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CT joblessness hits Hispanics, Blacks and young people harder

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:21:02 +0000

Young, Hispanic, and African American workers in Connecticut are experiencing a disproportionately higher rate of unemployment in the state, according to a new report released Thursday.

The report, issued by the left leaning policy think tank Connecticut Voices for Children, also found that long-term unemployment – the share of the unemployed who have been out of work for at least six months – is relatively high in Connecticut, particularly among older workers, and has reached the ranks of the college-educated.

“It is troubling that so much of our future workforce – especially young workers and the growing

Hispanic population — is unemployed now,” said Orlando Rodriguez, a senior policy fellow at

Connecticut Voices and co-author of the report. “This trend does not bode well for our future.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• Unemployment has most heavily affected young workers (18.2 percent), Hispanics (17.7 percent), and African-Americans (15.6 percent), compared to 7.5 percent for white workers and 9.1 percent overall.

• Long-term unemployment is relatively high in Connecticut (49.6 percent), is worst for older workers (60.1 percent), and has reached the ranks of the college-educated (50.4 percent).

• Geographically, the recession has been felt most heavily in urban regions and rural towns. Cities with the highest unemployment rates are Hartford (16.4 percent), Waterbury (14.5 percent), Bridgeport (14.3 percent), New Haven (13.8 percent), New Britain (13.2 percent), and New London (12.4 percent). Among rural towns, the highest rates were in Plainfield (11.7 percent) and Sprague (11.2 percent).

In response to the reports finding, Connecticut Voices is urging lawmakers to focus on several priorities during the upcoming special legislative session on job creation including establishing a comprehensive economic strategy that is more accountable for achieving job gains and reconsiders the state’s heavy reliance on business tax credits.

The organizations also wants further investment in education, training, and physical infrastructure, as well as solutions to tackle the high costs of living and doing business in Connecticut.

Hartford Business Journal Online

Greater Hartford Residential Sales Market Improves In July

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:28:09 +0000

Closed and pending single-family home sales in and around Hartford both rose by double digit percentages last month compared to July 2010, though median prices and new listings both fell year-over-year, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors (GHAR).

Closed sales rose almost 14 percent, to 685 from 601. Pending sales jumped 12.5 percent. The median sales price dipped 4 percent, to $238,000, and new listings fell 5.4 percent. The average number of days a home spent on the market dropped to 63 days from 73 days during the same time frame, the Realtor organization said.

Year-to-date, closed sales fell 17 percent, to 4,047 from 4,872. The median sale price decreased dipped slightly more than 2 percent year-over-year to $225,000.

Closed condominium sales in July in Greater Hartford decreased by more than 23 percent, to 134 from 165 in July of last year. The median condo sale price dropped 4.7 percent, to $163,000.

“The jump in closed sales is likely due to stabilization of the market after the housing tax incentives of the previous year,” GHAR President and CEO Jeff Arakelian said in a statement. “Hopefully, more buyers will take advantage of the current market with lower sales prices and historically low interest rates.”

-Commercial Record

On mortgage rates, Obama wants proposal for how government can keep big role

admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:49:39 +0000

President Obama has directed a small team of advisers to develop a proposal that would keep the government playing a major role in the nation’s mortgage market, extending a federal loan subsidy for most home buyers, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision follows the advice of his senior economic and housing advisers, who favor maintaining the government’s role as an insurer of mortgages for most borrowers. The approach could even preserve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants owned by the government, although under different names and with significant new constraints, said people knowledgeable about the discussions.

The Market – What’s up?

admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:05:15 +0000

What do Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom have in common? Their debt (and a few other smaller countries) is rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s – just like the U.S’s was prior to Friday afternoon. But not no mo’ for the U.S. The S&P’s downgrade of the USA on Friday to AA+ was not entirely unexpected, although it was perhaps a little sooner than “experts” thought. -Rob Chrisman

Mortgage rate falls to 8-month low By Bloomberg News

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:23:21 +0000

WASHINGTON -

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans plunged to the lowest level in more than eight months.

The average for a 30-year fixed loan dropped to 4.39 percent in the week ended yesterday from 4.55 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The average 15-year fixed-loan rate decreased to a record 3.54 percent from 3.66 percent. The decline followed a slide in yields for 10-year Treasury notes, which touched the lowest level since November on Wednesday as concern grew that the economy is slowing. The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is the lowest since the week ended Nov. 18, when it also was 4.39 percent. It fell earlier in November to 4.17 percent, the lowest in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971. The low borrowing costs have done little to boost home sales as banks tighten lending standards, the unemployment rate sticks above 9 percent, and a glut of foreclosed properties drag down prices. About 22.7 percent of homeowners with mortgages were underwater in the first quarter, meaning they owe than their properties are worth, according to CoreLogic Inc.

Smash the Ceiling – A quick easy to understand overview of what is happening on Capital Hill right now

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:48:20 +0000

Smash the Ceiling

by James Surowiecki August 1, 2011

In the past few years, the U.S. economy has been beset by the subprime meltdown, skyrocketing oil prices, the Eurozone debt crisis, and even the Tohoku earthquake. Now it’s staring at a new problem—a failure to raise the debt ceiling, which would almost certainly throw the economy back into recession. Unlike those other problems, however, this one would be wholly of our own making. If the economy suffers as a result, it’ll be what a soccer fan might call the biggest own goal in history.

The truth is that the United States doesn’t need, and shouldn’t have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one. There’s no debt limit in the Constitution. And, if Congress really wants to hold down government debt, it already has a way to do so that doesn’t risk economic chaos—namely, the annual budgeting process. The only reason we need to lift the debt ceiling, after all, is to pay for spending that Congress has already authorized. If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, we’ll face an absurd scenario in which Congress will have ordered the President to execute two laws that are flatly at odds with each other. If he obeys the debt ceiling, he cannot spend the money that Congress has told him to spend, which is why most government functions will be shut down. Yet if he spends the money as Congress has authorized him to he’ll end up violating the debt ceiling.

As it happens, the debt ceiling, which was adopted in 1917, did have a purpose once—it was a way for Congress to keep the President accountable. Congress used to exercise only loose control over the government budget, and the President was able to borrow money and spend money with little legislative oversight. But this hasn’t been the case since 1974; Congress now passes comprehensive budget resolutions that detail exactly how the government will tax and spend, and the Treasury Department borrows only the money that Congress allows it to. (It’s why TARP, for instance, required Congress to pass a law authorizing the Treasury to act.) This makes the debt ceiling an anachronism. These days, the debt limit actually makes the President less accountable to Congress, not more: if the ceiling isn’t raised, it’s President Obama who will be deciding which bills get paid and which don’t, with no say from Congress.

One argument you hear for having a debt ceiling is that it’s useful as what the political theorist Jon Elster calls a “precommitment device”—a way of keeping ourselves from acting recklessly in the future, like Ulysses protecting himself from the Sirens by having himself bound to the mast. As precommitment devices go, however, the debt limit is both too weak and too strong. It’s too weak because Congress can simply vote to lift it, as it has done more than seventy times in the past fifty years. But it’s too strong because its negative consequences (default, higher interest rates, financial turmoil) are disastrously out of proportion to the behavior it’s trying to regulate. For the U.S. to default now, when investors are happily lending it money at exceedingly reasonable rates, would be akin to shooting yourself in the head for failing to follow your diet.

Advocates of the ceiling like the way it turns the national debt into front-page news, focussing the minds of voters and politicians; they think it fosters accountability, straight talk, transparency. In reality, debt-ceiling votes merely perpetuate the illusion that balancing the budget is easy. That’s why politicians like the debt ceiling: it allows them to rail against borrowing more money (which voters hate) without having to vote to cut any specific programs or raise taxes (which voters also hate).

You might think that there are benefits to putting negotiators under the gun. But, as the Dutch psychologist Carsten de Dreu has shown, time pressure tends to close minds, not open them. Under time pressure, negotiators tend to rely more on stereotypes and cognitive shortcuts. They don’t consider as wide a range of alternatives, and are more likely to jump to conclusions based on scanty evidence. Time pressure also reduces the chances that an agreement will be what psychologists call “integrative”—taking everyone’s interests and values into account.

In fact, by turning dealmaking into a game of chicken, the debt ceiling favors fanaticism. As the economist Thomas Schelling showed many years ago, “It does not always help to be, or to be believed to be, fully rational, coolheaded, and in control of oneself” when it comes to brinksmanship. It doesn’t, in short, help to be President Obama. That may be why all the deals that have been taken seriously this season rely much more heavily on spending cuts than on tax increases: the deals represent Republican priorities, because the Republicans seem to be more willing than the Democrats to let the country default. It’s not pure craziness that’s rewarded—when some congressional Tea Partiers said that they wouldn’t vote to raise the ceiling under any circumstances, they became irrelevant to the conversation, since no compromise would make them happy. But recklessness does equal power: that’s why Eric Cantor, the House Majority Leader, and John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, have implied that they’re willing to go over the cliff (in part by suggesting that their fellow party members will force them to) but also that they can be persuaded to do the right thing.

We may nonetheless end up with a halfway sensible budget deal. But that would be the result of luck, not design. Instead of figuring out ways to raise the debt ceiling, we should simply go ahead and abolish it. The U.S. economy has plenty of real problems to deal with. We shouldn’t have to wrestle with ones we’ve created for ourselves. ♦

ILLUSTRATION: CHRISTOPH NIEMANN

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HUD Owned Property Sales Delayed!

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:06:17 +0000

IF YOUR WORKING WITH A HUD OWNED PROPERTY FORECLOSURE, SALES HAVE BEEN DELAYED IN NEW ENGLAND DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS FOR CLOSING AGENTS

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has delayed the sale of several hundred foreclosed properties in New England because of a lack of funds to pay closing fees to attorneys and other closing agents. According to ALTA, “because of high demand for foreclosures, HUD had insufficient funds to pay attorneys and other closing agents responsible for closing the transactions….” HUD is currently negotiating new closing contracts.

More than 540 properties in New England have reportedly been affected, including more than 190 in Massachusetts. Although some closings have resumed, other closings continue to experience delays.

HUD has indicated that deadlines for sales will be extended when necessary and that information will be provided when “funding becomes available for closings, and a closing date will be established as soon as possible thereafter.”

Remember — Knowledge is the key to success!

Great info from Lisa C. Roberts……..thanks for sharing!

FHA gives jobless homeowners one-year break

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:35:00 +0000

-MSNBC

The Obama administration is making it easier for out-of-work homeowners to stay in their homes, as it tries to revamp its troubled foreclosure-prevention program.

Starting Aug. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will extend the period for unemployed homeowners to miss mortgage payments to a full year from three or four months. That will allow qualified homeowners to go without making a monthly payment for 12 months before the foreclosure process begins.

The extended grace period only applies to FHA-backed loans, which are usually given to low- and middle-income borrowers and represent about 14 percent of all active mortgages and roughly 25 percent of new mortgages, and homeowners in the government’s foreclosure-prevention program. About 10,000 homeowners in the foreclosure program and 3,500 FHA-backed homeowners per month would be eligible, officials said.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Thursday that administration officials hope private lenders and government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back 90 percent of all new mortgages, will adopt a similar policy.

“Our hope is that this will have broader effects,” Donovan said during a conference call.

The government launched its chief foreclosure program in 2009 to help those at risk of foreclosure by lowering their monthly payments. Borrowers start with lower payments on a trial basis. But the program has struggled to convert them into permanent loan modifications.

More than 1.6 million troubled homeowners received trial modifications over the past two years. But a majority of the applicants, about 854,000 homeowners, have dropped out of the program entirely.

In recent weeks, administration officials have acknowledged that housing has become a significant drag on the economy. President Barack Obama said the housing market has “been most stubborn to us trying to solve the problem,” during a town-hall-style meeting Wednesday on Twitter.

He admitted that the government’s programs to help homeowners were “not enough” and said the administration was “going back to the drawing board.”

Homeowners accepted into the foreclosure assistance program receive interest rates as low as 2 percent for five years. They can repay their loans over a longer period. The median savings for those who remain in the program is about $526 per month.

Those who have their payments delayed must repay them, with interest.

But many homeowners have complained that the program has been a bureaucratic mess. Some have said they were disqualified after banks lost their documents and failed to return their phone calls. Banks have blamed homeowners for failing to submit needed paperwork.

Last month, the Obama administration blamed the three largest U.S. mortgage lenders for the failures of the foreclosure program, saying they hadn’t done enough to help people at risk of losing their homes. The Treasury Department said it was withholding financial incentives that amounted to up to $1,000 per permanent loan modification, arguing the three lenders had incorrectly determined that many people were ineligible for assistance.

The lenders, Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co., disputed the data, saying they were based on old reports, not audits from the first quarter of the year as the government claimed.

Student splits 40k in winnings amoung runners-up

admin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:55:24 +0000

The event – a foul-shooting contest for top academic students at Compton High
School in Los Angeles – was created with a simple premise: Organizers wanted to
show the kids at Compton how to create community spirit with college scholarship
money as the incentive.

Following a tear-jerking gesture from the winner – it appears the true lessons learned
were by the adults.

The kids in Compton are more than alright.

Three months after winning the $40,000 top prize, Allan Guei donated all of
his winnings to the seven other finalists.

Guei, a star player on the basketball team who is headed to Cal-State
Northridge on a full scholarship, said he felt the others could use the college
cash more than he could. He wanted to give his classmates a chance to make their
academic dreams come true, too.

“I’ve already been blessed so much and I know we’re living with a bad
economy, so I know this money can really help my classmates,” he said in a
release from the school. “It was the right decision.”

One that stunned Court Crandall, the man behind the event.

“What he has done is exceptional, just like Allan,” he said. “Like any young
people, whether it’s my kids or someone else’s, you hope they are given
opportunities to show what they can do. These Compton High grads have a lot of
talent. They have a lot of drive, and I wish them all the best.”

Crandall, a partner at the Southern California advertising firm WDCW and a
hollywood screenwriter whose credits include “Old School,” came up with the idea
after watching his 16-year-old son play on a basketball team with some Compton
students.

Crandall felt foul shooting was something that could unite a community
regardless of racial divide. He felt doing it in Compton – a community battling
an image problem – could help change those attitudes, too.

“I thought the free throw is a good metaphor in a world where there’s a bunch
of lines that are kind of dividing us,” Crandall said afterward. “The focus became,
how do we show the world another side of Compton, that’s more positive, beyond the stereotypical guns and crime stuff.”
The only requirement for the contest is that the students must have a GPA of
3.0 and above. After receiving nearly 100 applicants, eight contestants were
chosen at random. The contest was held in March.

“My hope was that what started as a competition would become a collaboration
with the kids supporting each other,” Crandall told the L.A. Times. “They did, but
in the end they did that to a much greater extent than I ever could have anticipated.”

The students were filmed throughout the ordeal as part of a documentary that
is scheduled to be released this fall.

One of the final scenes figures to be Compton principal Jesse Jones making
the surprise announcement at the school’s graduation in June.

“Allan is a great basketball player, but he is a better citizen than a
basketball player,” Jones said. “It’s truly a blessing.”

Even though Guei was a basketball star, Crandall allowed him to enter the
contest to reward him for his academic efforts.

Guei would have been allowed to keep the money under NCAA rules. The other
finalists, who will receive roughly $5,500, are thankful that he will not.

Donald Dotson, who also plans to attend Cal-State Northridge, said Guei is “a
very deep, intelligent, and warm person.”

Dotson figures his gesture will pay forward.

“He’s going to go really far in life,” he said. “Because of what he’s done
for us, God will bless him. That’s what life is all about; stepping forward to
help other people.”

RivalsHigh

Don’t Be A Fool By The Pool: Safety Tips For All!

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:18:16 +0000

It’s around this time, where the warm weather sets in and pools come uncovered. But the statistics of pool accidents is alarming.

The 2010 Pool and Spa Submersion: Estimated Injuries and Reported Fatalities Report from the CPSC shows that drowning deaths for children under the age of 15 averaged 385 annually between 2005 and 2007.

PoolSafety.gov has offered some great, useful and important tips to keep your family and friends safe while also having fun this summer:

Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your child when he or she is in or near water
Teach children basic water safety tips
Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments
Have a telephone close by when you or your family is using a pool or spa
If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first
Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors