Americas Watchdog's National Mortgage Complaint Center is the most authoritative source in the United States on predatory mortgage lending, and Americas Watchdog's Corporate Whistle Blower Center is one of the best known shareholder protection services in the world. Americas Watchdog's National Mortgage Complaint Center accurately predicted the collapse of the US residential real estate market in early 2005. At the same time, the group warned that, "a US real estate market collapse could put at risk the entire economy and US pension funds." Americas Watchdog is now predicting that, "meaningless US Congressional real estate bail out plans will fail, and the US real estate disaster will actually get much worse." According to the group, "the sixty four thousand dollar question is how many US pension funds will fail or be unable to meet their monthly obligations to their pensioner clients as this evolves"?

So how did this happen?

According to Americas Watchdog, "In late 2001 national & regional home builders started inflating home values in most major US metropolitan areas. At the same time banks started to offer ridiculous mortgage products, such as stated income loans, no asset verification loans, pay option adjustable rate mortgages, etc. The valuations were not justified and the mortgage products were insane."

US homeowners or real estate agents seeing the home builders inflating their prices over market and getting them, started to inflate the values of their homes. And the US real estate boom was on. There was one very big problem. The inflated real estate values had fraud as a foundation. So when the music stopped, there would be no chair for the investors or pension funds holding real estate portfolios worth $0.65 cents on the dollar.

Wall Street, failed to recognize the warning signs and they kept refinancing, financing, buying and selling. All thinking there would never be an end to the boom/frenzy. According to Americas Watchdog, "the Banks & investment bankers were so greedy they did not care if they sold the pension fund or investor a ticking time bomb."

By early 2006 the US real estate boom was dead, and foreclosures were on the rise. The problem: this time was the foreclosure's value was worth less than the mortgage amount. It still took Wall Street to mid 2007 to even recognize it was an epic real estate disaster.

By early 2007 mortgage banks or mortgage lenders started to collapse because they could not buy back the failed mortgage backed security from the investor or pension fund. To date 232 US mortgage bankers have failed because of the US real estate disaster. What does this mean? It means they cannot repay the investor/pension fund for the failed mortgage backed security.

In 2007 it became apparent the mortgage insurance firms had not set aside enough money to cover the US housing collapse.

So where does this leave us?

According to Americas Watchdog this leaves us in a real mess. The group has indicated that "1 out of 9 current US homeowners may owe more on their home than it is worth. As a result the National Mortgage Complaint Center expects at least 2 million, foreclosures, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or short sales in 2008 and perhaps as many or more in 2009. The group also expects at least half of the top 20 US home builders to be in bankruptcy by mid 2009.

In times of economical slowdown, when businesses of all nature are finding themselves affected in terms of sales, successful marketing is becoming increasingly important. As the internet continues to grow in terms of usage and possibilities, web marketing is an essential weapon in a company's marketing strategy.

For companies looking to continually achieve online targets, web marketing is an essential part of an online strategy and G-Forces Web Management now offer a breakdown of their web marketing services on their own website.

New start-up company Convey Computer Corporation plans to make a significant contribution to the HPC industry right from the beginning. At this week's SC08 conference the company will participate in a number of technical presentations, launch the company and its first product, and be honored with two industry awards. Media are invited to stop by the booth or to call Cynthia Stine at 214-458-2012 to arrange appointments at the show.

Convey logo

First, Convey Chief Scientist and industry notable Steve Wallach gave the keynote address "Processor Architecture: Past, Present, Future" to the attendees of the second international workshop on High Performance Reconfigurable Computing Technology and Applications (HPRCTA) held in conjunction with SC08 at 8:30 a.m. this morning.

The Hampshire Companies Hampshire 2001 Fund, LLC, a self-managed private real estate investment fund and a part of the Hampshire family of funds, has announced the acquisition of four commercial facilities in three states, with an aggregate value in excess of $10 million, according to fund President Norman A. Feinstein.

In New Jersey, the Fund purchased the Vira manufacturing facility in Perth Amboy. The Vira manufacturing facility is comprised of approximately 254,750 square feet of industrial space, conveniently located in proximity to the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Routes 287, 1 and 9. The Schultz Organization was instrumental in effecting the transaction.

"The Product Management Career Fair and Trade Show are open to the public and free of charge," said Paula Gray of the AIPMM, "we offer this as a service to benefit the community of product managers at large, whether or not they attend the conference."

The Career Fair and Trade Show will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday and Tuesday, May 16 and 17, 2005. Employers, recruiters, and vendors wishing to promote their goods and services can find out more at http://www.aipmm.com/html/pmec. Product Managers wishing to attend can sign up for free at http://www.aipmm.com/html/pmec also.

The ACH gateway will allow web site owners to accept payments from their customers by enabling the funds to be debited directly from the customer’s bank account. This eliminates the need for a credit card, which is convenient for the consumer and an excellent payment vehicle for the merchant. There are fewer underwriting requirements than are normally requested by merchant credit card applications.

"A large percentage of the U.S. population does not own or use a credit card, making it impossible for them to buy products over the Internet," says Richard Price, senior associate at Liberty Enterprises Inc.

Mackintosh on the Lake, a Wakefield Development Company master-planned community, introduces Tayside, its newest neighborhood featuring luxury townhomes by award-winning Perry Builders of Raleigh.

Nestled within the greater Mackintosh on the Lake community, Tayside will consist of 160 three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath townhomes ranging from 1,650 to 1,750 square-feet. Offered from the $150's, each will include a complete appliance package for the kitchen, fireplace, patio and a maintenance free exterior. Additional options include double master bedrooms, metal patio roofs, stone and brick fronts, lofted bonus rooms and trey ceilings.

Chapeau Blog Awards (www.ChapeauBlogAwards.com) announces Blog Review, an online destination dedicated to providing bloggers a channel to review and comment on blogs around the world.

All blogs are subject to being reviewed on Blog Review, including political blogs, entertainment blogs and opinion blogs.

"Blog Review is designed to be a candid review from real-world bloggers covering best practices and opportunities of well-known as well as more obscure blogs," stated Susan Misukanis, Director of Chapeau Blog Awards.

Teens from around the globe may agree on relatively few things, but there's broad consensus about the importance of a few key global brands. In fact, three powerhouse names--Coca-Cola, Nike, and Adidas--have already vanquished most of their competition to become the three most-beloved brands among teens globally. But, because they've achieved something akin to parity, the brands will likely find dispatching their remaining rivals all the more challenging.

The TRU study provides valuable insights from teens across five continents and 15 countries, ranging from attitudes and values to lifestyles and trends and consumer behaviors.

Phoenix-based artist Kenneth Ferguson today announced he will debut a series of original paintings marking the 130th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn at Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona beginning January 14, 2006.

Putting aside its general notoriety, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass or Custers Last Stand, was a relatively small engagement as compared to other famous battles," says Mr. Ferguson. There is a historical intimacy that allows one to get involved with the human interest of it, the desperation of the final moments, the mystery of why certain decisions were made, the tragedy of the clash of cultures. It holds a never ending fascination for me and for many others."

Calgary, Canada March 16, 2006 – U.S. consumers have been victimized yet again – this time by their own government. Ever since mid-November patients who order their medication from licensed online Canadian pharmacies like Minit Drugs (www.pharmacy-online.ca) have had to endure annoying and potentially dangerous confiscations of their packages by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Seizure rates escalated nearly ten-fold that of previous blitzes and appeared to be highly coordinated at 4 major mail hubs where CBP and FDA staff work closely together.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) August 23, 2006 -– The StoneEagle Group (StoneEagle) today announced that Aimbridge Indirect Lending® (Aimbridge), a national distribution channel that connects financial institutions with automotive dealer networks to facilitate automobile loans, has selected SEcureIntegration for real-time transmissions of loan application data from leading Dealer Management Systems (DMS).

The process has been tested and completed, and the integrated version of PowerBridge™ is now available to all Aimbridge Reynolds & Reynolds and ADP dealer partners. PowerBridge™ is a technology solution that electronically connects the Aimbridge lending system to dealerships’ as well as lenders’ core processing systems thereby creating a real-time channel for transmission of data. PowerBridge™ is accessed using the Aimbridge workflow management system, and the AimbridgeConnect suite of lending tools.

Lancaster, PA (PRWEB) October 24, 2006 - ShaggyMac Announces OptiMist Primeâ„¢, a laptop spray cleaner. There are many public misconceptions concerning what should be used to clean a laptop screen. Some people use household cleaners and paper towels, while others use different types of alcohol sprays to get the job done. The aforementioned cleaners have the potential to permanently damage the sensitive surface of a laptop screen, and are not recommended by professionals. ShaggyMac OptiMist Primeâ„¢ is an advanced, molecular level cleaner, specifically engineered to clean the most sensitive optical surfaces. OptiMist Primeâ„¢ is compatible with any laptop screen, matte or glossy. It also safely cleans LCD screens, plasma TV's, camera optics, iPods, and more. Originally used in the Aero-Space Industry, OptiMist Primeâ„¢ excels at safely purifying all optical surfaces. OptiMist Primeâ„¢ is a clear aqueous formula, which does not contain alcohol, detergents, vinegar, dyes, ammonias, acids, phosphates, polymers, chlorides or caustics.

Knowledge Solutions, LLC, a recognized leader in Business Intelligence and Lawson Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Services, today announced that Mike Shouldice has joined the company as Director of Lawson Services and Solutions. Prior to joining Knowledge Solutions, Mike worked at Lawson Software for over thirteen years where he was Director of Client Care after performing the role of National Service Manager. During his tenure at Lawson Software, Mike implemented a client management program for over 1,900 clients.

QScend Technologies, Inc., today introduced several new features to its QAlert Municipal CRM software, which places the product at the forefront of citizen service request management and 311 call center solutions. Web-based QAlert now includes such features as a full-blown knowledge base, fully customizable reporting and charting, and a citizen self-service center.

"The combination of flexibility and power makes QAlert a dynamic product for municipalities and counties of all sizes," said QScend President Keith LeBeau. "QAlert can be implemented as a full 311 call center solution or in a decentralized environment in which several departments may be entering non-emergency citizen issues.

Creditntell.com, a division of Information Clearinghouse Inc., a leading credit consulting firm, announces the launch of its Real-Time News service - a proprietary news filtering process that scans numerous news sources, and only delivers to its users, financially relevant releases dealing with companies within the 17 retail segments monitored. To assure our clients that the content of a company's press release is properly vetted and evaluated, our industry-expert, analytical team will continue to provide added value, and publish follow-up reports whenever appropriate.

The Icebox, an Atlanta-based promotional products and corporate apparel supplier, recently partnered with Bert's Big Adventure (www.bertsbigadventure.org) to provide items for the non-profit's annual trip to Disney World for chronically or terminally ill children. The Icebox is well-known for its altruism in the metro Atlanta community through its philanthropic division, Common Threads.

Each year for the past seven years, Atlanta's Q100 morning talk show host, Bert Weiss and his cast, sponsor a trip to Disney World for families with children ages 5-12 in the Q100 listening area (99.7 FM) who have chronic or terminal illnesses. This year's trip was held February 19-23.

Orthopedics, with a market share of over 10% is one of the single largest segments in the medical device sector. Unique revolutionary treatments are all set to alter the specifics of medical orthopedics industry. Important developments in the medical device area, specifically in the orthopedic segment, have created ample opportunities to expand and intensify market competition and growth. With increase in average life expectancy rates, number of joint replacement procedures has reported significant growth. Sports-related injuries in the younger generation, and growing popularity of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) are fuelling the demand for joint replacement surgeries. Companies across the world are focusing on the development of advanced materials and technologies in the field of orthopedic implants, to address the emerging requirements of aging population and active youth.

Did you make New Years Resolutions...the same ones you make and break each year? According to nationally-recognized Feng Shui expert Carol M. Olmstead, a few no-cost Feng Shui changes in your home can turn your New Years resolutions into reality. Many people think Feng Shui is a complicated process that involves hanging red ribbons, or crystals, or bamboo flutes all over the house." said Olmstead. In reality, Feng Shui is a common sense-and fun-way to organize what you already have and put it in the right place to bring the right energy into your life."

The Denver personal injury practice of Beth Klein, P.C. is pleased to welcome Andy Schmidt and Carrie Frank to the firm.

Ms. Frank has over 20 years of experience focusing on automobile product defect liability. She has been elected as an officer of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and was recently honored by Lawdragon as one of the top 3000 plaintiff lawyers in the United States. Frank will specialize in automobile accident and product liability including medical devices, defective drugs, and product recalls. Frank is a graduate of University of Denver School of Law and also holds a Master's of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. Ms. Frank is also on the Board of Trustees for the National College of Advocacy and teaches extensively around the country, educating other lawyers in a number of trial skills and related subjects.