lull in foreclosures.But they're coming back in a big way. All the major banks, like JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and the GSEs say they've been ramping up foreclosures in recent weeks, according to WSJ.
Foreclosure sales had dropped in the second half of 2008 as mortgage companies delayed taking action against delinquent borrowers. But sales have been edging up this year, according to LPS Applied Analytics, which tracks loan performance. Foreclosure-related filings increased by nearly 6% in February from the month earlier, and were up almost 30% from February 2008, according to RealtyTrac. The backlog of seriously delinquent loans has been growing.
In California, notices of trustee sales, which are preludes to foreclosure sales, climbed by more than 80% to 33,178 in March, from February, according to data from ForeclosureRadar.com and the Field Check Group. The increase reflects both the expiration of foreclosure moratoriums and a California law enacted late last year that temporarily delayed default and foreclosure notices, says Mark Hanson, president of the Field Check Group, a research firm.
Now granted, the 80% month-over-month increase is exaggerated since February was artificially low, and in March the banks were making up for lost time. Still, this probably explains some of the "shock" consumer spending drop in March, compared to February and January. Nothing like getting foreclosed on to decisively remind you that your broke.
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July 9th, 2009Uncategorized
the Senate is considering what to do about the estate tax. It is scheduled to be abolished next year, in one of several landmines the Bush administration set to go off after it left town. Obama proposes to reinstate the tax, at a 45 percent rate, on estates worth more than $3.5 million. Since there’s no tax on what you leave to your spouse, married couples could pass on $7 million before needing to pay a dollar — or needing to consult a lawyer who can use loopholes to save millions more.
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July 8th, 2009Uncategorized
The media today is full of reports about a massive military operation in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, codenamed DIESEL. Closer examination reveals reporting of the operation to have been dramatically propagandized by the Ministry of Defense, with the media acting as their willing - if somewhat confused - accomplices. Somehow a story about less than a £100,000 worth of raw opium has been transformed into a story about £50,000,000 worth of 'deadly heroin'.
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July 7th, 2009Uncategorized
A Raytheon Company Standard Missile-2 Block IV missile intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile target at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. The SM-2 Block IV engagement demonstrated a near-term, sea-based capability for destroying short-range ballistic missiles in their terminal or final phase of flight.
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July 6th, 2009UncategorizedJapanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Tuesday that North Korea had the right to develop a space programme -- but only after it denuclearised and no longer posed a threat.
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July 5th, 2009UncategorizedThe US government has endorsed a plan to build a new generation of spy satellites, although funding to boost the Pentagon's imaging capacity still needs congressional approval.
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July 4th, 2009Uncategorized
A carrier pigeon was captured by Colombian officials today after attempting to smuggle cell-phone parts into a high-security prison via a tiny suitcase on its back. This is bad. Very bad. [CNN]
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July 3rd, 2009UncategorizedGeneral Dynamics Information Technology's ViPS business sector has been awarded a task order worth approximately $45 million by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The task order, awarded under a CMS Enterprise Systems Development (ESD) contract, has a five-year period of performance.
As the prime contractor, General Dynamics Information Technology's ViPS
will provide computer software services and system maintenance for CMS' Drug Data Processing System (DDPS) and the Payment Reconciliation System (PRS). Work performed will include system design, software enhancements, technical improvements and support for ongoing management reporting and processing of prescription drug events for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) program.
The award builds on ViPS' 30-year history of delivering healthcare
information technology and informatics that improve healthcare operating
efficiencies and quality of care. To date, General Dynamics Information
Technology and ViPS have processed more than 4.5 billion prescription drug event transactions for the Part D program.
"General Dynamics is delighted to continue our support to CMS and lend
our extensive experience with large systems to achieve CMS' mission," said Marcus Collier, senior vice president of General Dynamics Information Technology's Civilian and Homeland Security Solutions Division. "We are pleased to support CMS in its efforts to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries receive quality care and to develop better evidence on risks, benefits and costs of prescription drugs using claims data."
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July 2nd, 2009Uncategorized
Compared with last year, the consumer price index fell 0.4%, which is the first annual decline since August 1955. Most prices were even lower than that however, as a tax driven 11% rise in tobacco prices boosted the index higher than it otherwise might have been. The core CPI, which excludes things you eat and energy prices, actually rose a smidge--0.2%--in March. Overall, prices slid 0.1% last month.
The most important measure of inflation, the rise in the supply of dollars, increased last month. The fact that this has not yet appeared as a general rise in prices does not indicate that inflation is not already underway.
By the way, our own experience suggests that the divergence in cigarette pricing is driving multiple black markets, as smokers try to escape the taxes by ordering online or buying from smugglers bringing packs in from lower tax states.
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July 1st, 2009Uncategorized
Dr. Kathleen Ward noticed something odd when she examined the mammogram of a patient who had recently undergone breast cancer surgery.
The Loyola University Health System radiologist saw a suspicious pattern of white specks, much like grains of salt. The specks were calcium deposits similar to microcalcifications that sometimes are a sign of early breast cancer. But it was too early for the patient's breast cancer to have returned because it had been only a month since her lumpectomy.
