The future of a large senior citizens mobile home park in California is in play right now, its residents and owners unable to settle a dispute over the “fair” price for lot rents in the community.

Besaro Mobile Home Park in Fremont, California has 236 spaces.  The park is only for residents age 55 and older.  The park is under a rent control agreement for Alameda County that limits rent increases to 3 percent per year. Rents currently average about $669 per month.  The owners propose to raise rents to $895 per month – an increase of about 33 percent.  For some residents who are grandfathered in at lower rents, though, the increases could be as high as 49 percent.   At these prices, rents are relatively low.  (more…)

A report from the Office of the New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says that bonuses on Wall Street are going to amount to at least $18.4 billion.  The number will likely be higher, though, because this sum fails to include dollars for stock options.  In the event that some options are granted in the money, or close enough to have time value, the sum is greater. It is the sixth best year for bonuses on record.

Hard to believe.

This shows that the ongoing defense of bonuses is actually insincere.  Bonuses were defended for years as a means of rewarding (more…)

Private student loans only make up a portion of the student loan business, but they have a special niche in providing risk-based pricing on loan products to students.  For some students, they make sense.  For others, they represent an opportunity to get in over your head.  Loan limits on private loans are very high – as much as $40,000!

My Rich Uncle is a lender that should be less vulnerable to the downtown than other private lenders, if only because they target students in graduate school who are likely going to find high-paying jobs.  They focus on mba students, medical school students, and law students.  More than 35 percent of their loans go to people in graduate school, and more than two-thirds of their loans (more…)

It looks like the stimulus package is taking shape.  While the bill is good news for some (the construction industry, banks) and definitely bad news for others (families that drink milk), it seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on investment in education.  Some of that investment carries over to construction spending, as it looks like the government will be putting more dollars into building schools. This seems like a sustainable, long-term use for stimulus.

On the other hand, there is a lot of evidence that the stimulus is also going to help out the student loan industry.  Bear in mind that (more…)

My post on Saturday talked about the role that brokered deposits played in the downfall of the Bank of Clark County.  I also referenced the problems that brokered deposits playing in hastening the withdrawal of money from IndyMac.  That sudden de-capitalization (a double entendre?) may have prompted FDIC intervention.

My sense is that brokered deposits are a trend.  A recent report shows that the percentage of “core deposits” at banks has fallen from 62 percent in 1992 to just 46 percent by 2004.   This article profiles the growing frequency among banks in Florida, and Jacksonville in particular, to use those deposits to fund activities.  The impact is to challenge banks to find ways to (more…)