| February 8th, 2011, Carlo Gabriel Simbajon  America’s largest bank announced recently it will be creating a separate unit to deal solely with foreclosures and discontinued loan products, the Associated Press reported. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) said its Legacy Asset Servicing unit will be tasked with resolving issues involving faulty mortgage paperwork. BofA, and a number of other banks, was embroiled in an industry-wide scandal involving the use of “robo-signers” – bank employees and contractors who rubber-signed foreclosure documents without checking their veracity. Because of the robo-signing allegations, BofA suspended foreclosures in all 50 states last October and resumed them in December after a review of procedures. → Read More February 7th, 2011, Carlo Gabriel Simbajon  Cash-strapped states received some advice from the Obama administration on ways to cut Medicaid spending. Medicaid is normally the first or the second largest item on a state’s budget. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advised governors to consider generating savings through several approaches: like charging higher rates of co-payments for certain services, putting a limit to certain benefits, more efficient management of high-cost patients, putting a stop on improper payments and bringing down the cost of drugs. → Read More February 6th, 2011, Carlo Gabriel Simbajon  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Ex-Florida Governor Jeb Bush are urging Congress to pass a bill that would allow states to declare bankruptcy. The proposed measure is a way to aid cash-strapped states around the nation, Gingrich and Bush said recently in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. The Republican duo said “Federal bailouts must come to an end.” They argued that “Congress must allow a safe, orderly way under federal bankruptcy law for states to reorganize their finances.” Their proposal, they say, will be “fair, orderly, predictable and lawful approach,” to helping financially struggling states. → Read More February 4th, 2011, Steve Ross .Michael Colliss It’s with sadness that I have to inform our readers that Michael passed away last month, after a sudden illness. I do not have any further details other than what Michael’s sister told me. I truly feel a loss, as while I’ve only known Mike for 6 months and → Read More February 4th, 2011, Carlo Gabriel Simbajon  Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wants Congress to raise the age of retirement to 69, a report by The Hill said. Graham said the measure will help Social Security to address its solvency problems. Speaking to WVOC radio in his home state, Graham said “I’m looking for a process that will lead to a vote on saving Social Security from bankruptcy this year, that would adjust the age.” Senator Graham made reference to the gradual increase in the retirement age in the 80s that was a product of an agreement with then President Ronald Reagan, a Republican and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill (Mass.). That agreement brought in a phased increase in the retirement age to 67, the Hill report said. → Read More February 3rd, 2011, Carlo Gabriel Simbajon  A member of the U.S. House of Representatives is set to dig deeper into the $160 million used in the legal defense of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their former officials. Republican Congressman Darrell Issa of California has requested the Federal Housing Finance Agency for documentation behind the decision to use taxpayer’s money to fund the legal costs, an Associated Press report said. Rep. Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said “”At a time of runaway federal deficits and 10 percent unemployment, it is extremely distasteful for the American taxpayers to be forced to pay the legal bills of former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, companies which were central players in the financial crisis.” → Read More January 31st, 2011, Carlo Gabriel Simbajon  Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are studying a proposal to privatize Medicare in an attempt to save the beleaguered program. According to a report by the Associated Press, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, is pushing the proposal to test the degree of support it will generate among Republicans in the Lower House. The plan calls for the replacement of the current open-ended system with one that issues vouchers to seniors which they can use to purchase private medical insurance from a list of options. Under the proposed measure, individuals currently on Medicare and those who are within 10 years of getting coverage would experience no change in benefits. Those aged 54 years and younger will experience the change, the AP report said. They will be given fixed payment by the federal government to purchase medical insurance from an authorized provider → Read More January 27th, 2011, Denis Blesford  President Obama discussed his vision for the future in his highly anticipated State of The Union address this past Tuesday. The speech covered a number of aspects like governance, the economy, foreign policy etc. The main points of the speech are detailed below. ECONOMY Obama described the recent rally in the stock market and the related increase in corporate earnings as hallmarks of a robust economic recovery. He also promised to rein in the huge budget deficit by advocating a cap on all non-defense spending for the next five years. Such a move could potentially reduce the budget deficit by a whopping $400 billion in a short period of ten years. Obama also requested the Congress to do away with subsidies to large oil companies and talked about ending tax-breaks for the richest 2% of the population. INNOVATION Obama stressed on the importance of increased funding and investment in biomedical research, information technology and clean energy technology. He set an ambitious goal of having over a million electric vehicles on America’s roads and generating 80% of U.S. electricity from alternative energy sources by 2015. “We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices, the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers, of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living,” remarked Obama, drawing a big round of applause. → Read More | Listen to Mike Colliss Interviews |
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