Policy Briefings: Are Delays to the Foreclosure Process a Good Thing?

The United States faces a foreclosure crisis. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that slightly more than four percent of the loans in the United States are in the foreclosure process as of the third quarter of 2010. RealtyTrac reported in January 2011 that nearly three million homes received foreclosure filings in 2010. In addition to the current foreclosures, there exist a substantial number of potential foreclosures that will occur in the next several years. Goodman (2010) estimates that there may be another seven million homes that will face foreclosure. CoreLogic estimated that nearly 23 percent of all mortgages are underwater as of the third quarter of 2010. This number spikes in the areas hardest hit by the mortgage crisis. The sheer volume of actual and pending foreclosures coupled with a slowdown in the foreclosure process due to legal and political wrangling has increased the time that a home is in foreclosure. The purpose of this policy briefing is to analyze the economics of delaying the resolution of the foreclosure process. We review the literature relating to the macroeconomic effects of delaying foreclosures. We begin by identifying four types of potential costs of delay. First, foreclosure delays inject uncertainty in the consumer balance sheet, which leads to unnecessary and economically damaging delays in consumption. This reverse-stimulus alone could dwarf any further plausible price effects of delaying foreclosures at this stage of the business cycle. Second, delaying foreclosures could impede new housing construction. Housing construction is predicated upon a positive and consistent upward price gradient in the housing market, which will not be established until the market is cleared of delinquent homes. Third, and similar to a consumer’s balance sheet, delaying foreclosures creates uncertainty in banks’ balance sheets, potentially blocking channels of credit and undermining lending. Fourth, delinquent homes that are heading to foreclosure have been shown to aggravate neighborhood blight.

The Case Against Stock Picking

This paper brings together various topics in finance--the Capital Asset Pricing Model, Portfolio Theory, the empirical evidence, and the Efficient Market Hypothesis--to address whether individual security selection--Stock Picking--is or is not a meritorious venture

IT IS MORE THAN A GAME: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION TREATMENT OF RESILIENCE AS A KEY ELEMENT OF BASKETBALL CULTURE

This study, theoretically and methodologically grounded in the ethnography of communication (Hymes 1974; Carbaugh, 1992; Covarrubias, 2008; Philipsen, 1992; Philipsen, Coutu, & Covarrubias, 2005), investigated the relationship between communication and resilience as expressed by professional basketball players and coaches from a particular city in southwest United States, referred to as PG City. Guiding questions include: Is there a basketball culture? Does basketball constitute a speech community? How do basketball and basketball culture help players and coaches fight through adversity? What is the role of resilience within basketball culture? Interviews, using ethnography of communication approaches, were used to uncover elements of resilience in relation to the communication processes of resilience, here defined as the ability to bounce-back and reintegrate after difficult life experiences (Buzzanell, 2010). Using the Hymes (1974) SPEAKING model to analyze participant utterances, this study highlights various elements of basketball culture that are related to experiences of resilience, such as, the grind, don’t talk, and the role of trash-talk as a distinct speech code activated by basketball speech community members. Further, this inquiry shows intrapersonal communication or self-talk to be a key conduit for the communication processes of resilience. Results show resilience is influenced by basketball culture as basketball culture expects resilience of its cultural bearers while also teaching the necessary skills to enact that resilience. Further this study shows that basketball culture provides its participants with access to the social network needed to enact and develop resilience. Further, this study provides grounds for further research regarding cultural influences on the development of resilience. Findings from this study suggest future studies investigating the relationship between culture, communication, and resilience are warranted

On Collecting Social Security Benefits After Age 66

For those with expectations of a normal longevity, electing to collect Social Security benefits at or after age 66 is currently recognized as appropriate. However, the question of postponing starting payments after the age of 66 is more problematic. This article will show that discounting the various payment elections becomes moot after a 6 percent discount rate

Purposeful Processes: Strategizing Resilience with Communication

Statement of Problem: Eating disorders have been described as an epidemic and the “modern psychopathology of our culture” (Granek, 2007). Between 2 and 4% of the US population is affected by eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders are a pervasive issue with only 10% of reported diagnoses coming from men (Granek, 2007). While there is a lack of research regarding the experiences of eating disorders in men, there is also a lack of research regarding the recovery process as well. The purpose of this study is to share lived-experiences of male anorexia as well as the recovery process. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: An autoethnographic approach was utilized to collect data during the authors recovery from anorexia. Using the communication processes of resilience (Buzzanell, 2010) the author designed a strategy of resilience to recover from anorexia and body dysmorphia. The process and results were recorded via autoethnography and then analyzed using a thematic analysis grounded by resilience theory. Findings: The initial purpose of the study was to develop a strategy of resilience based on communication to recover from anorexia and the findings show that the strategy did work. The strategy of resilience not only helped the author recovery from anorexia and body dysmorphia, it increased his overall well-being. The dynamic interaction of various communication processes facilitated the authors recovery from anorexia and develop healthier habits that extend beyond diet and physical health. Findings suggest that resilience is culturally situated, dependent on the adversity being experienced, and can be conceptualized strategically

Effects of a Phonetic Program Utilizing Rate Acceleration and Contingency Management on Reading Achievement of Ninth Grade High School Students

This paper presents the effects of a phonetic program with the use of contingency management on reading achievement of high school students. The program was designed to increase phonic sound rate and oral reading rate during reinforcement periods. Results suggest that the systematic application of phonics with contingency management did result in measurable gains in reading achievement

On Maximizing Annualized Option Returns

While options do generally demonstrate an increase in prices as time increases, an annualized return of their excess premiums exhibit other characteristics including a lower return on options farther out of the money, that as the exercise price is farther out of the money that the expiration with the greatest annualized return is longer in time, and more interestingly that for underlying securities having larger standard deviations the greatest annualized option returns are found with options having shorter expirations

Alien Registration- Higgins, Charles E. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/23932/thumbnail.jp

An After Tax Valuation of Debt Instruments

The net present value of any loan at is own discount rate is shown to be zero in both pre tax and after tax worlds. This allows separation from any investment net present value analysis. Further, it simplifies the analysis and it is argued is appropriate even in weighted average cost of capital scenarios wherein the cost of capital equal to its own after tax discount rate and remains a zero in terms of its own net present value