Economy
‘Historic’ budget cuts roughly equal to 2008 payroll growth
The San Diego Union-Tribune found that “San Diego’s payroll ballooned by $41 million last year, fueled by unpublicized payouts, labor settlements and costly benefits.” Analysis of spending data “helps put into perspective the $43 million in wage and benefit reductions that will take effect July 1 to address a budget gap. [Mayor Jerry] Sanders portrays…
Read MoreForeclosure backlog continues to threaten economic recovery
Renae Merle of The Washington Post reports that a backlog of delinquent mortgages threatens the nation’s economic recovery. “It masks the full extent of the foreclosure crisis and threatens to depress prices even further just as some parts of the country are hinting at recovery. For lenders, it could portend even more financial losses tied…
Read MoreGenerous Assembly
A five-part series in The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) put the spotlight on costly state policy decisions. Stories addressed wide-ranging topics: the high cost of enforcing the state’s mandatory sentencing law for low-level felons; lack of generic drug requirements for Medicaid patients; pet projects and untracked spending; corporate tax loopholes; and the hidden cost…
Read MoreSchool district pays for risky bond swaps
The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., published “Risky Business,” a four-part series on the Bethlehem Area School District’s costly use of variable-rate bonds and swaps to finance hundreds of millions of dollars in school renovations. “While the board approved swap after swap on the advice of the administration and former financial consultant Les Bear, no…
Read MoreCommercial real estate losses threaten local banks
“Commercial real-estate loans could generate losses of $100 billion by the end of next year at more than 900 small and midsize U.S. banks if the economy’s woes deepen, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.” Maurice Tamman and David Enrich report that losses on commercial real-estate loans are much greater than loses…
Read MoreVacant homes, neighborhoods plague the Rust Belt
“An analysis by The Associated Press, based on data collected by the U.S. Postal Service and the Housing and Urban Development Department, shows the emptiest neighborhoods are clustered in places hit hard during the recession of the 1980s — cities such as Flint, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Indianapolis.” Dan Sewell and Frank Bass…
Read MoreProject identifies top lenders at center of financial meltdown
A project by the Center for Public Integrity delved into the financial crisis by analyzing 7.2 million subprime loans made from 2005 through 2007. The analysis revealed 25 lenders responsible for nearly $1 trillion in subprime lending during that time. Their reporting uncovered “that at least 21 of the top 25 subprime lenders were directly…
Read MoreRecession impacts diabetics’ health
An Associated Press investigation found that many diabetics are reducing or forgoing doctor visits, medications and testing due to financial pressures. Business writer Linda A. Johnson reports that, “People with other health problems also are cutting back on care amid the recession, but diabetics who don’t closely monitor and control the chronic disease risk particularly…
Read MoreBuffett benefits from bailout
Charles Piller of The Sacramento Bee reports that billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway “owns more than $13 billion of stock in the top recipients of TARP funds – including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., US Bancorp, American Express Co. and Bank of America Corp., all considered by analysts to be in deep trouble before the federal…
Read MoreBankTracker crunches numbers from FDIC reports
An analysis of bank financial statements by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University and msnbc.com, sheds new light on just how dangerous conditions have become in many banks across the nation. Information is available on the BankTracker site and a related msnbc.com story by Bill Dedman.
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