Art Schlichter is a former Baltimore Colts quarterback who’s creating a profession of fraud. The gambling addict is accused of stealing millions of dollars. The money did go to the Super Bowl, however in the form of bets. Felony charges will probably come out of the Super Bowl ticket probe.
Art Schlichter Super Bowl ticket probe
It has been a couple of years of Art Schlichter running a scam. He says it is an “investment opportunity” for people. Buying and selling major football game tickets is part of the investment. There was Super Bowl tickets offered this time around. Anybody who gave him lots of money was offered the tickets. Everyone ended up with no way to find Art Schlichter in the end while also being in Dallas with no Super Bowl XLV tickets.
Addictions Schlichter has
Art Schlichter is an admitted betting addict who has spent time in about 45 different jails and prisons since 1994. He said that he bet with the millions of dollars put to the Super Bowl ticket con. It was on that game and other games. Schlichter had something to say last time he got out of jail. Evidently he was “more sorry than people will ever know.” Schlichter sent the Columbus Dispatch text messages after the last accusations saying:
tried to portray himself as a suffering gambling addict who wants to assist other gambling addicts.
“It will help a lot of people,” Schlichter said in a text message. “This addiction is a [expletive].”
Super Bowl tickets not all good
The reason for the Super Bowl ticket probe was that a lot of individuals were unable to get to the Super bowl. This was after tickets were promised. The Super Bowl did not have just people from Dallas. Others were trying to get in. Just hours before the game, safety officials deemed more than 400 seats in the stadium unsafe and turned away individuals holding tickets. The 400 ticket holders were promised a 300 percent reimbursement for the tickets. The majority is upset the costs weren’t covered though.
Information from
Pro Football Talk
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/05/a
NFL
nfl.com/superbowl/story/09000d5d81e250e8/a
The repackaging of home loans into investments, for several investors, turned into a poor deal. The bad deal, however, might turn out to be banks’ responsibility. A clause written into several of the securities might imply banks have to spend $60 billion to re-buy mortgages gone terribly. Thousands have lost their properties while others struggled through pay day loan after payday loan just to remain on top of their mortgages.
Home loan security clauses
Billions were made by banks that packaged, sold and re-packaged mortgage securities. The mortgage securities weren’t necessarily good. They were bad credit loans. A clause was put in the securities that said the financial institution would re-purchase loans if the loans didn’t go well. The home loan bubble seemed to be doing really well. That means it didn’t matter much. There are a ton of properties in foreclosure right now. That means that banking institutions are fighting the forced buybacks coming at them.
$60 billion legal responsibility
Credit rating and value drops have triggered by mortgage-backed securities buyback. About $60 billion of buyback liability is what the largest six banks in the nation are dealing with currently, according to credit rating agencies. Half of that legal responsibility is owed to United States Government-backed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. In order to buy back a ton of mortgages, Fannie and Freddie got about $2.5 billion from B of A in January. States like Nevada have high foreclosures although the home loans are spread throughout the country.
Having a ton of buybacks going on
The “highest exposure” to buybacks were in banks like Chase and B of A. Insurers, mortgage finance corporations and private investors are considering suing banking institutions. This is because they will not buy mortgages back though. Some of the loans might be repurchased by the banks. They surely will not all be bought back though. In the end, that means that banks may have many years of possible lawsuits and poor loans on the books, all while the investors are stuck with foreclosed homes that their contracts say they ought to not have.
Information from
New York Times
dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/banks-co
A minimum of one person is deceased and another five missing in Allentown, Penn. A gas explosion rocked a neighborhood at 10:45 p.m. local time Wed, Feb. 9. Six homes were wrecked by the still-burning fire. Another sixteen houses are badly ruined.
Natural gas explosion in Allentown, Penn.
The causes for the natural gas explosion in Allentown are not yet known. The fire chief in Allenton said it was “under investigation.” The causes will be discovered. A huge natural gas explosion like that would take a lot of gas. In fact, a stove would have to have been left on a long time or a gas leak would have had to been undiscovered for a long time for it to have occurred like that. The blast was really strong. It was so strong that computer monitors were sent to houses that were 6 to eight houses away.
Gas explosion causes over 600 to be evacuated
After the Allentown, Pennsylvania, gas explosion, more than 600 residents were evacuated out of their houses. One full row of houses, at least six, was burned down by the fire caused by the explosion. There were sixteen other houses ruined by it. Nearby apartment complexes are also being inspected before residents are allowed back into their houses. The explosion and fire killed one person while 5 have yet to be found.
Natural gas main to be inspected now
In accordance with the UGI Utilities, Inc., representative, there was a “routine leak inspection” done on the gas main near Allentown, Penn., where the gas explosion happened and had passed. There were leaks checked for regularly in the 12-inch cast iron natural gas main running under most of the city. The utility also indicates that there was no history of leaks under the row housing that exploded and no calls about gas odors. The company made it clear the gas explosion could have been from several things. They have no idea what it was exactly though. Thursday morning, five hours were needed by the crew to cut through concrete and seal the gas to stop the fire from both sides.
Information from
MSNBC
msnbc.msn.com/id/41504665
Salon
salon.com/wires/business/2011/02/10/D9L9
Students in the United States owe a lot of money. There is over $885 billion owed in private student loans. Students and graduates are responsible for the majority of that debt. Some families facing tragedy are also facing difficult decisions. Some banks are holding households responsible for debt, even when they’re not co-signers.
Getting student loans
The business of student education loans is booming. There is a federal loan program that offers loans to students. Per student, $5,000 a year is offered. That money, however, is barely enough to cover books at most schools. The government will not back the private student education loans. Also, students without a credit history need a co-signer to get the loans typically. It is not that hard to get an education loan. They’re easier to get than no fax payday loans in some cases. Since student loans aren’t impacted by bankruptcy, they’re extremely hard to have written off, they are really popular.
Leaving behind student loans after dying
Several families in the country have learned a sad truth. Student loans are not canceled by death. Sometimes the student loans have co-signers. The co-signer ends up with the responsibility of the education loan debt. After students die, parents are already grieving these deaths. Nevertheless, the thousands in debt add to that burden.
Defaulting after passing away
A student sometimes does not have to have a co-signer. In the case of dying, the loan ends up “in default” technically. A person’s estate — whatever items of value left behind — is responsible for paying back the loan debt. If the estate cannot pay back the loan, then the financial institution has to write off the debt. To qualify for a loan, most students need cosigners though. That means the debt is usually passed to someone else when the student dies.
Articles cited
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487
KCTV5
kctv5.com/news/26796636/detail.html
“Guitar Hero”, intended by Activision/Blizzard, has played its last chord. Activision is shutting down production of the “Guitar Hero” video game along with “DJ Hero.” The series “Rock Band,” which was inspired by “Guitar Hero” hasn’t announced any shutdown plans.
Forget about ‘Guitar Hero’
”Guitar Hero’s” death was something that video game maker Activision declared Thurs morning is over. The “casual-gamer” title was once a mega-hit. Of all games, “Guitar Hero” was the first to get over $1 billion in sales. This happened in Jan 2009. The business lost $9.36 billion past year with United States sales dropping over 8 percent. As of February, Activision will shut down all sales, including downloadable content, for “DJ Hero” and “Guitar Hero.”. There will be a huge amount of employees laid off by Activision. About 500 individuals will lose their jobs.
‘Rock Band’ might survive shutdown
”Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero” seem like they were made by the exact same business. In fact, this is not true. Distributing “Rock Band” and making deals is fairly easy. It helps that Viacom and Music Television Games are the ones that own the game. The setup pack is more costly for “Rock Band” keeping the business profitable. Nevertheless, “Guitar Hero” controllers can be used for the game. Also, “Guitar Hero” sales have died while “Rock Band” sales have continued strong. This doesn’t mean “Rock Band” is in a comfortable position, however. When “The Beatles: “Rock Band”” came out in 2009, millions were expected to sell. In three months, only $1.7 million in product was sold with the game.
What is going to take place to music gaming?
In the shutdown announcement, “Guitar Hero” cites the “rapid decline in the music genre” as the major reason for the decision. The music genre has always been sold by motion systems like Wii and Kinect. The games have to be mostly on dancing rather than as part of the band though. A reduction in the hardware component of sales has been seen. This means the lower-profit, higher-sales software will be necessary for companies to make money.
Citations
Investor Place
investorplace.com/30610/activision-blizz
USA Today
content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehun
Danger of depression increased with the consumption of trans fats during the course of a recently published study. But people in the research eating a Mediterranean diet were less likely to be depressed. The impact of trans fat on depression might be even more pronounced in the United States, where the rate of trans fat intake is much higher than in Europe.
Trans fats trigger depression
People who ate trans fat were 48 percent much more likely to suffer from depression, according to a study conducted at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain. Those who got more than 0.6 percent of calories from trans fats were the very same ones that had a rise risk in depression. Over 12,000 people over six years were tracked to determine what conclusions could possibly be made. None of the participants suffered from depression at the beginning of the study. Everyone getting less trans fat at the beginning of the study had less of a chance of getting depression. However, any person that had more trans fat had an elevated risk.
Trans fats and inflammation
Part of the trans fat/depression study had a questionnaire on diet and medical conditions administered at the beginning. It was administered again at the end of the study. Not only was trans fat intake connected to depression, higher amounts of trans fat intake led to a higher danger of depression. A Mediterranean diet was good for people. Depression was uncommon in these people. A depression/inflammation link was suggested by the author of the study since those with depression often have it. Due to trans fats, HDL cholesterol goes down and LDL cholesterol goes up. Also, swelling is increased. Mediterranean diets have olive oil used in them a lot. It helps reduce inflammation very much.
Trans fat consumption in the United States
Americans might get a wakeup call from the Spanish study. The highest amounts of trans fat in Spanish subjects was at 0.4 percent total calories which came from milk and cheese mostly. The diet in America averages 2.5 percent of calories from trans fat. Processed foods help make this huge difference. Heart disease is most common in the United States The states also lead in intake of trans fat and depression.
Citations
MSN
health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/a
Bloomberg
bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-26/saturated-o
Medical News Today
medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215021.php
Auto loan underwriters tend to be forgotten among the progenitors of the recession, however sloppy decisions concerning subprime loans created a large number of defaults. Not examining the subprime market’s ability to pay back proved to be disastrous. Now, the automotive business is striving to pay closer attention to auto loan underwriting standards, reports Wards Auto. Resource for this article – Underwriting auto loans after a recession by Car Deal Expert.
Checking details with car loan underwriting
If a borrower has a less-than-perfect credit history, greater attention must be paid before a car loan could be approved. Price Waterhouse and Cooper Consumer Financial Group senior manager Douglas Ekizian explained that a borrower can have a few dings in a credit score but doesn’t appear to be in a terrible loan default can be approved. When it is clear that an applicant has the ability to pay back the loan, underwriters must choose whether history suggests the consumer will repay it.
In general, better car loan underwriting decisions come when there is as much information as possible that is available. Ekizian explained that analysts can do “more than a cursory review of credit-bureau forensic analytics,” when there is full income and employment data.
Using instinct to decide to lend
With added detail, a vehicle loan underwriter can pinpoint specific incidents that can trigger an odd loan default, in accordance with Alliance Acceptance CEO Ray Thousand. A default following job loss is something that can be overlooked if the rest of the credit history is clean. As the credit market for auto loans has relaxed somewhat, sometimes borrowers with a bankruptcy are considered, said consumer risk finance manager Adem Yilmaz of Toyota Motors Financial Services.
“Determining willingness to pay back a loan is the gut call of the day. We’re looking for evidence of ultimately trying to make good on the loan,” said Thousand.
Auto loan defaults: Children of recession
A boom in auto loan defaults occurred in 2008 and 2009, years that were particularly bad for the U.S. economy. This dragged some of the country’s most respected car loan corporations into bankruptcy or in line for subprime bailout dollars. With careful underwriting choices, the auto lending market hopes to stay away from the mistakes of the past.
Information from
Wards Auto
wardsauto.com/home/auto_loan_analysts_11
Understanding the role of loan underwriting
youtube.com/watch?v=Q7OvlYjNt9w
Getting enough sleep can be a tough problem. Two new analyses show that a sleep disorders means bad health. One study shows that insomnia contributes to being overweight. This impact is especially strong in kids. Sleep may also help memories build and be stronger.
How sleep and weight problems link
Researchers studied the sleep habits of 300 children, ages 4 to 10 years old. Children that slept irregularly tended to be obese. This was something noticed within the study. The amount of rest the children got didn’t correlate. It was just the change in resting patterns from day to day. The outcomes were explained by Dr. David Gozal who led the study saying, “We think that the direction of the arrow is you sleep less, you eat more, you exercise less because you’re tired, and therefore you gain more weight.”
The connection between sleep and memory
Nature Neuroscience today is a journal. Another rest study was published in it. There was a discovery that subjects who took naps right after studying would retain 25 percent more information than other subjects. This is what German scientists discovered. The information is at first only listed to the short-term part of the brain. It’s believed that it then gets “downloaded” into the long term part of the brain during sleep. Memories become stronger in rest. That is the basic idea.
Why it is hard to get enough sleep
It does not matter what age you are. Getting sufficient rest is difficult for most. For school-aged children and adolescents, nine hrs or more per night is generally recommended. Adults are really only supposed to get between 8 and 10 hours. This is considered “enough” by most. In general, getting enough sleep ought to mean resting until you naturally wake up. The good news is, however, that “catching up” on sleep seems to be helpful. You should surely catch up on sleep during the weekend. It can reduce being overweight risk from 280 to 400 percent.
Articles cited
AFP
google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5
Fox News
foxnews.com/health/2011/01/24/study-slee
Acetaminophen is a common ingredient in many prescription and over-the-counter pain drugs. Acetaminophen could be dangerous. The liver can be irreversibly damaged by an overdose. To keep cases of acetaminophen overdose in check, the Food and drug administration is directing pharmaceutical firms to curtail the dosage of acetaminophen in prescribed drugs. I wonder if individuals in pain could be applying for payday loans to increase the quantity of pain killers they now need.
Not including over the counter acetaminophen drugs in the ruling
Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in widely prescribed painkillers like Percoset, Vicodin, oxycodone and Tylenol with codeine. The amount of acetaminophen in prescription painkillers will only be allowed to have 350 milligrams per capsule or tablet now though with the FDA rules changes Thursday. About 750 milligrams are used of acetaminophen right now per capsule. The FDA says that the drugs won’t be less effective. Having less acetaminophen won’t hurt at all. It could be another three years before pharmaceutical companies have to comply. That will give them some wiggle room. Over-the-counter medications such as Sudafed and Nyquil, which can deliver up to 500 milligrams of acetaminophen per dose, aren’t affected by the newest action.
Trying to stop acetaminophen overdoses from occurring
About 200 million prescriptions in 2008 had acetaminophen in them that doctors prescribed. Acetaminophen is linked to liver damage. Every year in the U.S., there are 800 cases linked back to this. The FDA said one of the most severe cases of liver damage occur when people take more than the prescribed dose of an acetaminophen drug in a 24-hour period. Another trap people fall into is taking more than one over the counter acetaminophen drug at a time. The main ingredient of acetaminophen in Tylenol means taking Sudafed and Tylenol at the same time for a bad cold is a problem. It is also bad to mix drugs like Vicodin with alcohol.
Looking at an acetaminophen overdose
It is quite bad to use a combination of acetaminophen drugs. In fact, half of the acetaminophen related cases in the United States of liver failure are as a result of this. Nausea, vomiting, sweating, diarrhea and loss of appetite are all symptoms that acetaminophen overdose has happened. The liver damage will start although the symptoms may disappear in 24 hours. If an acetaminophen overdose happens, you should get emergency treatment. An acetaminophen antidote called acetylcysteine, administered early enough, can prevent death or the need for a liver transplant.
Articles cited
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl
Business Week
businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healt
eMed TV
pain.emedtv.com/acetaminophen/acetaminop
Tylenol Professional
tylenolprofessional.com/overdose-managem
Ford has fans of the electric car taking notice. Not to be outdone by the Nissan Leaf, Ford revealed its EV marvel at the recent Las Vegas CES, the Focus Electric. The CES showing is a warm-up for its industry debut at the Detroit Auto Show.
Focus Electric platform not new
According to Autocar UK, Ford is taking a different route with the Focus Electric than Nissan and Renault have taken with electric vehicles. New platforms were used to make the Nissan and Renault. This is different from the Ford Electric since the Focus platform was used to build this electric vehicle. Ford has been able to use model names that are already known and loved while also decreasing development costs this way.
Using lithium ion under the hood
There is a 28kWh lithium ion battery in the Ford Focus Electric. This makes it so 84 mph is the maximum speed the car can go. The charge time for the Focus Electric is three to four hours on a 240V outlet which is half the time the Nissan Leaf requires, points out Ford. Also, it can go about 100 miles at a time.
Supposedly the steering, handling and braking will feel the same in the Focus Electric as the non-EV Focus feels, Ford representatives explain. Because of the quiet electronic power train, cabin noise is actually reduced while there are better aerodynamics.
Seeing very nice vehicle software in there</p>
As with all new upscale Ford models, the Focus Electric will sport the MyFord Touch software package, which will include not only cloud-based entertainment features and navigation, but tips on obtaining maximum life from the electric vehicle. If the EV needs charging or is done charging, the owner will be notified by the car if the Focus Electric has a mobile device synced to MyFord Touch with a Bluetooth.
This year, the Ford Focus Electric will be coming out. This is when the U.S. will get to see it.
Citations
Autocar
autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?AR=2
FOX coverage of the Focus Electric at CES
youtube.com/watch?v=IvcacL3e8p4
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