| Behind Subprime Woes, A Cascade of Bad Bets
Three years ago, Colorado truck driver Roger Rodriguez was in the market for a new mortgage loan. With radio and Internet ads trumpeting easy approvals, he picked up the phone. That call set into motion Mr. Rodriguez's descent into the subprime mortgage mess. Over the next several months, his adjustable-rate loan passed through many hands. These included a local Denver broker, Livingston, N.J., finance company CIT Group Inc. and a Greenwich, Conn., unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC. Eventually, a piece of Mr. Rodriguez's loan landed in mutual funds run by a Tennessee investor named James C. Kelsoe ... .
Community Calendar
Monday, Jan. 7 Registration: Lunenburg Primary School, 1401 Massachusetts Ave., Lunenburg, will host preschool lottery registration until Jan. 11, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. To register, children must be 3 or 4 years old on or before Aug. 31, 2008. This is a tuition-based program. For more information, call (978) 582-4122, x3102. Charity night: The Yarn Basket, 12 Ray Ave., Fitchburg, will continue its charity night for the new year from 6-9 p.m. All knitters and crocheters are welcome to help make hats, mittens, scarves, helmet liners, afghans and more for Project Linus, Children's Hospital and the oncology unit at Burbank Hospital. Bring a baked good. Helpers will receive 20 percent off purchases for the night and be entered in a free raffle. For more information, call (978) 353-6796.
Two evangelists lose clout on ORU's board
For more: Read the latest ORU stories, view the lawsuit and other documents and watch slide shows and video.
Creflo Dollar resigned from the regents, and Benny Hinn is now a "regent emeritus" with no voting power.
The evangelist Creflo Dollar has resigned from the Oral Roberts University board of regents, and another evangelist, Benny Hinn, has lost his status as a voting mem ber of the board.
ORU's spokesman Jeremy Burton confirmed Wednesday that Dollar had resigned and that Hinn had been named a "regent emeritus" without a vote on the board.
Both refused last week to respond to a Senate inquiry into lavish spending by evangelists.
A Canadian businessman, Richard Pearson, has been named to ORU's board of business regents.
Mark Crews
The solution will not come quickly but only through detailed planning and teamwork with every local, regional and state entity that impacts what we do and how we do it can we expect to posture ourselves for our future.
General election opponent: Katja Palmer .
Senate Republicans pitch $15B tax relief plan
Also, school districts would have the option to hold a public vote on whether to eliminate primary residential property taxes over a five-year span. In 2006, primary residential homeowners paid nearly $10 billion in school property taxes. A new formula for state aid would gradually replace property tax revenues. Finally, the Republican plan would create an 11-member tax reform commission to study the state's property tax structure and recommend reforms that would ideally provide tax relief. .
21 Killed in Iran's Heaviest Snowstorm in a Decade
At least 21 people have been killed and 88 others injured ... as a result of heavy snow," state-run radio reported. "Some died of the severe cold, some were buried under avalanches and others died after their cars overturned on snow-covered roads." The cold weather has caused problems for residents in western Iran, with about a dozen towns suffering from gas cuts due to a surge in demand and a cut in gas exports from Turkmenistan. Government officials have urged citizens to reduce their notoriously high consumption of gas to ensure there are no further cuts or shortages. Authorities have also urged Iranians to cancel unnecessary travel and warned that the snowfall would continue in the coming days. .
Caught in debt trap: Rescue on way
DELHI: One gentleman is revolving on 19 credit cards with an outstanding due of Rs 98 lakh. The amount is quite a sum. What is he going to do to bail himself out of the situation? The answers aren't easy. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
He knocks the doors of Abhay - a debt counselling centre set up by Bank of India - to seek help.
The organisation takes up the issue with the banks concerned, seeking time to work out a solution. The latter probably could be in the form of reduced interest rate or extra time to pay back the dues.
There is another instance of a businessman with huge loan outstandings.
He was later detected with cancer. In this case, considering the gravity of the situation, the counsellors advised banks to waive the interest component and increase the tenure of the loan to lower the EMIs.
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