Homeowners in trouble

According to the Los Angeles Times, default notices have more than doubled in the July-September period of this year vs. 2005, for a total of more than 26,000 notices being mailed in the state. Almost as worringly, the rate of those who entered default and actually lost their homes tripled, from 6% to 19%. On the positive side, defaults have not risen to 1996 levels, when nearly 60,000 homes entered default in one quarter. Illustratory vignette:
"Just Wednesday morning, Zhang dealt with a Lancaster resident who had taken out a $310,000 adjustable-rate mortgage with a starter interest rate of 5.4% and a monthly payment of $1,050. In July, the interest rate climbed to 8.5% and the monthly payment jumped to $2,306. A year-end adjustment will send the monthly payment to $2,744."
Favorite quotation from an agent:
"We were putting buyers in homes with loans they could not afford to sustain over the long haul," said Bob Casagrand, a San Diego real estate agent. "If you're a marginal buyer with an adjustable mortgage, you're rolling the dice on the future."
Full story

A good satire revisited

Revisiting an old topic: another economic argument against charitable giving, and an examination of the reasons for giving. Full story

Follow the Cruz

A few months ago, Steve Lopez talked Insurance Commissioner hopeful Cruz Bustamante into agreeing to return campaign money from the insurance industry he would be regulating. The LA Times follows up on this, and finds that although some steps have been taken, Cruz's accounts have not been totally purified.

New Biggest Waste of Hard Cash

Movie producer and real estate heir Stephan Bing donated $40 million to Prop 87. Why is this a waste you ask? 87's opponents have been on the air for weeks now and struck some hard blows against the measure. Even if gas prices have receded a bit by November, the high cost compared to historic prices will surely make voters hestitant about pulling the lever for 87. And, of course, one would be remiss to ignore the fact that with $40 million in the bank, one could finance some of the technological innovation sought by 87.

SacBee coverage

Unions Throw $25 Million Down Drain

Trying to create their special election glory, many of California's unions are teaming up once again to create a unified campaign against the Governor's re-election. Given how the Angelides campaign is floundering, its difficult to see how this could be anything more than burning $25 million in the public square. The special election campaign was better funded, had great press visibility, and had some potent issues. That won't be the case this time around. Full story

Sales Decline

SoCal homes sales are down 25% vs. figures from a year ago, while prices rise less than 3%. Full story

Trib rounds up supervisorial spending

For those who like to read about how an office budget gets spent . . . Full story

CEO Pay In The Spotlight

According to the LA Times, the CEOs of California's 100 largest publicly traded companies earned, on average, 6.6% of their companies' annual earning. 21 CEO's made 5% or more of the companies' annual earnings in their compensation.