| Outlook bleak for US financial firms: Report
NEW YORK - GOLDMAN Sachs has issued a gloomy report on the United States financial services sector, saying housing prices are likely to fall a lot further, write-downs will mount, and some mortgage insurers and guarantors will be forced to raise capital just to survive. Falling house prices and a worsening economy will drive down securities based on residential mortgages, especially those given to borrowers with the riskiest credit, Goldman financial analysts Lori Appelbaum, Thomas Cholnoky, James Fotheringham and William Tanonawrote in a lengthy report released on Monday. Meanwhile, the value of collateralised debt obligations bonds based on pools of mortgages related to those sub-prime mortgages, could fall another US$150 billion (S$217 billion) across the industry, the bank said.
Economic Earthquake
There are days I can't stand watching the local news. The constant bad news -- shootings, theft, etc. -- just depresses me. But now the business reports are troubling me. Just look at some of the recent business news stories: New York's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo is going after the mortgage industry. Earlier this month, he sued a subsidiary of First American Corp. for allegedly caving into demands from mortgage lender Washington Mutual to inflate mortgage appraisals. That move inflated home values, the attorney general said. .
Child-porn law focus of appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of a federal law that expands the definition of child pornography in an effort to crack down on cybersex prowlers. The high court will hear a First Amendment quarrel today and decide if two phrases in the PROTECT act of 2003 are unlawfully vague and overbroad. The court is expected to take the case under advisement after oral argument and issue its opinion before the end of its current term in June 2008. The issue surfaced after Michael Williams pled guilty on two counts of child pornography: possessing the material and "pandering" (promoting) the images. In an Internet sting operation, Williams offered sexually explicit pictures of his 4-year-old daughter to an undercover federal agent; authorities found 22 images of underage children on Williams' computer.
Investors support tech solutions to ID theft / Silicon Valley venture capital firms leading way in financing companies ...
Gideon Yu, the former chief financial officer of YouTube and current chief financial officer of Facebook, is one of the most notable new executives in Silicon Valley. But while Yu operated in high tech's highest circles over the past two years, an impersonator quietly was using his name and credit card number to make fraudulent purchases. Yu and his wife did not spot the identity theft for months, until a spending spree in Reno got their attention. In the unpleasant aftermath, Yu delved into the world of identity theft prevention, looking for tools to protect himself and the estimated 15 million Americans who have been touched by the crime. The average loss of funds in a case of identity theft was $3,257 in 2006, according to a study by Gartner, a research firm.
Pinoy tourist stranded in Siberia after heart attack
A Filipino has been in comatose at the Irkutsk Regional Hospital in Siberia for three weeks now after suffering from heart attack while on a plane bound for Hong Kong from London, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau reported Tuesday.
Bureau chief Danny Buenafe said Romulo del Rosario, 78, had a heart attack while on a commercial flight on October 19. The plane made an emergency landing at Irkutsk Airport in Russia (near Northern Mongolia) to offload him.
His family, meanwhile, have appealed to the Philippine government for help since they are unable to bring him home because of the cost of chartering a special hospital-type plane for del Rosario.
Family members also said that Siberia's cold weather could aggravate the patient's condition.
Gary, one of del Rosario's sons, is taking care of him.
|
