Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
OSU FANS, LACK OF GAS WOULD NOT KEEP THEM AWAY
Below you will find a link sent to me by my sister Robin living in Asheville, NC.
A petroleum executive suggested to postpone today's Georgia game against Alabama. (wonder what school he is an alumni of) Fans will not be attending football games if they do not have enough gas to drive to the game and then drive home. A gas shortage is a shortage, but true fans find a way.
JUST TO LET THE WORLD KNOW:
Ohio State University Football fans would walk, peddle and jog across the state to make it to a game. If OSU administrators canceled a football game any week, there would be a new administration next week.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26907046
Go Bucks!
A petroleum executive suggested to postpone today's Georgia game against Alabama. (wonder what school he is an alumni of) Fans will not be attending football games if they do not have enough gas to drive to the game and then drive home. A gas shortage is a shortage, but true fans find a way.
JUST TO LET THE WORLD KNOW:
Ohio State University Football fans would walk, peddle and jog across the state to make it to a game. If OSU administrators canceled a football game any week, there would be a new administration next week.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26907046
Go Bucks!
Friday, September 26, 2008
OBAMA'S REASON TO DEBATE TONIGHT
With little power on Capital Hill, Obama is really not needed to help design the "bailout", no surprise he has time to debate tonight.
John McCain holds some power and prestige on Capital Hill. He needs to be in Washington D.C. to help design the bailout and gather the votes.
The only thing Obama states during his press conference and interviews "I have been on the phone with Secretary Paulson". Anyone can talk on the phone, but the conversation is more interesting when you know what you are talking about.
John McCain holds some power and prestige on Capital Hill. He needs to be in Washington D.C. to help design the bailout and gather the votes.
The only thing Obama states during his press conference and interviews "I have been on the phone with Secretary Paulson". Anyone can talk on the phone, but the conversation is more interesting when you know what you are talking about.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I must commend Dan DeLawder and Paul Thompson on how they have guided their institutions to safety during the rougher than normal economy.
September 25, 2008
Local banks: Wall Street to suffer more than Main Street
By ABBEY STIRGWOLTAdvocate Reporter
NEWARK -- Headlines and sound bytes across the nation have painted a bleak picture of the future of Uncle Sam and his pocketbook.
While $700 billion -- the cost of a bailout plan for financial institutions proposed earlier this week by President Bush -- might be a hard number for anyone to process, Americans without strong ties to belly-up financial institutions still are wondering where, exactly, they fit into the frenzy.
"I don't see a way out of it," said Dave Moran, of Newark, who has been out of a job since April. "It's going to get worse before it gets better."
David Gosnell, of Newark, who was with Moran, said a price freeze on goods would be a solution for America's economic woes but expressed doubts about the government's ability to work itself out of debt -- a sentiment also expressed by Moran.
"It's going to be so time-consuming for change, because we're so far in debt," he said.
One thing local financial institutions are confident of, however, is that Main Street and Wall Street are two very different scenes.
"It is so different in Newark, Ohio, as far as New York City," said Dan DeLawder, president of Park National Bank. "Community banking is not in any shape or form like an investment banking company."
INSTITUTION VERSUS COMMUNITY
Where investment banks, such as the collapsed Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers -- which last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -- became caught up in subprime mortgage lending crises, local institutions such as Park National and First Federal Savings require extensive documentation before issuing a loan, DeLawder said.
Not only that, but community banks function on the principle of taking deposits and lending back to the neighborhoods and are FDIC-insured, offering protection of deposits in case in case of failure.
The crisis now facing the nation's financial markets can be traced largely to financial institutions lending without requiring proof that they will be repaid, and a resulting $1.5 trillion in subprime mortgages "made largely to people who couldn't pay it," DeLawder said.
On Sept. 7, the federal takeover of government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., respectively -- with intention to rein in the credit crisis was a necessary move by authorities, DeLawder said.
The two institutions were established to serve as conduits for mortgage loans, he said, buying loans from banks, repackaging them as mortgage backed securities and reselling them.
When the two became stockholder-owned, they kept as assets the loans they bought and had interest rates they didn't have before, DeLawder said.
"Freddie and Fannie were at one time as pure as Snow White. Then they drifted," he said.
A WAY OUT?
The Bush administration's proposed solution now under consideration by Congress would give administration officials broad authority to buy distressed assets from financial institutions in an attempt to keep credit flowing throughout the U.S. economy.
The assets would then be sold later, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. Taxpayers will get most of their money back, he said, but he couldn't estimate how much would be lost.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Tuesday that Congress should not be pressured or rushed into approving the plan.
"I'd like to know ... how will purchase decisions be made? Will it be an open and objective process like a reverse auction? Or will the price be determined at some higher level decided by Treasury? If so, does that thaw the credit market, or does everybody sit around waiting for Uncle Sam to pay an inflated price?" he said.
Despite the high price tag, the cost to taxpayers would be higher if administration officials did nothing and the economy slowed down dramatically and led to major job cuts and losses to Americans' portfolios, Paulson said.
"This troubled asset program on its own is the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people and stimulate our economy," he said.
FROM WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET
Local banking representatives have a great degree of confidence in the ability of community banking to hold its own amid the turmoil surrounding Wall Street -- but that doesn't mean Main Street will be untouched, they said.
A key factor to take into consideration is consumer confidence, said First Federal Savings president Paul Thompson.
"We have been getting some calls from customers and potential customers alike, asking us where our deposits are," Thompson said. "I can assure you that First Federal is as strong as ever."
DeLawder offered a similar perspective.
"I've been here almost 38 years, and I know it intimately," DeLawder said. "We open our doors every day for business, looking for more."
He said the U.S. economy has seen hard times before and is well equipped to bounce back from its present struggle.
"This is not armageddon. The world has not ended," he said. "It's just in the money centers of the country, there's a price to pay."
Lin Ba, an economics lecturer at Ohio State University-Newark, estimated the housing market needs at least a year to bounce back.
"For the whole gigantic housing market to get healthy, that should take at least a year," Ba said.
But the situation is not a complete loss, either, he said -- there are lessons to be learned.
"On the positive side, we all learn big lessons," he said. "We cannot let this so-called free market run totally free."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
September 25, 2008
Local banks: Wall Street to suffer more than Main Street
By ABBEY STIRGWOLTAdvocate Reporter
NEWARK -- Headlines and sound bytes across the nation have painted a bleak picture of the future of Uncle Sam and his pocketbook.
While $700 billion -- the cost of a bailout plan for financial institutions proposed earlier this week by President Bush -- might be a hard number for anyone to process, Americans without strong ties to belly-up financial institutions still are wondering where, exactly, they fit into the frenzy.
"I don't see a way out of it," said Dave Moran, of Newark, who has been out of a job since April. "It's going to get worse before it gets better."
David Gosnell, of Newark, who was with Moran, said a price freeze on goods would be a solution for America's economic woes but expressed doubts about the government's ability to work itself out of debt -- a sentiment also expressed by Moran.
"It's going to be so time-consuming for change, because we're so far in debt," he said.
One thing local financial institutions are confident of, however, is that Main Street and Wall Street are two very different scenes.
"It is so different in Newark, Ohio, as far as New York City," said Dan DeLawder, president of Park National Bank. "Community banking is not in any shape or form like an investment banking company."
INSTITUTION VERSUS COMMUNITY
Where investment banks, such as the collapsed Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers -- which last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -- became caught up in subprime mortgage lending crises, local institutions such as Park National and First Federal Savings require extensive documentation before issuing a loan, DeLawder said.
Not only that, but community banks function on the principle of taking deposits and lending back to the neighborhoods and are FDIC-insured, offering protection of deposits in case in case of failure.
The crisis now facing the nation's financial markets can be traced largely to financial institutions lending without requiring proof that they will be repaid, and a resulting $1.5 trillion in subprime mortgages "made largely to people who couldn't pay it," DeLawder said.
On Sept. 7, the federal takeover of government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., respectively -- with intention to rein in the credit crisis was a necessary move by authorities, DeLawder said.
The two institutions were established to serve as conduits for mortgage loans, he said, buying loans from banks, repackaging them as mortgage backed securities and reselling them.
When the two became stockholder-owned, they kept as assets the loans they bought and had interest rates they didn't have before, DeLawder said.
"Freddie and Fannie were at one time as pure as Snow White. Then they drifted," he said.
A WAY OUT?
The Bush administration's proposed solution now under consideration by Congress would give administration officials broad authority to buy distressed assets from financial institutions in an attempt to keep credit flowing throughout the U.S. economy.
The assets would then be sold later, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. Taxpayers will get most of their money back, he said, but he couldn't estimate how much would be lost.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Tuesday that Congress should not be pressured or rushed into approving the plan.
"I'd like to know ... how will purchase decisions be made? Will it be an open and objective process like a reverse auction? Or will the price be determined at some higher level decided by Treasury? If so, does that thaw the credit market, or does everybody sit around waiting for Uncle Sam to pay an inflated price?" he said.
Despite the high price tag, the cost to taxpayers would be higher if administration officials did nothing and the economy slowed down dramatically and led to major job cuts and losses to Americans' portfolios, Paulson said.
"This troubled asset program on its own is the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people and stimulate our economy," he said.
FROM WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET
Local banking representatives have a great degree of confidence in the ability of community banking to hold its own amid the turmoil surrounding Wall Street -- but that doesn't mean Main Street will be untouched, they said.
A key factor to take into consideration is consumer confidence, said First Federal Savings president Paul Thompson.
"We have been getting some calls from customers and potential customers alike, asking us where our deposits are," Thompson said. "I can assure you that First Federal is as strong as ever."
DeLawder offered a similar perspective.
"I've been here almost 38 years, and I know it intimately," DeLawder said. "We open our doors every day for business, looking for more."
He said the U.S. economy has seen hard times before and is well equipped to bounce back from its present struggle.
"This is not armageddon. The world has not ended," he said. "It's just in the money centers of the country, there's a price to pay."
Lin Ba, an economics lecturer at Ohio State University-Newark, estimated the housing market needs at least a year to bounce back.
"For the whole gigantic housing market to get healthy, that should take at least a year," Ba said.
But the situation is not a complete loss, either, he said -- there are lessons to be learned.
"On the positive side, we all learn big lessons," he said. "We cannot let this so-called free market run totally free."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Grow up to be: Big or Charlie Harper
This morning I was attending a meeting with three other fellows, all complaining about their current situation of their professions, financial net worth and of course their social life in general. Most men have a couple of things in common: same wardrobe all of their life and not a very exciting social life. All of our normal weekends consist of work at home or wondering what you will have to do at work the following Monday. Some can not wait for the weekend and then when it arrives, they want to get to Monday quickly back to their friends and routine. For most, do not become disappointed in yourself, this weekend will not be any different than the past ten years of weekends.
If you could be like anyone who would you want to be like? A new role model, someone that you want to model yourself after the rest of your life?
Two names came up "Big" and "Charlie Harper", played by Chris Noth and Charlie Sheen. Both have what all guys want, but do not have. Looks, money, great cars and the ability to enjoy their social lives. For some reason Big acts like he does not work, but must do very well according to his lifestyle, Charlie once again does not act like he works very hard, but has a tremendous lifestyle.
I do think one thing Big and Charlie never think about: when are the streets going to be paved, supporting school levies, making sure life is a little better for someone less fortunate etc. I think any responsible person in our community understands this thought. Could you imagine Charlie or Big shoveling mulch at a playground?
Charlie and Big never mention life's real issues, part of it is because we only see them for thirty minutes at a time. If we only gave someone an episode of our life for thirty minutes at a time, we would make sure they would see our best lifestyle, not our day to day problems, pizza at home versus a nice dinner out, doing something on a weekend that you can not wait to tell everyone at work about etc.
Below is a link about Big, almost all the guys today wanted to be Big. Everyone thought they would get tired of wearing shorts all the time, drinking scotch before 9am and having Roberta as a housekeeper. Taking time to do what you want to do is hard, when so many are involved in your life. Finding a person or companion to share time with is the key, maybe this is why Big and Charlie are always looking for the right person, because they want to become like us.
www.hbo.com/city/cast/character/mr_big.shtml
If you could be like anyone who would you want to be like? A new role model, someone that you want to model yourself after the rest of your life?
Two names came up "Big" and "Charlie Harper", played by Chris Noth and Charlie Sheen. Both have what all guys want, but do not have. Looks, money, great cars and the ability to enjoy their social lives. For some reason Big acts like he does not work, but must do very well according to his lifestyle, Charlie once again does not act like he works very hard, but has a tremendous lifestyle.
I do think one thing Big and Charlie never think about: when are the streets going to be paved, supporting school levies, making sure life is a little better for someone less fortunate etc. I think any responsible person in our community understands this thought. Could you imagine Charlie or Big shoveling mulch at a playground?
Charlie and Big never mention life's real issues, part of it is because we only see them for thirty minutes at a time. If we only gave someone an episode of our life for thirty minutes at a time, we would make sure they would see our best lifestyle, not our day to day problems, pizza at home versus a nice dinner out, doing something on a weekend that you can not wait to tell everyone at work about etc.
Below is a link about Big, almost all the guys today wanted to be Big. Everyone thought they would get tired of wearing shorts all the time, drinking scotch before 9am and having Roberta as a housekeeper. Taking time to do what you want to do is hard, when so many are involved in your life. Finding a person or companion to share time with is the key, maybe this is why Big and Charlie are always looking for the right person, because they want to become like us.
www.hbo.com/city/cast/character/mr_big.shtml
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tie or no tie: Hats Off at The Works
There is something about getting dressed up for a special event. For a lady, the black dress always works. Last night’s event at The Works, was one of Newark’s premier parties that will be talked about for years.
Some men do not get it! Most were in tuxedos, some in very appropriate business suits. Then you have the guys, especially the under 50 year old group, in attendance wearing no tie and no jacket. Why? Their wives and dates dressed appropriately and probably should have left their male partners with the valet, parking cars. Of course, the only disturbance of the evening was from a fellow not wearing a tie.
A good blog article to review for all of us by Anthony Gregory concerning ties:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory141.html
Back to the ladies attire: The black dress is one of the better inventions. If it hangs well, structured and has a little zip to it, the dress looks great. Last night offered about every color and style of women dresses you could think of, but the ladies that stood out in the crowd wore black. Just like the men in their black tuxedos.
Of course this does not effect the stately guys like Freddie, Cookie & Herb. They have earned their stripes and don’t have to impress anyone. I hope to someday hold their status, but until then you will find me wearing a tie.
Some men do not get it! Most were in tuxedos, some in very appropriate business suits. Then you have the guys, especially the under 50 year old group, in attendance wearing no tie and no jacket. Why? Their wives and dates dressed appropriately and probably should have left their male partners with the valet, parking cars. Of course, the only disturbance of the evening was from a fellow not wearing a tie.
A good blog article to review for all of us by Anthony Gregory concerning ties:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory141.html
Back to the ladies attire: The black dress is one of the better inventions. If it hangs well, structured and has a little zip to it, the dress looks great. Last night offered about every color and style of women dresses you could think of, but the ladies that stood out in the crowd wore black. Just like the men in their black tuxedos.
Of course this does not effect the stately guys like Freddie, Cookie & Herb. They have earned their stripes and don’t have to impress anyone. I hope to someday hold their status, but until then you will find me wearing a tie.