The government of Illinois, an an obvious attempt to distract America from Blagojevich’s hair, has declared that Pluto is a planet.
~
Showing posts with label plutocrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plutocrats. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Awesome...
Though Briggs might disagree - I'm all for this:
Illinois Sues Countrywide By GRETCHEN MORGENSON Published: June 25, 2008
The Illinois attorney general is suing Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage lender, and Angelo R. Mozilo, its chief executive, contending that the company and its executives defrauded borrowers in the state by selling them costly and defective loans that quickly went into foreclosure.
The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed on Wednesday in Illinois state court, accused Countrywide and Mr. Mozilo of relaxing underwriting standards, structuring loans with risky features, and misleading consumers with hidden fees and fake marketing claims, like its heavily advertised “no closing costs loan.” Countrywide also created incentives for its employees and brokers to sell questionable loans by paying them more on such sales, the complaint said.
In reviewing one Illinois mortgage broker’s sales of Countrywide loans, the complaint said the “vast majority of the loans had inflated income, almost all without the borrower’s knowledge.”
The civil lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and requests that the court require Countrywide to rescind or reform all the questionable loans it sold from 2004 through the present. The attorney general, Lisa Madigan, also asked that Mr. Mozilo contribute personally to the damages and that the court give her office 90 days to review loans serviced by Countrywide that were in foreclosure or soon would be.
“People were put into loans they did not understand, could not afford and could not get out of,” Ms. Madigan said. “This mounting disaster has had an impact on individual homeowners statewide and is having an impact on the global economy. It is all from the greed of people like Angelo Mozilo.”
The lawsuit adds to the considerable legal risks facing Bank of America as it prepares to absorb Countrywide in a takeover announced in January. Countrywide and its executives have been named as defendants in shareholder lawsuits, and the company’s practices are the subject of investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the F.B.I. and the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees loan servicing companies.
The United States Trustee, a unit of the Justice Department that monitors the bankruptcy system, has also sued Countrywide, contending that its loan servicing practices represent an abuse of the bankruptcy system.
Countrywide did not respond to an e-mail message seeking comment. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment.
Countrywide, once the nation’s top mortgage lender, has watched its fortunes plummet as the housing crisis has spread across the country. In the last three quarters, the company reported $2.5 billion in losses, and in the first quarter of 2008, total nonperforming assets reached $6 billion, almost five times that of the same period last year.
When Bank of America announced its stock-for-stock deal to buy Countrywide, the acquisition was valued at more than $4 billion. Because shares of both companies have fallen, the transaction is worth $2.8 billion.
The Illinois complaint was derived from 111,000 pages of Countrywide documents and interviews with former employees. It paints a picture of a lending machine that was more concerned with volume of loans than quality.
For example, former employees told Illinois investigators that Countrywide’s pay structure encouraged them to make as many loans as they could; some reduced-documentation loans took as little as 30 minutes to underwrite, the complaint said.
The lawsuit cited Countrywide documents indicating that almost 60 percent of its borrowers in subprime adjustable rate mortgages requiring minimal payments in the early years, known as hybrid A.R.M.’s, would not have qualified at the full payment rate. Countrywide also acknowledged that almost 25 percent of the borrowers would not have qualified for any other mortgage product that it sold.
Even more surprising, Ms. Madigan said, was her office’s discovery of e-mail messages automatically sent by Countrywide to its borrowers offering complimentary loan reviews one year after they obtained their mortgages from the company.
“Happy Anniversary!” the e-mail messages stated. “Many home values skyrocketed over the past year. That means that you may have thousands of dollars of home equity to borrow from at rates much lower than most credit cards.”
Ms. Madigan said, “I was just struck that on the first anniversary of these people’s loans they would get these e-mails luring them into a refinance, into another unaffordable product to generate more fees and originate more loans.”
The complaint also described dubious practices in Countrywide’s huge servicing arm, which oversees $1.5 trillion in loans. For example, an Illinois consumer whose Countrywide mortgage was in foreclosure came home to find that the company had changed her locks and boarded up her home, the suit said, although no judgment had been entered and no foreclosure sale conducted. It took a week for the homeowner to regain access to her home, the complaint said.
Ms. Madigan began investigating Countrywide after her office sued One Source Mortgage, a Chicago mortgage broker that shut down last year. Countrywide was One Source’s primary lender, according to that lawsuit. Ms. Madigan also said that her office had received 200 customer complaints about Countrywide.
For 2004 through 2006, Countrywide was the largest lender in Illinois, selling about 94,000 loans to consumers in the state, the complaint said. The company operated about 100 retail branch offices in Illinois and its loans were offered by many mortgage brokers licensed to do business there. Countrywide also purchased loans through a network of 2,100 correspondent lenders in the state.
Illinois Sues Countrywide By GRETCHEN MORGENSON Published: June 25, 2008
The Illinois attorney general is suing Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage lender, and Angelo R. Mozilo, its chief executive, contending that the company and its executives defrauded borrowers in the state by selling them costly and defective loans that quickly went into foreclosure.
The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed on Wednesday in Illinois state court, accused Countrywide and Mr. Mozilo of relaxing underwriting standards, structuring loans with risky features, and misleading consumers with hidden fees and fake marketing claims, like its heavily advertised “no closing costs loan.” Countrywide also created incentives for its employees and brokers to sell questionable loans by paying them more on such sales, the complaint said.
In reviewing one Illinois mortgage broker’s sales of Countrywide loans, the complaint said the “vast majority of the loans had inflated income, almost all without the borrower’s knowledge.”
The civil lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and requests that the court require Countrywide to rescind or reform all the questionable loans it sold from 2004 through the present. The attorney general, Lisa Madigan, also asked that Mr. Mozilo contribute personally to the damages and that the court give her office 90 days to review loans serviced by Countrywide that were in foreclosure or soon would be.
“People were put into loans they did not understand, could not afford and could not get out of,” Ms. Madigan said. “This mounting disaster has had an impact on individual homeowners statewide and is having an impact on the global economy. It is all from the greed of people like Angelo Mozilo.”
The lawsuit adds to the considerable legal risks facing Bank of America as it prepares to absorb Countrywide in a takeover announced in January. Countrywide and its executives have been named as defendants in shareholder lawsuits, and the company’s practices are the subject of investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the F.B.I. and the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees loan servicing companies.
The United States Trustee, a unit of the Justice Department that monitors the bankruptcy system, has also sued Countrywide, contending that its loan servicing practices represent an abuse of the bankruptcy system.
Countrywide did not respond to an e-mail message seeking comment. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment.
Countrywide, once the nation’s top mortgage lender, has watched its fortunes plummet as the housing crisis has spread across the country. In the last three quarters, the company reported $2.5 billion in losses, and in the first quarter of 2008, total nonperforming assets reached $6 billion, almost five times that of the same period last year.
When Bank of America announced its stock-for-stock deal to buy Countrywide, the acquisition was valued at more than $4 billion. Because shares of both companies have fallen, the transaction is worth $2.8 billion.
The Illinois complaint was derived from 111,000 pages of Countrywide documents and interviews with former employees. It paints a picture of a lending machine that was more concerned with volume of loans than quality.
For example, former employees told Illinois investigators that Countrywide’s pay structure encouraged them to make as many loans as they could; some reduced-documentation loans took as little as 30 minutes to underwrite, the complaint said.
The lawsuit cited Countrywide documents indicating that almost 60 percent of its borrowers in subprime adjustable rate mortgages requiring minimal payments in the early years, known as hybrid A.R.M.’s, would not have qualified at the full payment rate. Countrywide also acknowledged that almost 25 percent of the borrowers would not have qualified for any other mortgage product that it sold.
Even more surprising, Ms. Madigan said, was her office’s discovery of e-mail messages automatically sent by Countrywide to its borrowers offering complimentary loan reviews one year after they obtained their mortgages from the company.
“Happy Anniversary!” the e-mail messages stated. “Many home values skyrocketed over the past year. That means that you may have thousands of dollars of home equity to borrow from at rates much lower than most credit cards.”
Ms. Madigan said, “I was just struck that on the first anniversary of these people’s loans they would get these e-mails luring them into a refinance, into another unaffordable product to generate more fees and originate more loans.”
The complaint also described dubious practices in Countrywide’s huge servicing arm, which oversees $1.5 trillion in loans. For example, an Illinois consumer whose Countrywide mortgage was in foreclosure came home to find that the company had changed her locks and boarded up her home, the suit said, although no judgment had been entered and no foreclosure sale conducted. It took a week for the homeowner to regain access to her home, the complaint said.
Ms. Madigan began investigating Countrywide after her office sued One Source Mortgage, a Chicago mortgage broker that shut down last year. Countrywide was One Source’s primary lender, according to that lawsuit. Ms. Madigan also said that her office had received 200 customer complaints about Countrywide.
For 2004 through 2006, Countrywide was the largest lender in Illinois, selling about 94,000 loans to consumers in the state, the complaint said. The company operated about 100 retail branch offices in Illinois and its loans were offered by many mortgage brokers licensed to do business there. Countrywide also purchased loans through a network of 2,100 correspondent lenders in the state.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sam Zell: a HYOOOGE @$$hole or the HYOOOGEST @$$hole?
It didn't take long for me to start hating dis @$$hole's guts. And this is a mortal lock: despite their Obama worship, the Chicago Tribune will keep their Republican-lovin' streak alive and endorse John McCain... oh yeah, screw the Cubs. 100 more years of suckin'! (or at least while this @$$hole owns the team...)
But don’t tell that to media mogul Sam Zell, new owner of The Tribune Co. Guess who he blames for the state of the economy?….Wait for it….Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Seriously.
"Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. "We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse."
Yep, no way it could be the ding-a-ling who's been in the White House for the last 7 years...
But don’t tell that to media mogul Sam Zell, new owner of The Tribune Co. Guess who he blames for the state of the economy?….Wait for it….Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Seriously.
"Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. "We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse."
Yep, no way it could be the ding-a-ling who's been in the White House for the last 7 years...
Friday, October 12, 2007
we are living in a golden age (cont'd)
Income-Inequality Gap Widens
WSU, October 12, 2007; Page A2
The richest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and underlining the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service. That is up sharply from 19% in 2004, and surpasses the previous high of 20.8% set in 2000, at the peak of the previous bull market in stocks.
The bottom 50% (suckers!) earned 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in 2004 and a bit less than their 13% share in 2000.
WSU, October 12, 2007; Page A2
The richest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and underlining the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service. That is up sharply from 19% in 2004, and surpasses the previous high of 20.8% set in 2000, at the peak of the previous bull market in stocks.
The bottom 50% (suckers!) earned 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in 2004 and a bit less than their 13% share in 2000.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Me likey scandals
This story's longer than the one about 3000 darkies stuck underground...
Scandal Brewing at Oral Roberts U.
* Mrs. Roberts -- who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site -- frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."
Apparently I went to the wrong school - I want me a suga mommie...
Scandal Brewing at Oral Roberts U.
* Mrs. Roberts -- who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site -- frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."
Apparently I went to the wrong school - I want me a suga mommie...
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
that's a lot of kibbles and bits...
Leona Helmsley's dog gets $12 million in will
NEW YORK (AP) -- Leona Helmsley's dog will continue to live an opulent life, and then be buried alongside her in a mausoleum. But two of Helmsley's grandchildren got nothing from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate. Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Leona Helmsley's dog will continue to live an opulent life, and then be buried alongside her in a mausoleum. But two of Helmsley's grandchildren got nothing from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate. Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court.
Monday, August 27, 2007
The System Works, Cali-style
California stopped a $55 million mental health program for the homeless while maintaining a $45 million tax break that allows the buyers of yachts to avoid paying sales tax.
Can we, like, put the homeless on the yachts, maybe during the week?
Can we, like, put the homeless on the yachts, maybe during the week?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
there goes the freedom-hating NY Phokking Times again
Editorial: In Praise of Tap Water
My favorite part:
"Tap water may now be the equal of bottled water, but that could change. The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America’s public water supply...."
My favorite part:
"Tap water may now be the equal of bottled water, but that could change. The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America’s public water supply...."
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
write your own punch lines
Cubs draw bidders, deal could top $1 bln: source
(Reuters) — The Chicago Cubs franchise, being sold by media group Tribune Co., has attracted credible interest from about 15 parties, and a deal for the baseball team and other assets is expected to top ONE BEEEEELLLLLLLION DOLLARS, according to a source familiar with the situation.
First-round bids are likely due after the Sept. 3 U.S. Labor Day holiday, with a winner expected to be picked in October. A deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The winner must be approved by Major League Baseball.
...
To receive the confidential information about the Cubs needed to make an offer, a prospective bidder must fill out an application form that is evaluated by the sellers and submitted to Major League Baseball for approval.
...
Tribune, which is being taken private in an 8.2 BEEELLLION DOLLAR deal led by real estate magnate Sam Zell, declined comment.
(Reuters) — The Chicago Cubs franchise, being sold by media group Tribune Co., has attracted credible interest from about 15 parties, and a deal for the baseball team and other assets is expected to top ONE BEEEEELLLLLLLION DOLLARS, according to a source familiar with the situation.
First-round bids are likely due after the Sept. 3 U.S. Labor Day holiday, with a winner expected to be picked in October. A deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The winner must be approved by Major League Baseball.
...
To receive the confidential information about the Cubs needed to make an offer, a prospective bidder must fill out an application form that is evaluated by the sellers and submitted to Major League Baseball for approval.
...
Tribune, which is being taken private in an 8.2 BEEELLLION DOLLAR deal led by real estate magnate Sam Zell, declined comment.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
I didn't think Europeans were as STOOOOOOOOPID as Americans
Oh, wait... dis dombphokk is from Evanston... figgers.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
yeah... what Smiff said...
Violent crime rises 1.3 percent in U.S.
"It's no coincidence that it's happened during the same time period which the administration has all but eliminated the COPS program, slashed state and local law-enforcement programs by billions and cut completely the COPS hiring program."
-- "Jihadi Joe" Biden
It's probably also no coincidence that this happened during the time the plutocrats were fist-phokking every non-plutocrat in sight (see: Supreme Court scumbags) and driving everybody who doesn't know the secret handshake into poverty. The most dangerous guy in the world is the guy with nothing to lose, which is gonna be almost everybody if the plutos have their way.
"It's no coincidence that it's happened during the same time period which the administration has all but eliminated the COPS program, slashed state and local law-enforcement programs by billions and cut completely the COPS hiring program."
-- "Jihadi Joe" Biden
It's probably also no coincidence that this happened during the time the plutocrats were fist-phokking every non-plutocrat in sight (see: Supreme Court scumbags) and driving everybody who doesn't know the secret handshake into poverty. The most dangerous guy in the world is the guy with nothing to lose, which is gonna be almost everybody if the plutos have their way.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
plutocrats doing whatever da phokk dey want (cont'd)
So the HYOOOGE @HOLE with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis who was told not to travel, but ended up flying around the world anyway, is:
1) an ambulance-chasing personal-injury lawyer
2) from Georgia.
1) an ambulance-chasing personal-injury lawyer
2) from Georgia.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
tough times for plutocrats (cont'd)
Wednesday - afternoon shower or thunderstorm in spots
Thursday - variable clouds, a t-storm
Friday - cloudy, a t-storm possible
Saturday - thunderstorm possible
Sunday - a shower possible
How da phokk am I spose to schedule a goff game in dese condichens?
Thursday - variable clouds, a t-storm
Friday - cloudy, a t-storm possible
Saturday - thunderstorm possible
Sunday - a shower possible
How da phokk am I spose to schedule a goff game in dese condichens?
Friday, May 11, 2007
news from MAC's proud newest member
Temple U. Gets 2 Years' Probation for NCAA Rules Violations
The NCAA placed Temple University on probation for two years on Thursday and imposed other penalties after its Division I Committee on Infractions cited the university for two major rules violations and a number of secondary violations involving the men's tennis program and athletes in a number of other sports.
Tennis, the sport of cheater plutocrats...
The NCAA placed Temple University on probation for two years on Thursday and imposed other penalties after its Division I Committee on Infractions cited the university for two major rules violations and a number of secondary violations involving the men's tennis program and athletes in a number of other sports.
Tennis, the sport of cheater plutocrats...
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
instead of raising my taxes, why don't you go out and buy an SUV and build a three-car garage like mine?
Business sends SOS to state about RTA
More mass transit funds urged, tax on gas suggested
If the Illinois General Assembly does not act immediately to reform and refinance the region's mass transit system, the Chicago area's economic health will be jeopardized, according to an influential group of business leaders.
The state must give the Regional Transportation Authority the power to raise additional revenue, including increasing the sales tax and levying a gasoline tax of up to 5 percent per gallon, the business-backed civic group Chicago Metropolis 2020 said.
"This is a group of business people standing up and saying, 'We're willing to push for additional taxes, including a gas tax.' This is very significant," said George Ranney Jr., Chicago Metropolis' president and CEO.
...
The RTA is asking the state to fill a current shortfall of $226 million and to provide $400 million annually for operations. In addition, $10 billion is needed over the next five years for capital improvements.
Unless the legislature acts by July 1, the RTA said, the CTA, Metra and Pace will begin considering fare hikes and service cuts (Red Line will now run backwards).
Chicago Metropolis' plan proposes seven funding options, including an RTA-imposed gas tax of up to 5 percent.
The plan also proposes an increase the RTA sales tax to 1.25 percent from 1 percent in the CTA service area, and an increase in each of the collar counties from the current quarter percent to at least one-half percent.
But with gasoline prices well over $3 a gallon, Chicago Metropolis' gas tax proposal "could not have come at a worse time," said David Schulz, director of the Infrastructure Technology Institute at Northwestern University.
More mass transit funds urged, tax on gas suggested
If the Illinois General Assembly does not act immediately to reform and refinance the region's mass transit system, the Chicago area's economic health will be jeopardized, according to an influential group of business leaders.
The state must give the Regional Transportation Authority the power to raise additional revenue, including increasing the sales tax and levying a gasoline tax of up to 5 percent per gallon, the business-backed civic group Chicago Metropolis 2020 said.
"This is a group of business people standing up and saying, 'We're willing to push for additional taxes, including a gas tax.' This is very significant," said George Ranney Jr., Chicago Metropolis' president and CEO.
...
The RTA is asking the state to fill a current shortfall of $226 million and to provide $400 million annually for operations. In addition, $10 billion is needed over the next five years for capital improvements.
Unless the legislature acts by July 1, the RTA said, the CTA, Metra and Pace will begin considering fare hikes and service cuts (Red Line will now run backwards).
Chicago Metropolis' plan proposes seven funding options, including an RTA-imposed gas tax of up to 5 percent.
The plan also proposes an increase the RTA sales tax to 1.25 percent from 1 percent in the CTA service area, and an increase in each of the collar counties from the current quarter percent to at least one-half percent.
But with gasoline prices well over $3 a gallon, Chicago Metropolis' gas tax proposal "could not have come at a worse time," said David Schulz, director of the Infrastructure Technology Institute at Northwestern University.
oh! to be a merry plutocrat...
News item: The firm that plans to redevelop the Old Main Post Office has asked the city to provide 51 meeelllion dollars in tax-increment financing to help cover the cost of converting the massive structure into offices, a hotel and condominiums.
After eight years of planning, Chicago-based Walton Street Capital LLC will present its redevelopment proposal for the Art Deco building to the city’s Community Development Commission at a 1 p.m. meeting Tuesday. Key to Walton Street’s plan is its request for tax-increment financing (TIF), one of the largest such requests in Chicago in the past several years.
If approved by the commission and City Council, the TIF subsidy will cover about 17% of the $310 million in total project cost, according to a report prepared by staff of the Department of Planning and Development.
"Without this assistance, the developer would not achieve reasonable rates of return, and therefore, would not undertake the project," the report says.
Walton Street aims to demolish about 800,000 square feet of the 2.5-million-square-foot structure, which straddles the Congress Parkway and has sat vacant since the U.S. Postal Service moved to another facility inn 1996. The firm plans to convert the building into 450,000 square feet of office space, 300 condominiums and a 236-room hotel.
Downtown condos? A new loop hotel? Offices?? Those never make money... what are they thinking? That wacky, risk-it-all entrepreneurial spirit... thank you you wacky risk-taking plutos! We'd all still be living in teepees if not for your devil-may-care, come-what-may, it's only money wackiness...
...
In a TIF district, property taxes are frozen when the district is created and any incremental increase in property taxes goes into a fund used to pay for infrastructure improvements or to subsidize real estate developments favored by the city. The TIF money for the Post Office would come from the Canal/Congress TIF District.
So how much do the taxpayers get back if the thing makes, like, a beeeelllllion dollars? Nothing to see here, move along, etc.? Dat's my guess...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
