Active rigs:
| 9/16/2014 | 09/16/2013 | 09/16/2012 | 09/16/2011 | 09/16/2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Rigs | 199 | 178 | 193 | 199 | 145 |
Accuracy questionable. Rigs sometimes double counted. I don't scan through the list; I simply post what NDIC is posting.
Boots on the ground.
US incomes end 6-year decline, just barely.
Federal prison population declines.
A novel use of eminent domain hits headwinds. Some officials in Richmond, CA, are pushing a novel use of eminent domain to purchase the mortgages of underwater homeowners, but not the homes, to reduce debt purchases.
Home prices in nearby San Francisco and Silicon Valley are setting new highs, but prices here still hover around 37% below where they were at their peak in 2006. More than a quarter of Richmond borrowers owe more than their homes are worth, according to a report prepared by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, compared with 10% nationally.
How so many Richmond homeowners got so deeply in debt helps explain why the plan is so controversial. Borrowers often compensated for slowly rising incomes during the boom years by tapping rising home equity to pay for bills and repairs. Then when the market crashed, they were left with mortgage debt exceeding their homes' values.
Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin wants to use the city's property-seizing powers of eminent domain—normally reserved for shared public purposes like building roads—to help homeowners like Mr. LeGrande dig out from huge housing debts. Other cities, including Newark and Irvington in New Jersey, have proposed similar plans but none has advanced as far as Richmond's.
Under Richmond's plan, the city would seize the mortgage—but not the home—with backing from a private firm. They would then reduce the loan principal and refinance into a new government-guaranteed loan. That would leave the borrower with a fixed payment and less debt.Gamblers sign own arrest warrants.
Orrin Silverman knew he couldn't legally gamble at the Maryland Live Casino outside the city. He had voluntarily banned himself from the state's casinos for two years, alarmed by visits that sometimes left him $1,000 poorer.
But the 24-year-old waiter said he didn't think the staff was enforcing the ban. In March, he showed identification to receive a $200 cash advance at the casino. In minutes, he was arrested and charged with trespassing.
"It was kind of a traumatic experience," he said. "I half-thought they would give me a slap on the wrist and say, 'Leave.' They full-blown put me in handcuffs, took my fingerprints," said Mr. Silverman, who ultimately received probation.
Thousands of people in the U.S. have wound up in Mr. Silverman's predicament in recent years—charged criminally after they have barred themselves from casinos in an effort to steer clear of gambling.Chess: Kremlin to base full military unit in Crimea.
Budweiser criticizes NFL.
UAW ends two-tier wages at Lear.
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The Los Angeles Times
Thousands without power as energy (air conditioners) use records fall.
SpaceX, Boeing land NASA contracts to carry astronauts to space.
Leonardo DiCaprio gets a climate-change gig with the UN.
NFL players' union appeals Ray Rice punishment.
Poverty rate posts first notable drop since 2006.
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Apple
- First iPhone 6 and 6 Plus reviews: 'thin and sexy', 'bigger and better', impressive battery life up to 2 days.
Two full days. That's means an international-traveling businessman doesn't need to worry about his iPhone for the entire one-way trip. That means a lot.
And it looks like all reviews are positive; nothing negative. Except perhaps the shipping dates.
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