JPMorgan's Dimon: No mortgage writedowns

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JPMorgan's Dimon: No mortgage writedowns

By Jennifer Liberto, senior writer CNNMoney.com

March 31, 2011

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- The head of JPMorgan Chase said Wednesday that banks would not consider writing down mortgages for homeowners who can make payments, an idea at the center of talks aimed at fixing the mortgage mess.

"Principal writedown for people who could pay their mortgages? Yeah, that's off the table," JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) CEO Jamie Dimon said when asked about the idea after an appearance before a U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum in Washington.

Regulators and state attorneys general have been trying to get the banks to include mortgage principal writedowns as part of a proposed settlement of allegations that banks wrongly foreclosed on thousands of homeowners. The writedown proposal has been a key sticking point in the negotiations.

In addition to JPMorgan Chase, the other servicers are Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C,Fortune 500) and Ally Financial (GJM).

Dimon spoke to the U.S. Chamber about a wide range of topics from monetary policy to struggling municipalities.

Dimon had little sympathy for municipalities and suggested that investors should expect that some of them will go bankrupt. But he suggested it won't "shatter America" and it's "part of the credit cycle."

"The states have the wherewithal to fix their problems," Dimon said. "It's not going to stop the United States from starting to grow."

Dimon spent most of his discussion with Chamber president Tom Donohue blasting regulators' efforts to enact new rules on derivatives, or complex financial contracts that financial firms and companies use to hedge risk.

He specifically opposes requiring companies such as airlines and other companies to post cash up front before they enter into a deriviatives contract.

"If we're required to have Caterpillar to post margin requirements, they're simply going to do business in Singapore, where they don't have to," Dimon said.

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Fw: BEST EVER SENIOR CITIZEN JOKE

BEST EVER SENIOR CITIZEN JOKE A little silver-haired lady calls her neighbor and says, "Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started." Her neighbor asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?" The little silver haired lady says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster." Her neighbor decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table. He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster." He takes her hand and says, "Secondly, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea , and then," he said with a deep sigh ............  "Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box."

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The Price of Gas...

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Without Loan Giants, 30-Year Mortgage May Fade Away

by Binyamin Appelbaum
Friday, March 4, 2011

• provided by The New York Times
  

How might home buying change if the federal government shuts down the housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan, the steady favorite of American borrowers since the 1950s, could become a luxury product, housing experts on both sides of the political aisle say.

Interest rates would rise for most borrowers, but urban and rural residents could see sharper increases than the coveted customers in the suburbs.

Lenders could charge fees for popular features now taken for granted, like the ability to "lock in" an interest rate weeks or months before taking out a loan.

Life without Fannie and Freddie is the rare goal shared by the Obama administration and House Republicans, although it will not happen soon. Congress must agree on a plan, which could take years, and then the market must be weaned slowly from dependence on the companies and the financial backing they provide.

The reasons by now are well understood. Fannie and Freddie, created to increase the availability of mortgage loans, misused the government's support to enrich shareholders and executives by backing millions of shoddy loans. Taxpayers so far have spent more than $135 billion on the cleanup.

The much more divisive question is whether the government should preserve the benefits that the companies provide to middle-class borrowers, including lower interest rates, lenient terms and the ability to get a mortgage even when banks are not making other kinds of loans.

Douglas J. Elliott, a financial policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Congress was being forced for the first time in decades to grapple with the cost of subsidizing middle-class mortgages. The collapse of Fannie and Freddie took with it the pretense that the government could do so at no risk to taxpayers, he said.

"The politicians would like something that provides a deep and wide subsidy for housing that doesn't show up on the budget as costing anything. That's what we had" with Fannie and Freddie, Mr. Elliott said. "But going forward there is going to be more honest accounting."

Some Republicans and Democrats say the price is too high. They want the government to pull back, letting the market dictate price, terms and availability.

"A purely private mortgage finance market is a very serious and very achievable goal," Representative Scott Garrett, the New Jersey Republican who oversees the subcommittee that oversees Fannie and Freddie, said at a hearing this week. "No one serious in this debate believes our housing market will return to the 1930s."

Still, powerful interests in both parties want the government instead to construct a system that would preserve many of the same benefits, with changes intended to minimize the risk of future bailouts. They say the recent crisis showed that the market could not stand on its own.

"The kind of backstop that we have now, if it didn't exist, we would have had a much more severe recession and a much sharper fall in home values," said Michael D. Berman, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, which represents the lending industry.

Hanging in the balance are the basic features of a mortgage loan: the interest rate and repayment period.

Fannie and Freddie allow people to borrow at lower rates because investors are so eager to pump money into the two companies that they accept relatively modest returns. The key to that success is the guarantee that investors will be repaid even if borrowers default -- a promise ultimately backed by taxpayers.

A long line of studies has found that the benefit to borrowers is relatively modest, less than one percentage point. But that was before the flood. Fannie, Freddie and other federal programs now support roughly 90 percent of new mortgage loans because lenders cannot raise money for mortgages that do not carry government guarantees.

One prominent investor, William H. Gross, the co-head of Pimco, the major bond investment firm, has estimated that he would demand a premium of three percentage points to buy such loans -- a cost that would be passed on to the borrower.

Proponents of a private market want the government gradually to withdraw its support, allowing investors to regain confidence. They argue that interest rates would eventually settle into roughly the same patterns that held before the financial crisis.

Some supporters of government backing also like the idea, believing that it will demonstrate the need for a backstop.

"I myself am eager to see whether there needs to be a guarantee," said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, a crucial Democratic voice on housing issues.

Fannie and Freddie also make ownership more affordable by allowing borrowers to repay loans with fixed-interest rates over an unusually long period. A person who borrows $100,000 at 6 percent interest will pay $600 each month for 30 years, compared to $716 each month for 20 years.

The 30-year loan first became broadly available by an act of Congress in 1954 and, from then until now, the vast majority of such loans have been issued only with government support. Most investors are simply not willing to make such a long-term bet. They prefer loans with adjustable rates.

Alex J. Pollock, a former chief executive of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, said such loans would remain available in the absence of a federal guarantee, but they might be harder to find. And lenders might demand a larger down payment. Or a better credit score.

That would be a very good thing, said Mr. Pollock, now a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Longer terms make ownership affordable only by increasing the total cost of the loan, because the borrower pays interest for a longer period. Moreover, Mr. Pollock noted that over the last several years, borrowers with adjustable-rate loans paid less as interest rates fell, while those with fixed rates kept paying the same amount for devalued homes.

"One of the reasons that American housing finance is in such bad shape right now is the 30-year mortgage," he said, noting that such loans are not available in most countries. "For many people, it's not at all clear that that's the best product."

Fannie and Freddie also allow a wide swath of the American public to borrow money at the same interest rates and on the same terms. Borrowers who did not meet their standards were forced to pay higher interest rates to subprime lenders, but the companies essentially persuaded investors to treat a vast number American families as if they were interchangeable.

They took messy bunches of loans, with risks as variable as snowflakes, and created securities of uniform quality, easy to buy and sell. The result was one of the most popular investment products ever created.

And in its absence, experts on housing finance say that fewer borrowers would qualify for the best interest rates.

Susan M. Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said a new government guarantee was needed to preserve a homogenous market.

"There needs to be a systematic way of preventing" fragmentation, said Professor Wachter. "That's what we need a bulwark against. Because if there isn't, it will occur."

The government seems least likely to maintain a final set of benefits -- leniencies in loan terms that taxpayers effectively have subsidized for borrowers.

Fannie and Freddie slashed the requirements for down payments in recent years, saying that they were helping people with minimal savings become homeowners. Two-thirds of the borrowers whose loans were guaranteed by the companies from 1997 to 2005 made a down payment of less than 10 percent. But borrowers who invest less default more often. The Obama administration has said that it wants the companies to demand a minimum down payment of 10 percent.

A quirkier example is the ability to "lock in" an interest rate. Fannie and Freddie permitted lenders to make such promises at no risk because the companies had already obtained commitments from investors. In the companies' absence, borrowers seeking rate locks may need to pay for them.

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America's Most Expensive Blocks

America's Most Expensive Blocks

Every U.S. city has streets where wealthy people live. These are the richest of all.

By Venessa Wong, Bloomberg Businessweek

Mar 3, 2011

Provided by: Bloomberg Businessweek

Beverly Hills famously has some of the country's most valuable real estate. On the western end of the city, between the Los Angeles Country Club and North Beverly Drive, the median home value is about $3 million, according to real estate website NeighborhoodScout.com, and many properties cost far more. This posh neighborhood in the 90210 zip code is lined with pristine single-family homes, most with at least four bedrooms.

More from BusinessWeek.com » America's Most Expensive Blocks » America's 50 Most Expensive Small Towns 2011 » Most Expensive Suburbs 2010

Streets need not be filled with big estates to have high home values. On the opposite coast, in Manhattan, an area bordering the east side of Central Park from 70th Street to 77th Street, between Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue, contains homes with a median value of $2.8 million. (In comparison, the median home value citywide is about $779,000, estimates NeighborhoodScout.) Unlike Beverly Hills, the area is mostly stacked with luxury apartments, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005-2009 American Community Survey.

Size and style can determine much of a home's value, but other factors can weigh more heavily. Within a single city, the prices of similar homes can display huge differences depending on the area-and even the street-in which they are located. The two key drivers of value are access to work opportunities and access to amenities, says Andrew Schiller, founder and chief executive of NeighborhoodScout.com. A few streets' distance can make a difference in perceived proximity to school districts, recreational amenities, and transportation routes.

No. 1: Access to Job Opportunities

Areas with the most expensive real estate in any city are often close to places with high paying jobs. Within them, the most expensive streets typically have larger homes that are closer to local amenities. Affluent homebuyers may seek big homes with views in good school districts. For primary residences, however, "access to opportunity is so significant that even if homes are smaller, the values [in an area] can still go up," Schiller says. "People will put up a lot to make a lot of money and support their families."

To determine the most expensive neighborhood in each state, NeighborhoodScout estimated the median home values in third quarter 2010 for about 62,000 census tracts, or county subdivisions, across the U.S. The ranking includes only places with more than 800 residents and with at least one-fourth of properties occupied by owners, rather than rented. This excludes certain subdivisions and small towns known to have very high property values.

In addition to parts of Beverly Hills and Manhattan's Upper East Side, other expensive places include Port Royal, Fla., (which has waterfront homes along the ocean, canals, and bay), Alpine, N.J. (a suburb of Manhattan that attracts many celebrities and business executives), and the Golden Triangle section of Greenwich, Conn. (where incomes are among the nation's highest). Values range from $266,293 in Fargo, N.D., to more than $3 million in Beverly Hills. In nearly every state, the most expensive areas are near water, hills or mountains, parks, or country clubs.

Beauty Rates in Second-Home Markets

While Beverly Hills and Manhattan provide access both to urban centers with high-paying jobs as well as amenities, home values in other exclusive neighborhoods are heavily propped up by just one of these factors.

Buyers in second-home markets such as Port Royal, Block Island, R.I., or Big Sky, Mont., for example, pay a premium for such amenities as views, waterfront, and outdoor recreation. Some of the most expensive properties in Block Island are on the waterfront. "People are not moving there to get great jobs," says Schiller.

High-end markets tend to hold their values better than average ones, but even the most exclusive areas are vulnerable to economic distress. Arizona's affluent community of Paradise Valley, for instance, has not been hit as hard as the rest of the state because many residents withstood the stress of the recession relatively well, says Bob Hassett, a broker at Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty. Still, values in the area have declined by more than 25 percent in the last two years, estimates NeighborhoodScout.

Amenities Can Lose Value

Schiller warns that places relying on amenities to sustain home values can be more vulnerable to price drops during an economic downturn than those that are near job centers. For instance, NeighborhoodScout estimates that home values in Port Royal have dropped by about 21 percent in the last two years, compared with a relatively minor dip of 5.52 percent in Chevy Chase Village, Md., a wealthy suburb of Washington, one of the most stable metro job markets.

Exclusive communities migrate over the years as opportunities shift to new places. Beverly Hills did not develop until movie stars began moving there in the early 1900s, according to the city's website. While the most expensive place in Texas is currently the Afton Oaks-River Oaks section of Houston, whose median home value is about $1.7 million, Schiller predicts that prices in Austin will rise as government activity, job growth, and the University of Texas attract more homebuyers to the area.

Neighborhoods near Austin and other emerging cities may not be expensive now, but the right combination of amenities and job opportunities might one day push them to the top of the price ladder.

Here's America's Top 10 Most Expensive Blocks:

Kenilworth, IL Map: US Census Bureau

No. 10 Kenilworth, IL
Where: Ridge Road to Lake Michigan
Median home value: $1,610,824
Median household income: $247,000

Kenilworth, one of the most affluent towns in the country, is the most expensive neighborhood in which to buy a home in Illinois. Homes by Lake Michigan can cost several million dollars: For example, a seven-bedroom home at 245 Sheridan Road is listed for $6.5 million, according to Zillow.com.

Note: For all 10 the median home value source is NeighborhoodScout.

Chevy Chase Village, MD Map: US Census Bureau

No. 9 Chevy Chase Village, MD
Where: Chevy Chase Country Club to Western Avenue
Median home value: $1,677,640
Median household income: $250,000+

Chevy Chase Village, located on the border of Maryland and Washington, D.C., is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. The area is known for Victorian and colonial style homes, according to theestridgegroup.com.

Town Center, Great Falls, Va Map: US Census Bureau

No. 8 Town Center, Great Falls, VA
Where: Seneca Road to Georgetown Pike
Median home value: $1,721,441
Median household income: $193,214

This upscale residential neighborhood was named after the Potomac River’s Great Falls, which drops 75 feet over a two-mile distance. Home prices start in the mid-$400,000s and exceed $8 million for large estates in such areas as Clarks Branch, Potomac Ridge Estates, Falcon Ridge, and Rossmore, according to greatfalls-realestate.com.

Afton Oaks/River Oaks, Houston, TX Map: US Census Bureau

No. 7 Afton Oaks/River Oaks, Houston, TX
Where: Buffalo Bayou to San Felipe Street
Median home value: $1,722,454
Median household income: $250,000+

Streets around the River Oaks Country Club, such as Inwood Drive and Lazy Lane, have some of the most expensive estates in this section of Houston, according to estimates on Zillow.com. River Oaks is also home to the Menil Collection, a museum of modern art created by Schlumberger oil-drilling heiress Dominique De Menil and her husband Jean. The building, featuring designs by both Louis Kahn and Renzo Piano, houses nearly 16,000 works, including antiquities, Byzantine, African, and Modern art. One of the highlights is the Mark Rothko chapel.

Honolulu, HI Map: US Census Bureau

No. 6 Honolulu, HI
Where: Around the Diamond Head State Monument
Median home value: $1,912,135
Median household income: $95,625

The Diamond Head community is a short walk from the main shopping and restaurant area of Waikiki. One street known for luxury real estate is Kahala Avenue, says Mike Bates, a real estate associate for Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties. Along Diamond Head Road, a street that wraps around the peak, are beachfront properties as well as hillside homes on such streets as Noela Street and Diamond Head Circle.

Golden Triangle, Greenwich, CT Map: US Census Bureau

No. 5 Greenwich, CT
Where: Golden Triangle
Median home value: $2,214,072
Median household income: $250,000+

The Golden Triangle section of Fairfield County’s affluent community of Greenwich includes the Greenwich Country Club. According to Barbara Wells, a real estate agent for Prudential CT Realty, Meadowcroft Lane is the most expensive street in the area.

Alpine, NJ Map: US Census Bureau

No. 4 Alpine, NJ
Where: Anderson Avenue to Hudson River
Median home value: $2,440,719
Median household income: $167,917

Many celebrities and executives, such as Russell Simmons and Eddie Murphy, have lived in Alpine, an exclusive community with large private estates. Among the most expensive properties for sale is this mansion, listed for $68 million, according to realtor.com.

Port Royal, Naples, FL Map: US Census Bureau

No. 3 Port Royal, Naples, FL
Where: Gulf Shore Boulevard to tip of Port Royal
Median home value: $2,703,453
Median household income: $139,250

Waterfront properties are abundant in Port Royal, on the southern tip of Naples between the Gulf of Mexico and Naples Bay. Water views and private docking in the canals make it one of the country’s most exclusive communities. According to Naples real estate agent John Tsiskakis, some of the most expensive streets include Gulf Shore Boulevard, Gordon Drive, Galleon Drive, Rum Row, and Fort Charles Drive.

Upper East Side, Manhattan, NY Map: US Census Bureau

No. 2 Upper East Side, Manhattan, NY
Where: 70th St. to 77th St. between Park Ave. and Fifth Ave.
Median home value: $2,801,925
Median household income: $229,632

These streets east of Central Park along Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, and Park Avenue are lined with historic townhouses and co-ops built during the turn of the 20th century and the 1930s. Many homes along Fifth Avenue have park views. Museums, shopping, and dining are a few blocks away.

(Note: Some other expensive neighborhoods in New York were not included because they did not meet the minimum population requirement for this ranking.)

Beverly Hills, CA Map: US Census Bureau

No. 1 Beverly Hills, CA
Where: North Wittier Drive to North Beverly Drive
Median home value: $3,067,119
Median household income: $167,583

Bordered on the west by the Los Angeles Country Club, this area has the highest median home values in the Beverly Hills area, according to NeighborhoodScout. Cliff Nichols, general manager at the brokerage Hilton & Hyland, says Lexington Road is one of the area's most expensive streets. Among the priciest homes for sale: the Pickfair Estate—home of silent movie stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks—at 1143 Summit Drive, 90210, which is listed for $60 million.

Click here to see the most expensive blocks in each state.

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Inside a $60,000,000 home

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/high-end-real-estate-action-24408406

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Yes, You Still Need Business Cards

by Elizabeth Blackwell
Tuesday, February 22, 2011

provided by The Street

In these days of BlackBerrys (Nasdaq: RIMM - News) and e-mail contact lists, the humble paper business card may look like a relic. Does passing them out signal you as hopelessly behind the curve?

Not at all. In a world where so much communication happens electronically, the business card remains a valuable, tangible way to promote yourself and your company. The key is to produce cards that are memorable and informative, ones that can instantly sum up your brand in a glance.

While social media may get all the press hype, the vast majority of business interaction in this country still takes place face to face. Most business owners still interact with potential customers and partners personally at Chamber of Commerce events, the local Rotary Club or informal social gatherings.

In all those instances, exchanging business cards remains a primary way to formalize your interaction. It helps the person you've met remember your name and the name of your business -- sealing the deal, if you will. (How often have you been introduced to someone, only to forget their name within minutes?)

©osde8info

In the best-case scenario, the person you meet keeps your card and adds you to their list of contacts, either by putting the card in a Rolodex or scanning it into an electronic database (the card itself will probably get tossed, but by then it has served its purpose). Either way, the card helped cement you and your business in the mind of the person you met.

Business cards may be a tried-and-true marketing device, but that's not to say they haven't changed with the times. For a look at recent trends, browse The Business Card group on Flickr or go to Cardonizer, where users have posted stylish, creative examples.

The key is to keep your cards looking up-to-date but not overcrowded. Cards these days cram ever more information into a small space -- in addition to the company name, address, phone number and email address, some people are adding their company's website, Facebook fan page link and Twitter stream. The result? A visually confusing mess.

[World's Most Innovative Companies]

If you are active in social media, a better bet is to simply list your website. Then, on your site, add prominent links to social-media sites visitors can quickly access if they're interested.

The days when your color choices were limited to white or cream are also long gone. Nowadays, cards come in full color, many with photographs -- and again, that leads many businesses to overcrowd their cards with logos and pictures. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) co-founder Steve Wozniak even hands out custom-designed stainless steel cards, which fall into the memorable-but-not-exactly-practical category.

While it is easier than ever to design and print your own cards online, hiring a pro is the way to go if you want to project a professional image. With many talented designers laid off from jobs at ad agencies and magazines in recent years, you'll have your choice of freelancers willing to take on this kind of project.

When designing a business card, think of it as a miniature introduction to you and your business. Do you want to present yourself as innovative and forward-thinking? Then your card should be designed with a modern font and color palette.

By contrast, a simple, two-color business card sends its own message: that you and your company are traditional and no-frills. Even so, the card should include your e-mail address and website -- modern-day business necessities. A good designer can integrate that information with your company's logo and other details to make sure the card isn't overwhelmed with type.

[Great Jobs That People Love]

Although creative types may be tempted to make their cards stand out by using nontraditional materials or shapes, make sure the finished product still fits easily into a standard wallet pocket; otherwise they're more likely to get tossed. Also, avoid glossy paper, which makes it difficult for someone to scribble a note on the back.

And remember that business cards aren't meant to be hoarded and admired in private. Get in the habit of handing them out, which is easy if you have one you want to show off.

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10 of the Best Restaurants in America

“Best restaurant” lists are tricky. How can any sensible eater compare an iconic pizza parlor or the joint that serves that simply transcendent cheeseburger with the lapidary perfection of a French Laundry or the genre-bending inventiveness of a WD-50? On what terms is it possible to stack the culinary monuments of Manhattan, Chicago, or Los Angeles up against the really-very-good but necessarily more modest establishments of, say, Buellton or Murphysboro? Talk about apples and oranges.

And yet here we are offering a best restaurant list of our own. Which means that it’s probably appropriate to explain exactly what this roster of eating places is supposed to be, and how we arrived at it.
The results were, well, thought-provoking. It probably won’t surprise anybody that Thomas Keller’s superlative French Laundry in Napa Valley came out on top, but in a real coup his restaurant Per Se took the number two spot as well. It also might surprise a few people to find three barbecue places and two pizzerias outscoring pricey French restaurants run by Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon — or Katz’s Delicatessen edging out WD-50.

Check out the full list of the 101 Best Restaurants in America.

Overall, New York beat out California in the top ten, garnering five spots. Taking a deeper look into the big winners, the more “experimental” chefs like Grant Achatz, Michel Richard, and José Andrès seem to be panelist favorites. What’s America’s favorite cuisine? It turns out that American cooking with French influence makes up about 50 percent of the highest rated restaurants.

You may quarrel with our results, quibble over the panel’s choices, ask how we could call that dump a “best” or why we left out that temple of gastronomy. It would be astonishing if you didn’t, in fact. We’re not presenting objective truth here. In case you haven’t noticed, there is no objective truth when it comes to taste in restaurants (or anything else).

Rather, think of this list as the Senate of Culinary Greatness in our country — every region, cuisine and price level is represented, and if you wonder what some of them are doing there, hey, ask the voters. It’s the best of the best from each league, which is the reason why Katz’s sandwiches can stand alongside Peter Luger’s steaks and Arthur Bryant’s barbecue alongside Bazaar’s molecular gastronomy. We think our list turned out pretty well, and sincerely thank our panelists for helping us refine it. We stand behind these restaurants — and would sit down happily at any of their tables.

Enjoy the top 10 below, and click here to see all 101 Best Restaurants in America

-- Colman Andrews, The Daily Meal

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#1 The French Laundry, Yountville, Calif.

It's a familiar old story - you've heard it a hundred times. Chef fails in New York City. Chef heeds Horace Greeley. Chef sets up the country's best restaurant in what once used to be a brothel Chef returns triumphant to New York City to open another masterpiece of contemporary American food with French influences. Chef Thomas Keller's story may not be a common one, but it's an iconic one, and his rise to fame squarely started here at The French Laundry.

Photo by: Deborah Jones

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New Hippie Bus!

VW unveils new model of microbus loved by hippies

AP – Volkswagen's Bulli concept car is presented during the press day of the 81st International Motor show …

– Tue Mar 1, 12:04 pm ET

GENEVA – Volkswagen AG is resurrecting its iconic microbus, which debuted in 1950 and became a favorite of hippies for its unique styling and copious space for travelers.

Volkswagen is showing a concept version of the van — known by its German nickname, the Bulli — at the Geneva Auto Show on Tuesday. Among the six-seater's modern twists: It's powered by an electric motor and uses an iPad to control the entertainment system, climate control and other functions.

Volkswagen said the Bulli can go up to 186.4 miles on a single battery charge. That's far, considering that the Nissan Leaf is rated at 73 miles on a charge by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Bulli can go up to 87 miles per hour.

The Bulli was the brainchild of a Dutch Volkswagen importer, Ben Pon, who in 1947 sketched out a simple public bus built on the wheels of the Volkswagen Beetle. The original Bulli was made from 1950 to 1967. Other versions followed, and the vehicle was eventually sold worldwide.

The concept is slightly shorter and wider than the original, with a less boxy front. But there are plenty of nods to the original, including a three-person bench seat in the front and a two-tone paint job.

Volkswagen hasn't confirmed that the concept van will go into production.

Click image to see photos of the new VW microbus

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With Everything Going On In The World, This Seems So Silly! and My Idea of Whoopie Pie is Different...

Maine and whoopie pie? Pa. says stick with lobster

• • AP – In this Feb. 24, 2011 photo, an Amish baker who declined to be identified moves a sheet of whoopie pies …

By GENARO C. ARMAS, Associated Press Genaro C. Armas, Associated Press – Tue Mar 1, 9:44 am ET

BIRD-IN-HAND, Pa. – It consists of two round, textbook-thick, palm-sized chocolate cakes that sandwich a creamy vanilla filling to create one sinfully rich snack. It's the whoopie pie, a snack so beloved that residents in two states have cooked up a good-natured tug of war over which place is its rightful home — Maine or Pennsylvania?

A state legislator in Maine whipped up passions when he introduced a bill in January to make the whoopie pie Maine's official state dessert. Like a group of chefs tweaking a recipe, a legislative committee has since dropped "dessert" in favor of making the snack Maine's official "treat."

No matter — residents in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County say that's just baloney. Those round mounds of cakey goodness originated from kitchens of the area's Amish families, dating back generations, they say.

"We've had this thing going with the whoopie pie here for years and years and decades," John Smucker, CEO of the family-run company that owns the Bird-in-Hand Bakery, said as kitchen workers busily put together a batch of red velvet whoopie pies. "And all of a sudden they try to enter into the picture ... It's just a bunch of nonsense."

At the S. Clyde Weaver store in East Petersburg, staff piece together their version of the traditional chocolate-with-vanilla-filling variety.

"We do the original," baker Nancy Rexroad said. "When something's the original, you can't improve on it."

Maine state Rep. Paul Davis got things brewing with a bill to laud the whoopie pie. Davis got the idea from speaking with people at the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival, which last year attracted 4,000 visitors to Dover-Foxcroft, part of Davis' district.

Amos Orcutt, president of the Maine Whoopie Pie Association, was one of the Mainers who lobbied Davis to make a stand. In a phone interview, Orcutt, whose full-time job is president of the University of Maine Foundation, said he got steamed after reading a New York Times story on whoopie pies in March 2009 that cited food historians on the likelihood that the whoopie pie got its start in Pennsylvania.

"Having grown up in Maine, I used that well-worn term 'appalled and aghast,' so I started looking into it," Orcutt said. "A lot of our older alumni said, 'Oh no, I remember whoopie pies as a child."

Davis said he's been told Maine whoopie pies may date back as far as 1925. The web site for Labadie's Bakery in Lewiston, Maine, says bakers there started making whoopie pies that year.

About the time he read the Times story, Orcutt said a local high school's mock legislature exercise proposed a "bill" to give the whoopie pie the official dessert designation.

"One thing led to another, and folks kept saying, 'Well, gee, you've got to do something about it,'" Orcutt said. Davis estimates that about 400 to 500 bakeries — from commercial operators to small-town markets to individuals who sell kitchen-baked goods at farmers markets — sell whoopie pies.

Word of Davis' bill reached the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau in Lancaster, and organizers there decided to answer back. They touted a web site — http://www.saveourwhoopie.com — that likened Maine's actions to "confectionary larceny."

Area residents say Amish and other Pennsylvania Dutch families have passed down whoopie pie recipes for generations. Smucker said his bakery's recipe dates back at least 50 years to his grandmother's kitchen. Further west in Pennsylvania, the treats were also known in the Johnstown area as "gobs."

Dan Neff, owner and president of the S. Clyde Weaver market, said he suspected that one possible origin for the whoopie pie was home cooks looking for a creation to replace cream-filled doughnuts, which would be difficult to make in a home kitchen.

Smucker relayed another story passed on in Bird-in-Hand about the origin of the "whoopie pie" name in 1958, in which one in a group of young Amish women exclaimed "whoopie" when checking on the progress of her cakes in the oven. (Several variations of the story have made the rounds.)

It's also about that time, Smucker said, that whoopie pies started to become a more popular snack in the larger community.

Residents are backing their bakers. Visitors bureau spokesman Joel Cliff said about 1,700 signatures have been collected for an online petition "objecting to any other state, county or town claiming the whoopie pie as its own."

The Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn, in Strasburg, makes over 100 different flavors for its Whoopie Pie Festival which started six years ago — or several years before the Maine event.

And 21-year-old Josh Graupera of Lancaster got so worked up after hearing about Maine's move that he and a friend organized a rally in downtown Lancaster on Feb. 19 attended by 100 people, including one person who carried a sign "Give Me Whoopie, or Give Me Death."

"We thought we would organize as many people as possible to stand up and say, 'You're not going to take our heritage from us,'" he said. "This is a Lancaster County tradition."

All sides say they're turning up the heat all in good fun.

"They can have their lobsters," Graupera said.

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The Academy Got It Wrong

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What Kind of a House Can You Get for Under $145,000?

By Ilyce Glink, CBS MoneyWatch.com

Feb 25, 2011

Provided by:

The news coming out of the housing sector continues to be blah - at best. Housing prices are still falling and the foreclosure numbers are up. But with every bit of bad economic news comes a silver lining for those poised to take advantage of the decline.

If you're looking to maximize your real estate purchasing power, you've got to consider foreclosed and real estate owned (REO) properties. It is now possible to purchase far more land, square footage and amenities than just about any time over the past twenty years.

The folks at RealtyTrac have helped me compile this geographically diverse sampling of mid-priced foreclosure options for sale, so you get an idea of what you can buy for around $125,000.

What Can You Buy for $145,000 in Summerville, SC?
105 Four Iron Drive, Summerville SC 29483

This Summerville, SC home is selling for $145,000 Photo: RealtyTrac

This large, sturdy brick ranch home has 1,582 square feet plus a 225 square foot sunroom. There are three bedrooms and two full baths, beamed ceilings and large windows which allow the property to bask in natural light, conserving heating costs. A brick fireplace faces the eating area and provides additional warmth during those mild South Carolina winters.

The sunroom overlooks a spacious fenced-in yard with verdant landscaping that provides a perfect natural retreat. The pre-foreclosure is a great value for medium-sized families looking for room to roam.

What Can You Buy for $109,900 in Allentown, PA?
2303 South Filbert Street, Allentown PA 18103

This Allentown, PA home is selling for $109,900 Photo: Zillow.com

This single family home could be labeled "cozy" at 668 square feet, but no inch is wasted. The property features two bedrooms and a lower level office. A large, tree-lined yard on a no-outlet road renders the dwelling a safe, quiet destination for young families. Recent enhancements include a modern kitchen, new furnace and roof.

The surrounding neighborhood offers easy access to schools, shopping and entertainment. The property will be offered at auction very shortly, so you might buy it for a whole lot less than the advertised price.

What Can You Buy for $135,000 in Villa Rica, GA?
703 Williamsburg Court, Villa Rica GA 30180

This Villa Rica, GA home is selling for $135,000 Photo: RealtyTrac.com

Unless you're Octo-Mom, you and your family will have all the space you need in this 2,257 square foot foreclosed home that boasts three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a swimming pool! The house features an open kitchen plan with granite counter tops, wood flooring and cabinets. A main level master bathroom contains a modern jacuzzi bathtub.

The new construction abode sits atop a large land tract with a two-car garage and a long driveway that allows for additional parking. The warm Georgia weather and spacious amenities create a welcoming environment for barbecues and other large family gatherings.

What Can You Buy for $139,900 in Westerville, OH?
5600 Marshfield Drive, Westerville OH 43081

This Westerville, OH home is selling for $139,000 Photo: Zillow.com

Take advantage of luxury community living at an affordable price! This 1,584 square foot single family home offers three bedrooms and two and a half baths as well as a tremendous slate of internal and external advantages. The short sale property has a covered front porch, gas log fireplace and a vaulted master bedroom with two full closets.

But prospective buyers must take a walk outside to find the private community's outdoor pool, tennis and basketball courts. A playground, fire pit and party space complete this family-friendly environment.

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Builders may be doing better than we think

Builders may be doing better than we think

"Last week the Realtors were on the block, criticized for overestimating the number of existing home sales in 2010.  They admitted there were some issues with their 'benchmarking,' and are currently working on a quick fix.  That acknowledgement was certainly a bombshell to those of us who cover housing, but it didn't really affect investors, as it's more of a macro-economic issue than a tradable one.  Well here's a new one that could affect how you stock players trade.  Housing analyst Ivy Zelman, much renowned during her time at Credit Suisse for calling the crash of the subprime mortgage and charting adjustable rate mortgage resets, tells me the Census Department's data on sales of new construction is also way off:  'In December, our survey channel checks implied a 12% sequential decline in seasonally-adjusted new home sales, which was consistent with what the public builders had said throughout earnings season, yet the Census reported an 18% increase." 

"In January, our survey suggested that gross new home orders increased 11% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, yet the Census data released today (Thursday) reported a 13% decline. We were estimating a new home sale pace of 395,000 and the Census reported 284,000, but given the significant divergence between our December estimate and the Census’ results, we weren’t overly surprised to see the January number fall below our forecast.'  'While it would appear that the Census’ numbers are troubling for new home sales, and you are right that new home inventory is depressed, we believe the new home sales pace is materially above what the Census has reported in recent months, suggesting there is not as much 'doom and gloom' on the new home side as what is being widely reported.'  So why do the two diverge?  Zelman's researchers say it may be the very small Census sample size, which leads to a huge margin of error (in the Northeast it was +/- 82.5% in January!).  It may even be in
the low-to-mid single-digit range. Zelman's survey covers 13% of the total new home market, and is made up entirely of private builders. The public builders represent another 30-40% of the market."

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See-through bubble tents provide incredible views

• by Yahoo!Green, on Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:17am PST

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BubbleTree in the woods

 

Photo by: Pierre Stephane Dumas

By Lori Bongiorno

BubbleTrees are anything but average tents. These prefabricated, globe-shaped tents are transparent so you can’t get much closer to nature unless you sleep outside. The tents, which are currently only available in Europe, come decked out with portable sofas, beds, and more. Some models even have wood floors. Others are designed specifically for the beach or to use as tree houses.

How do they work? Just pump up a tent with the provided electric air blower. The blower, which has an air filter, circulates fresh air and provides the air pressure needed to maintain the bubble shape. See the manufacturer's website for more details on how this works. Like ordinary tents, they can heat up quite a bit, so you’ll want to install them in a shady spot during the summer.

As cool as BubbleTrees are, they don’t seem all that practical for your average camper since they’re not small enough to stash in a backpack and they’re pricey. One of these pop-up dwellings costs about $9,000 to $17,000, depending on which model and extras you choose. But they’re still a lot of fun to look at! 

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Healing a Wounded Credit Score

by Tara Siegel Bernard
Tuesday, March 1, 2011

provided by

Millions of consumers have fallen out of favor with the credit scoring gods.

Some lost their jobs or were just overwhelmed by mounting debt. Others got caught up in the real estate bubble or had major medical bills. Whatever the reason, the rising number of foreclosures, short sales, late credit card payments and the ultimate credit sin -- bankruptcies -- have left black marks on credit reports most everywhere.

So what can these people do to repair their credit?

The simple answer is to focus on the information that is used to generate the all-powerful FICO score -- the measure used most frequently by traditional lenders to determine creditworthiness. Its scale runs from 300 points to 850 points; the higher the score, the better your credit standing. "FICO is still the 500-pound gorilla," said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com. "In 2011, the best way to get credit from the mainstream lenders is to have a good FICO score."

Consumers can hope that the banks will eventually consider alternatives to the traditional FICO score, which was developed by Fair Isaac Corporation and has been in wide use for about two decades. After all, as banks regain their appetite for lending, they will be looking for ways to differentiate between borrowers with the same scores, some of whom are temporarily struggling and others who chronically have trouble with money.

For now, though, the FICO score reigns. The best antidote to a poor score is time. Still, there are a half dozen ways to speed the process, or, at the least, avoid even more credit trouble.

What to Do

Assess Your Situation

Before you even start to think about rehabilitating your credit, make sure that you can pay your bills on time and not do any more harm. If keeping up with your credit card bills is still an issue, then call the issuer, explain your situation and try to negotiate payments you can afford. Ask the issuer how that will be reported to the major three credit bureaus: Not paid as agreed, which can hurt your score? Or will the new terms say that you are now paying as agreed?

"You have to get in writing that this is what they agreed to do," said Mechel Glass, director of education at CredAbility, a nonprofit consumer credit counseling agency. Ditto for other providers, like utility companies.

Then, assess all the damage by getting a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus through annualcreditreport.com. Each of the major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- generate their own FICO scores based on the data they collect. Two versions of your FICO score are also available for $19.95 each, through myFico.com.

How far your credit score has fallen will depend on where it started, as well as the frequency and severity of your credit mistakes. If you had almost perfect credit, but because of the loss of a job your credit card bills ended up at a collection agency, you can expect to lose anywhere from 80 to 150 points from your FICO score. A short sale or foreclosure? Both, Mr. Ulzheimer said, "would turn a FICO 790 into a FICO 590 overnight."

Clean Up Your Score

Start with the low-hanging fruit. Let's say you were late paying a bill from a company that no longer exists, or a bank that has since merged with a larger institution. If the credit reporting bureaus cannot verify the accuracy of that black mark, they are required to remove it. "Not only does it have to be correct, but it has to be verifiable," Mr. Ulzheimer said.

Next, focus on paying off the loans -- namely, credit cards -- that will help give your score the most lift. Paying off a mortgage, a student loan or other installment debts, like car loans, feels good but that won't necessarily do much for your credit score.

You also want to get your so-called debt utilization rate into good shape. FICO considers how the total amount of debt on each of your credit cards compares with your total available credit. The credit score "elite" -- that is, people with FICO scores above 760 -- typically don't have debts that exceed 7 percent of their available credit. But if you are at 50 percent and can get the rate down to 30 percent, that will help.

Leave a Note

Because prospective employers may pull a copy of your credit report, consider adding the equivalent of a doctor's note to each of your reports explaining your hardship, like a job loss. All three major credit bureaus allow you to add a brief statement through their Web sites. FICO doesn't consider these statements when formulating scores, however, so don't expect it to sway lenders.

Get Secured Cards

It will obviously be hard to get a traditional credit card when you have a poor credit history. Secured cards, if used strategically, can help nurse your credit back to health more quickly. These cards require you to put a set amount of money in a bank account, say $250 or $500, which is used as collateral. And the amount of available credit should be equivalent to the amount on deposit.

"What is the most predictive and powerful in your score are the things you've done most recently," Mr. Ulzheimer said. "That cuts both ways. If you add a secured card and you pay it religiously and the balance is low, it will help your score a lot more quickly than if you do nothing."

But read the fine print before signing up. Consumer advocates said some unscrupulous card issuers have charged the security deposit to the card. And be sure the issuer reports your payment information to the big three credit bureaus, since not all do.

Curtis Arnold, the founder of CardRatings.com, recommended two cards, both of which report payments to the big three: the Orchard Bank Secured MasterCard, which has an attractive interest rate of 7.9 percent, waives the annual fee in the first year and charges a moderate $35 annually thereafter. He also likes the Citi Secured MasterCard, largely because it offers an interest rate on the security deposit equivalent to an 18-month certificate of deposit, which he says is an industry first.

Talk to a Credit Union

These institutions may be more willing to work with members who have checkered histories. Their offerings vary, but they may be more likely to consider alternative credit scores, offer free credit counseling or have products tailored for people with poor credit histories. "Certainly, many credit unions have credit builder or rebuilder loans, often structured as a loan with a built-in savings component so that a person gradually builds up funds that can act as partial collateral," said Clifford Rosenthal, the president of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, a trade association representing credit unions in low- and moderate-income areas.

Alternative Verification

There are other credit reporting agencies and services that -- for a monthly fee, and sometimes a hefty one -- will collect your payment history from sources that aren't included in your traditional credit report or FICO score. At this point, however, most mainstream lenders base their decisions on the big three bureaus' reports and FICO scores. So you're better off saving your money. "All of those companies say they will report your accounts to a credit bureau, and they may be doing that," Mr. Ulzheimer said. "But if it is not the big three, then who cares?"

This could change, of course, as banks become more willing to lend and potentially open to using other means to identify promising borrowers. Lenders may begin to consider rental payment histories, for instance. Or they may be willing to look at alternative credit scores that incorporate payment information that doesn't show up on traditional credit reports.

Or perhaps one lender will permit so-called shoe box credit: Did you know that if you walk into a lender with a box stuffed with receipts proving that you paid your cable bill, for instance, that they are required to consider it? They aren't obliged to give you a loan, but the regulation says they must consider the information.

What to Avoid

Credit Repair Offers

You may have seen the advertisements for credit repair companies on the Web. "We really tell our clients to stay away," said Ms. Glass, of CredAbility. One re-emerging scam, she says, involves companies that claim they can clean up your credit. Some companies manage to do this for a limited time by disputing all of your accounts, sending letters to the bureaus claiming the accounts aren't valid. But after the credit bureaus validate the accounts and debts, they reappear on your report and your score will plummet again.

Legitimate credit repair companies exist, and they can assist in disputes. But there's nothing they can do that you can't do yourself at little cost. Besides, these companies often besiege the bureaus with letters, and the bureaus are allowed to ignore what they believe are frivolous disputes. Be wary of companies that do not disclose in writing that you can do these tasks free on your own, that guarantee results or that try to charge you before they perform any services.

Certain Cards

Despite the tighter credit environment, Chi Chi Wu, a staff lawyer at the National Consumer Law Center, said the center was still receiving complaints about credit cards aimed at people with poor credit histories.

"These cards are pitched as a way to build credit, but with these kind of steep fees and high interest rates, there is a good chance they will hurt," she said.

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