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President Barack Obama executed an end run around Congress when he announced a significant retooling of a plan designed to help homeowners who are paying their mortgages, but still underwater, refinance their loans at a more affordable interest rate.  Administration officials said the changes will streamline the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and could […]

The renewable energy industry is facing serious challenges from competition subsidized by foreign governments and restrictive regulations on the home front.  This was the consensus at the recent Solar Exchange East 2011, attended by academics, solar entrepreneurs, engineers, investors, supporters and government officials at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Larry […]

Federal officials and some of the nation’s largest banks are collaborating on a plan that would make refinancing available to some borrowers whose houses are worth less than their loans, with the caveat that they must be up-to-date on mortgage payments.  Typically, these borrowers can’t refinance because they don’t have enough equity in their homes. […]

Federal regulators have requested public comment on the Volcker Rule — the Dodd-Frank Act restrictions that would ban American banks from making short-term trades of financial instruments for their own accounts and prevent them from owning or sponsoring hedge funds and private-equity funds.  The Volcker rule, released by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance […]

Greece’s dire financial crisis is taking a toll on the nation’s psyche in more ways than mere worries over whether the economy will survive. A team of technical experts, primarily from the European Union (EU), are in Greece monitoring the state of its debt-stricken economy – and they are well aware of how dire the situation […]

The strange saga of how a rogue UBS trader lost $2 billion and who has since been fired and charged with fraud and false accounting in a London court has raised questions about the bank’s stability and whether it will retain its clients.  Ghana-born trader Kweku Adoboli was perceived as a polite and snappily dressed […]

Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the Senate in Massachusetts as a progressive Democrat, has caused controversy between the right and left with the following statement: “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there — good for you. “But I want to be clear. You […]

The recent death of Jerry Leiber at age 78, the lyricist who, with partner, Mike Stoller, wrote some of the most memorable classics in the history of rock ’n’ roll, including “Hound Dog,” “Yakety Yak,” “Stand By Me” and “On Broadway” marks a time to think about the duo’s enduring impact on American music since […]

Default notices sent to delinquent U.S. homeowners soared 33 percent in August when compared with July, evidence that lenders are accelerating the foreclosure process after almost one year of delays, according to RealtyTrac, Inc.  First-time default notices were filed on 78,880 homes, the highest number in nine months.  Total foreclosure filings, which also include auction and […]

Apple’s  iconic co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who altered the habits of millions by reinventing computing, music and mobile phones, has died at the age of 56.  With Jobs’ passing, Apple has lost a visionary leader who inspired personal computing and products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad.  These innovations made Jobs one of his […]