| SEC probes WaMu loans
The Securities and Exchange Commission is probing how Washington Mutual Inc., the nation's largest savings and loan, handled mortgages that were possibly based on inflated home appraisals.
"We are voluntarily and fully cooperating with the SEC's inquiry as well as the [Office of Thrift Supervision] and look forward to bringing the facts to both the regulators and public," the Seattle company said. OTS is the company's federal regulator.
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment yesterday.
Shares of Washington Mutual fell 57 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $14.10 yesterday. The company's stock has traded between $13.99 and $46.38 in the past year.
Shares of WaMu have dropped about 65 percent since mid-September, following some dismal financial disclosures and a lawsuit filed last month by New York's attorney general against one of its real estate appraisers, purporting the companies colluded to inflate home values.
Redfin Launches 'Sweet Digs' in Boston and Washington, D.C.
SEATTLE, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Online real estate broker Redfin Corporation today launched its online real estate blog, "Sweet Digs," for the first time on the East Coast. Home buyers and sellers in Greater Boston and the Washington, D.C. metro area can read local, data-driven real estate market information online or in a daily email newsletter. The Boston-area blog is available at http://boston.redfin.com/blog and the D.C.-area blog is available at http://washingtondc.redfin.com/blog. Every week, the Boston and D.C. Sweet Digs blogs each offer as many as 20 candid, saucy and analytical write-ups of recent sales, price reductions, open houses and real estate trends. Local coverage includes Back Bay, Cambridge and Somerville in Boston; and Bethesda, Loudoun County and McLean in the D.C.
Travelers may stay closer to home in '08
When there's a slowdown in the economy, travel only slows slightly," said Douglas Shifflet of D.K. Shifflet & Associates, which tracks travel trends. "The amount of time people spend on vacations and in hotels is hit harder. They make tradeoffs; they stay closer to home or with friends and relatives." "They'll look for other ways to save, like taking a day or two off of their trip," agreed Amy Ziff, Travelocity editor-at-large. International hot spots for '08 include Beijing; Central America; Italy, Eastern Europe and Lisbon, Portugal. But domestic travel could benefit from the weak dollar and other trends. Visits to national parks were up 1.3 percent, January-September 2007, compared to the previous year, with Yosemite and Yellowstone adding more than a quarter-million visitors.
Venture Capital: Some bold predictions for 2008
GOOGLE'S STOCK will lose nearly a third of its value this year. Amazon.com will buy eBay. And no Washington companies will conduct initial public offerings. Those are among the predictions from four Seattle venture capitalists who offered their prognostications for the coming year. Check back in 12 months to see how they did, including their picks for U.S. president and World Series winner. Bill Bryant, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Seattle Favorite investment sectors in 2008: Enterprise software as a service, search, local information services. What company will have a breakout year? Isilon Systems What company will have a lackluster year? Getty Images Number of IPOs in Washington state, (top candidates): Seven (Varolii, Corbis, Omeros, Intelius, Global Market Insite, Attenex and Free & Clear).
BIAW vs. Unhappy homeowners (and sympathetic lawmakers): Round 1...
For sheer political tension in the room, its hard to beat a faceoff between Seattle-area liberal lawmakers and attorneys for the conservative building industry. That was the lineup Tuesday in Sen. Brian Weinsteins new Consumer Protection and Housing Committee. Weinstein -- also a lawyer -- is proposing a Homeowners Bill of Rights that includes testing and licensing for contractors and legal reforms that make it much easier to sue for damages. Hes backed by a chorus of homeowners whove had horrific home-construction woes: uncompacted fill settling and leaving a cavern under a foundation, sagging roof trusses, plywood sheathing black with mold, buckled siding, and, most vividly, rats allowed in by nonexistent crawlspace covers pooping and dying in the walls. The builders say the changes are unnecessary; that such complaints are very, very rare and that the changes Weinstein is proposing would cause expensive lawsuits, insurers fleeing the state, small builders going out of business and a huge upswing in the price of a home.
Full text of the New Mexico State of the State Address
Together we've mandated ignition interlocks for every offender and closed loopholes to hold out-of-state offenders to the same standard. We've run statewide super-blitzes, created a hotline to report drunk driving, cracked down on bars over serving their customers, and tightened our drunk driving laws. And what's the result? Over the last five years our alcohol related fatalities have decreased by almost 20 percent, and early statistics for 2007 indicate DWI fatalities are the lowest in state history. But we must do more. There must be penalties for those who tamper with their ignition interlock and penalties for new residents with out-of-state offenses who avoid our law. To make our streets safer, we must also remember that the majority of DWI offenders are abusing more than just alcohol, and we should continue our commitment to rehabilitation and substance abuse treatment.
LandAmerica Names Carol A. Mastrofini Senior Vice President Northwest ...
RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: LFG) , Fortune magazine's number one Most Admired Company in the mortgage services industry, has promoted Carol A. Mastrofini to Senior Vice President - Commercial Services for the Northwest Region, where she leads daily operations and business expansion. She is based in Seattle, Washington. Mastrofini most recently served LandAmerica as Group Vice President - Commercial Services for the Northwest Region. She previously served the company in the position of Commercial Counsel. "Our commercial customers have benefited significantly from Carol's dedication to superior service," said Pam Saylors, Group Senior Vice President - National Title Operations for Commercial Services.
The Worst Market Crisis in 60 Years
In order to prevent recession and eliminate credit bust period, the Fed and government have intervened repeatedly both monetarily and fiscally whenever financial market is in trouble. They have flooded the market with easy credit by providing large liquidity and lowering short term interest rate. As a result, they have prolonged the bull market and credit boom period as long as they can to keep people happy. This is similar to "treating a drunk by giving him another drink", as well said by a investment advisor. Whether people will have to pay for this kind of temporary shock therapies by suffering deeper pain in a very long bear market with dead credit, has been beyond Fed's consideration. Good job, Greenspan. Poor Bernanke, as people say, timing is everything. This is also the main reason behind the deregulation of financial institutions during last 20 years, since Fed needs Wall St to fully corroborate, utilize and leverage all the easy credits they provide.
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