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Tuesday, Feb 07, 2012 |
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Weather Forecast |
| Cities / State |
°C |
°F |
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Atlanta
(Georgia) |
6.4 |
43.5 |
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Charleston
(South Carolina) |
10.6 |
51.1 |
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Charlotte
(North Carolina) |
4.2 |
39.6 |
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Columbia
(South Carolina) |
7.8 |
46 |
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Dallas
(Texas) |
10.0 |
50.0 |
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Miami
(Florida) |
22.8 |
73 |
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Nashville
(Tennessee) |
4.3 |
39.8 |
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News » Home
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| Chase, Wells Fargo, BofA sued over mortgage databases |
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Date: 06-02-2012
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued banking Big Three - JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc., Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co. - on Friday over their use of an electronic mortgage database that played a key role in financing the nation historic housing bubble.
Schneiderman, who gained additional clout last month when President Barack Obama named him co-chairman of a new federal mortgage-crisis unit, filed suit against Bank of America, (NYSE: BAC) Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) in New York State Supreme Court.
Those three are the biggest banks operating in Arizona. The state of Arizona has its own mortgage modification lawsuit against BofA.
The New York Times reported Friday that the lawsuit claims the database -- called the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS - resulted in deceptive and illegal practices, including false documents used in foreclosure proceedings.
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| Eastwood Calls 'Halftime in America' in Chrysler Super Bowl Ad |
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Date: 06-02-2012
It's "halftime in America," and people who are out of work need look no farther than Detroit to see a way to recovery, Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood said in a Super Bowl commercial for Chrysler Group LLC.
Eastwood, 81, spoke in a two-minute spot as the New England Patriots and New York Giants headed to their locker rooms at the midpoint of last night's game, the year's most-watched U.S. television event.
"It's halftime in America too," Eastwood said in the graveled voice that uttered some of Hollywood's most memorable lines in more than five decades as an actor, director and producer. "People are out of work and they're hurting. And they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback."
Answers can come from the people of Detroit, Eastwood said. Wracked by the 2007-2009 recession and collapse of U.S. auto sales that sent the former Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. into bankruptcy, the region's jobless rate reached as high as 16.6 percent in July 2009. Now it's 9.7 percent.
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| Google Earth Update Erases Underwater 'Atlantis' Error |
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Date: 06-02-2012
A Google Earth map that raised rumors of the lost city of Atlantis has gotten a much-needed update, ridding the seafloor of a gridlike pattern that some vigilant users suspected were sunken streets from the mythological underwater city.
In fact, Google Ocean, an extension of map program Google Earth, was merely displaying a data artifact from the sonar method that oceanographers use to map the seafloor. This week, Google updated the application with new seafloor data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other groups.
"The original version of Google Ocean was a newly developed prototype map that had high resolution but also contained thousands of blunders related to the original archived ship data," David Sandwell, a Scripps geophysicist, said in a statement. "UCSD undergraduate students spent the past three years identifying and correcting the blunders."
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| Energy secretary backs natural gas exports |
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Date: 05-02-2012
The low price of natural gas is hurting domestic job growth, and exporting a small amount of the fuel will boost the economy, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a Houston audience Thursday.
Speaking at a town hall at Houston Community College, Chu said a modest increase in the price of natural gas wouldn't significantly raise its cost to U.S. consumers who use it to heat their homes and manufacturers who need it to make products.
Natural gas futures closed at $2.55, up 17 cents, in trading Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It brings much higher prices in other countries.
"Exporting natural gas means wealth comes into the United States," Chu said.
The Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy is reviewing several applications to export liquefied natural gas. The exports would relieve the glut of natural gas on the domestic market and raise revenue, but also potentially increase prices for domestic consumers.
Several U.S. energy companies have announced plans to close their natural gas wells and curb spending in natural gas fields, as its price has fallen from more than $13.50 in 2008.
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| Safe Social Networking Tips for Teens |
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Date: 05-02-2012
More than 60 percent of American teens have at least one profile on a social networking site, and many spend more than two hours a day on social networking sites, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Like many activities, social networking sites offer both opportunities and risks for teens, and parents need to help their children use these sites wisely, the academy advises.
Potential benefits include: staying connected with friends; developing new social contacts with peers who have similar interests; sharing self-expression such as music, artwork and political views; and development and expression of individual identity.
Possible risks include: cyberbullying; sharing too much personal information; vulnerability to predatory adults; regrets about sharing certain photos or videos; exposure to large amounts of marketing that may not be age-appropriate; identity theft and reduced physical activity.
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| Treasury Department Proposal would add to 401(k) options |
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Date: 05-02-2012
A new Treasury Department proposal announced Thursday could provide workers with more options for managing their 401(k) retirement savings.
When many plan participants are ready to retire, they only have two choices: Put it all in an annuity or take it all in a cash withdrawal - and nothing in between.
Retirement decisions have become more difficult because workers who have a 401(k) plan, and not a pension plan, must make sure their savings will last as long as they live. With an annuity, you give a lump sum to an insurance company, which agrees to pay you a monthly amount for life.
"When American workers take the responsible step of saving for retirement, we should do all we can to provide them with sensible, accessible choices for managing their hard-earned savings," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a statement Thursday.
Until now, few 401(k) plans have offered insurance company annuities because of complicated regulatory rules. And plans have been concerned that they'd be held responsible if an insurance company offering one of the annuities went out of business.
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| Economy likely started 2012 with solid job growth |
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Date: 03-02-2012
The economy likely produced another solid month of hiring in January, a promising start for 2012.
Economists forecast that employers added a net 155,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remained 8.5 percent for a second straight month, according to a survey by Factset.
The unemployment rate has fallen for four straight months. It's at its lowest level in nearly three years.
A gain of 155,000 jobs would be down slightly from December, when employers added a net 200,000. Still, it would mark the seventh straight month in which at least 100,000 jobs have been added. That hasn't happened since 2005.
On Friday, the government will also issue its annual revisions to earlier jobs figures. The revisions are expected to show that hiring was stronger over the past two years than previously thought. The government has said the economy added about 1.6 million jobs last year, nearly twice as many as in 2010.
Even with the gains, the job market faces a long way back to full health. The nation has about 6 million fewer jobs than it did when the recession began in late 2007.
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| Goodell: 34 teams likely if LA included |
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Date: 03-02-2012
Commissioner Roger Goodell says if the NFL puts a team in Los Angeles, it is probable the league would expand to 34 franchises.
Appearing Thursday night on "Costas Live" on NBC Sports Network, Goodell said the league "doesn't want to move any of our teams."
"We probably don't want to go to 33" teams by adding just one new club if a suitable stadium is built in the Los Angeles area, Goodell said. Instead, the league would consider adding two. An odd number of teams would pose scheduling problems, including at least one club being off each week, and would create one division with five teams.
There has been speculation an LA stadium could house two NFL franchises, although Goodell did not address that with host Bob Costas.
Goodell says there are several issues that must be solved in LA, particularly which of two current stadium proposals is best. He didn't suggest any timetable for returning to Southern California.
Goodell talked about head injuries and said the NFL was helping other sports and the military through its research into concussions.
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