Archive for September, 2008
All good parents want a good life for their kids, so it should be no surprise that one of the first characteristics of a hometown that parents will look at is education. Many might be surprised to know that Arlington, VA now has one of the highest percentages of educational success in the United States, with over one third of its residents having a graduate degree or higher.
Arlington, VA () September 19, 2008 -- Perhaps families looking to move to a new home should consider . Many are under the impression that the county is just a suburb of Washington, DC, but the fact is, Arlington is considered a Central City of the Washington Metropolitan Area by the Census Bureau. With 26 square miles, and a population of 206,800 natives, Arlington is the smallest self-governed county in the U.S., geographically speaking. It seems there is more to than meets the eye, and DROdio.com knows this.
Daniel R. Odio has been in the real estate business for many years now, but with his background in technology, he has incorporated online tools into his unique approach to real estate, so one can find real estate in Virginia without ever leaving their computer. Among the MLS cities on DROdio.com is Arlington, VA, which many DROdio.com clients have found to fit their needs well.
Beyond the educational advantages of the county, Arlington offers a variety of comforts, as well as exciting attractions, like the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetary. With fair weather for the better part of the year, and options for rural or suburban real estate, the county of Arlington just may be the next place to call home.
For more information on oportunities, or Virginia real estate in general, please visit DROdio.com.
Breaking news: Action to be taken on behalf of all borrowers victimized by unfair banking practices.
New York, New York () September 21, 2008 -- Home owners at risk of losing their homes may now have an avenue of recourse. Lisa Beth Older, a New York Attorney, will perform an in-depth constitutional analysis of present bank lending practices which will be offered as a basis for a proposed Congressional review. Victims of lending abuses are invited to join in the submission of a brief one-page complaint addressed to Lisa Beth Older, Esq. so that an assessment can be made as to whether or not the latest lending policies are widespread, whether they intentionally violate anti-trust laws, whether the constitutional rights of individual consumers in the free market place have been violated, and whether or not legislative or judicial intervention is warranted.
"The housing crisis is caused in large part by predatory banking practices." The government is planning on bailing out the very institutions that caused the home foreclosure crisis without similarly bailing out victimized home owners suffering from unduly high interest rates. These suspect loan practices use unfair or fraudulent loan criteria to deny credit to the credit-worthy. The lending practices currently being reviewed involve refusal of lending institutions to provide pre-existing borrowers with the same interest rate currently offer to new borrowers. The current high paying borrowers were lured into low flexible variable rate loans, and were verbally promised lock-in rates if rates increased. After the rates increased exponentially, borrowers locked in their loans at significantly higher fixed interest rates relying upon the lender's promise that once interest rates declined again they could always convert their loan back to an adjustable variable rate. However, these high paying borrowers, in reliance upon this misleading information, applied for the adjustable loan and were unceremoniously declined. Presently it appears that while new customer loan applications are being accepted, pre-existing mortgagor applications have been denied by the same institution that offered them their previous low interest variable rate home equity loan in the first instance. Accordingly, as attorney Lisa Beth Older says, "All government bail-outs offered to lending institutions should be contingent upon bail-outs for borrowers victimized by predatory practices." The government's failure to regulate banks has resulted in the flagrant violation of constitutional rights, alleges attorney Lisa Beth Older. It is a violation of equal protection under the law if a bank provides lower interest rate loans to new mortgagors, while refusing to refinance existing customer loans at the same interest rate where both of the aforementioned home loan borrowers are similarly financially situated with respect to their income, loan-to-risk ratio, and credit status. The result is that the middle class person with pre-existing excellent credit is stuck with a higher interest rate, the new borrower is able to secure a lower interest rate, and the banks can use both borrowers to cover the losses incurred in the foreclosure market due to their own predatory practices.
Moreover, lending institutions and commercial banks may very well be in violation of the Anti-Trust Act. Lisa Beth Older says that an investigation should be held by Congress to review any potential scheme of collectively engaging in the adoption of widespread abusive lending practice that refuse to re-finance loans for borrowers who had their house on the market within the last 90 to 120 days. This scheme has forced many home owners into foreclosure or debt. "The deplorable widespread lending practice of denying refinancing to qualified borrowers, who, in precedent months, listed their home for sale, should be carefully scrutinized by our government," says Lisa Beth Older, Esq.
Commercial banks are further refusing to reduce interest rates for status quo customers with good credit based upon other bogus excuses such as the value to loan ratio is not sufficient, or by using old tax rolls in lieu of real estate appraisals. Lisa Beth Older, Esq. is further asking Congress for a moratorium on foreclosures. Lisa Beth Older will make application to hold a Congressional hearing if there is enough evidence of widespread abuse. If you feel you are a victim of such unfair bank practices feel free to mail your complaint to FRONT DESK at Gateway Plaza (Attn Lisa Older Esq.) at 375 South End Ave Building 400 NY NY 10280. To ensure review, please be sure to bold FRONT DESK DELIVERY on the face of your envelope. Make it no more than one page. Include your name, address, telephone number, the financial institution in question, and your email address, together with a brief one-half (1/2) page description of how, when and why you were refused refinancing. Be sure you sign and/or notarize your complaint. Emails will not be accepted. All submissions longer than one page will be returned to the sender.
LONDON (Reuters) -
European shares fell heavily on Monday as fallout from the credit crisis hit the region's banking sector, forcing partial nationalization of two banks and leaving investors to ponder the impact of a U.S. bailout plan.
European shares fell heavily on Monday as fallout from the credit crisis hit the region's banking sector, forcing partial nationalization of two banks and leaving investors to ponder the impact of a U.S. bailout plan.
The euro and sterling fell in the wake of share prices sliding, while safe-haven government bond prices rose.
Money markets remained frozen with banks refusing to lend to one another for all but the shortest periods, prompting the European Central Bank to offer additional funds.
The hard-fought U.S. proposal to establish a $700 billion fund to buy illiquid securities will be sent for a Congressional vote later on Monday after days of tense negotiations and compromises.
But European worries threatened to overshadow the proposal after the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments were forced to rescue financial firm Fortis over the weekend to prevent a domino-like spread of failure.
In addition, the UK government said that lender Bradford & Bingley's branch network will be sold to Spanish bank Santander and the remainder of the group would be nationalized.
"The nationalizations have an incredibly negative read across for the sector," said Mark Sartori, head of European sales trading at Fox-Pitt, Kelton.
"The contagion is spreading to mainland Europe and everyone's asking: who's next?" he added.
By 4:30 a.m. EDT, MSCI main world equity index fell 1.9 percent, a 1-1/2 week low. The FTSEurofirst 300 Index was down 2.7 percent at 1073.97, while a measure of banking stocks tanked 5 percent to 267.76.
European shares followed a lead set in Asia overnight with Japan's Nikkei share average posting a 1.3 percent decline, erasing earlier gains.
The December U.S. S&P 500 future was down 2 percent, reversing initial gains on news the plan was set for a vote in the House of Representatives.
EURO FEELS THE HEAT
Currency markets also felt the pinch of banking sector contagion, with the euro falling more 2 percent to a 10-day low of $1.4310. A fall of 2.1 percent or more would be the biggest 1-day fall since Jan 2001, while a fall of 2.3 percent or more would be the biggest since its launch in 1999.
In addition, sterling dropped almost 2 percent to $1.8085.
"The crisis has taken on a more international complexion with B&B and Fortis ... There is a worry whether there is the ability or the willingness within Europe for a U.S.-style response," Calyon senior currency strategist Daragh Maher said.
The dollar was well-bid elsewhere on hopes of smooth legislative passing of the $700 billion proposal, rising 1.3 percent versus the Swiss franc. The high-yielding Australian and New Zealand dollars fell 1.7 and 1.3 percent respectively.
December Bund futures were 88 ticks higher at 114.68. Two-year bond yields fell to their lowest since mid-April, while 10-year yields were just under 16 basis points lower at 4.155 percent.
Two-year swap spreads, indicating the strains in the market, rose as high as 120 basis points from 113 bps late on Friday.
In early London trade on Monday the interbank cost of borrowing dollars for three months was indicated as high as 5.27 percent, the highest this year, according to Reuters data.
The closely-watched TED spread, or the difference between these market-based dollar rates and three-month U.S. government borrowing rates, fluctuated in a wide range of around 280 to 440 basis points.
SAFETY VS RISK
Washington's bailout package, though unpopular with the public and viewed skeptically by some analysts, is the biggest effort yet by the U.S. government to ease the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Yet it alone has not been enough to reverse a powerful move by global investors to purge their portfolios of risk.
"The package will improve liquidity in the system. But I don't think lenders are going to go out carte blanche and provide new capital to the market in an aggressive way," said Leigh Gardner, head of equities distribution for ABN AMRO in Australia.
(Additional reporting by Kevin Plumberg in Hong Kong, Jessica Mortimer and Joanne Frearson in London)
(Editing by Stephen Nisbet)