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STORIES:
California Psychiatrists Paid $400,000 Shows Bidding War -
(www.bloomberg.com) Mohammad Safi, a graduate of
a medical school in Afghanistan, began working as a
psychiatrist at a California mental hospital in 2006,
making $90,682 in his first six months. Last year, he took home $822,302, all
of it paid by taxpayers. Safi benefited from what amounted to a bidding war
after a federal court forced the state to improve inmate care. The prisons
raised pay to lure psychiatrists, the mental health department followed suit to
keep employees, and costs soared. Last year, 16 California psychiatrists,
including Safi, made more than $400,000, while only one did in the other 11
most populous states, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Spanish Repossessed Property Prices Tumble 65% in Credit Crunch
- (www.bloomberg.com) Prices of repossessed Spanish
homes offloaded by lenders this year tumbled 65 percent as a million new
properties remain unsold and buyers find it more difficult to get mortgages,
according to Fitch Ratings. The price decline is relative to the value of the
property when the loans were made and is more than double the drop in real
estate values recorded in government data. That compares with a 45 percent
slump in Portuguese repossessed house values. Spain’s property
market is hampered by the country falling into its second recession in three years and
struggling with Europe’s highest unemployment rate of 25
percent. Fitch published its latest study five years after a decade-long real
estate bubble burst and just as Spain sets up its so-called bad bank to purge
toxic assets from the books of troubled lenders.
Fed Expands Asset Buying, Links Rates to Joblessness, Prices
- (www.bloomberg.com) The Federal
Reserve said it will buy $45 billion a month of Treasury
securities starting in January, expanding its asset-purchase program, and it
linked the outlook for its main interest
rate to unemployment and inflation. “The committee remains
concerned that, without sufficient policy accommodation, economic growth might
not be strong enough to generate sustained improvement in labor-market
conditions,” the Federal Open Market Committee said
today at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Washington.
The Fed said interest rates will stay low “at least as long” as the unemployment
rate remains above 6.5 percent and if inflation “between one
and two years ahead” is projected to be no more than 2.5 percent. The committee
“views these thresholds as consistent with its earlier date-based guidance.”
NFIB small-business optimism index plunges - (www.marketwatch.com) Small-business optimism
plunged in November in the wake of President Barack Obama's re-election,
according to data released Tuesday. An index from the National Federation of
Independent Business that tracks sentiment among small firms fell 5.6 points at
87.5. The survey found that 49% of small-business owners expect future business
conditions to be worse than current conditions. In October, a record percentage
of owners were uncertain about the outlook, and it appears that many became
decidedly negative in November. "Washington does not have the needs of
small business in mind, said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.
Head
of GSEs Edward DeMarco faces replacement, unfortunately - (www.ochousingnews.com)
Edward
DeMarco is a thorn in the side of the Obama administration. He has consistently
resisted calls to pander to loan-owners by forgiving principal on GSE loans.
Many on the political left are calling for his head, and the Obama
administration is poised to oblige them — and that’s not appropriate. DeMarco
has proven to be a thoughtful administrator who protects the interests of the
US taxpayer. Of course, that’s the problem many politicians have with him. They
want to raid the coffers of the treasure to buy more votes. If DeMarco is
replaced by someone who will allow politicians to steal from the treasury to
buy votes, it would be a travesty. Unfortunately, I am not hopeful that Conservatives
have the will or the power to stop them. This is one more step toward becoming
a banana republic.
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