| Mortgage brokers fight bill on subprime standards
Local mortgage brokers received a pep talk Wednesday from industry leaders about why they need to organize against federal legislation that they believe will limit their ability to do business. In particular, they are targeting a bill by U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. "It needs to be modified, or it needs to go," George Hanzimanolis, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, told members who attended a Greater Houston Mortgage Brokers Association town hall luncheon. Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, last year introduced SB 2452, which would set more stringent standards for subprime mortgages, including a requirement that lenders show that prospective borrowers can repay the loans. Mortgage brokers say the bill hurts small businesses and eliminates the way they get paid what's known in the industry as the "yield-spread premium" on certain loans.
Mozart best in Cleveland opener
It would be difficult to discover something revelatory in Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 From the New World at this late date, one of the most performed -- or over-performed -- works in the repertory. Welser-Most for the most part kept to a traditional view, with a trim agility and sensible tempos, balancing the drama, restless energy and nostalgic heartache. The Clevelanders' polish and corporate virtuosity were remarkable, from the hushed lower strings in the opening bars to the gracious wind playing in the Scherzo's trio and the full-tilt bravura of the entire ensemble in the hard-driving finale. Yet for all the refinement and whirlwind virtuosity there was something oddly uninvolving about the performance. The famous Largo was most emblematic, with the conductor's tempos and detailing impeccable, yet for all the superior execution the performance felt coolly technocratic and remote.
Minnesota investor: So, how did I do?
With the stock market bouncing along on another roller-coaster ride, wary investors are wondering when the carnage will end and the opportunities to buy back in will begin. The Dow has already dropped about 14 percent from its peak in October, and many analysts on Wall Street predict that it could fall an additional 5 to 10 percent, if not more. Regardless of where we are in the market cycle, bottom-fishing investors probably don't need to rush back into the market anytime soon. With the economy on the slide and the mortgage crisis still unfolding, there is little reason to expect stocks to make a sustained rebound anytime soon. But when you are ready to edge back in, it would be nice to come equipped with a list of stocks that could survive the turbulent economy and prosper as the market turns around.
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