Realities of Real Estate: Trying to find the future in the numbers 
BY: Bob and Donna McWilliams
POSTED: February 7, 2012
Tags: bob and donna mcwilliams, Case-Shiller Home Price Index, consumer confidence index, core logic, federal reserve, Foreclosures, housing market, housing prices, index, presidential election, real estate markets, realities of real estate, standard & poor's, Unemployment
Every so often we look at the overall performance of the real estate markets, and based on what the numbers tell us, try to glean a glimpse of what the future might hold. As with many things, the beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to get some fresh perspective.
In evaluating the market, [...]
Jack L.B. Gohn: Pirates, iPads and the end of extraterritoriality
BY: Jack L.B. Gohn
POSTED: February 5, 2012
Tags: Apple, Congress, foxconn, iPad, jack gohn, legislation, piracy, protect intellectual property act, Steve Jobs, stop online piracy act, tablet, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs
Sometimes it’s hard to believe how contrapuntal two current news stories can be. Such, for my money, are the tales of Apple’s Chinese factories and Hollywood’s at least temporarily failed effort to persuade Congress to pass anti-piracy legislation.
The Apple story is fascinating, if a little fuzzy around the edges. It’s no news to anyone paying [...]
Sean Somerville: Many lessons to learn from fantasy football
BY: Sean Somverille
POSTED: February 5, 2012
Tags: assets, Business, fantasy football, finance, industry, sean somerville
With 2011 now over, a lot of us are looking at our holdings and assessing what worked well and what didn’t.
There were Blue Chips that did phenomenally well — way better than we expected — and boosted our profitability. But some of our holdings that had breakout years in 2010 pretty much crashed in 2011.
Now [...]
Robert Nusgart: Seller concessions, underwater loans eyed
BY: Robert Nusgart
POSTED: February 5, 2012
Tags: appraisal, Baltimore, fannie mae, fha, freddie mac, home-loan, mortgage, seller concessions, underwater loans
Changes are brewing again at Federal Housing Administration — one that is going to become a reality and another still in the idea stage by the Obama administration.
The more concrete change is targeted at the amount of seller concession allowed in an FHA transaction; the other is a proposal outlined last week by President Barack [...]
C. Fraser Smith: The political cost of raising taxes
BY: C. Fraser Smith
POSTED: February 2, 2012
Tags: Business, C. Fraser Smith, cost, General Assembly, House Speaker Michael E. Busch, legislators, maryland, O'Malley, politics, revenue, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., Taxes
Yes, of course, but political reality is a little more complicated.
Before some legislators do any voting on difficult issues, they will look into their hearts and make an assessment of the political costs.
We are talking, of course, about votes on tax increases. The Maryland General Assembly will be asked to vote on a number of [...]
Editorial: Upping the ante for tech transfer
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: February 2, 2012
Tags: Baltimore, economic growth, Editorial, Education, Gov. Martin O’Malley, initiative, Johns Hopkins, legislation, maryland, morgan state, O'Malley, Patrick J. Hogan, tech transfer, Technology, university, University of Maryland, University System of Maryland
Comments: 1
The issue is called technology transfer, and it has not been one of Maryland’s strengths.
For all of the state’s success in attracting research dollars to an array of universities and institutions with world-class experts and facilities, it has not matched that success in spinning off commercial ventures from that research to generate jobs and economic [...]
Pursuit of Justice: To control corruption, we must first define it
BY: Steven I. Platt
POSTED: January 31, 2012
Tags: corruption, Court of Appeals, court of special appeals, Due Process/Equal Protection – Maryland Declaration of Rights, Intentional Interference with Business Relations, Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, pursuit of justice, Respondent Superior/Agency Liability, United States of America vs. Jack Bruce Johnson
Recently, I had the challenging experience of mediating a civil case which directly involved an examination and reconciliation of the economic, legal, political, social and financial consequences of the unique “pay to play” scheme developed with precision, but not a lot of subtlety, by former Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson and others.
The “others” [...]
Marianne D. Fishler: In this economy, more risk may be necessary
BY: Marianne D. Fishler
POSTED: January 29, 2012
Tags: Ben Bernanke, debt, Economy, europe, federal reserve, interest rates, investments, Marianne D. Fishler, mortgage, philanthropy, rates, united states
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has announced that short-term interest rates will remain low (near 0 percent) through the end of 2014. Is this good or bad?
As with most things, it depends.
The bad news is that the reason rates are being held down is that the economy is recovering more slowly than anticipated. Growth is [...]
Betsy Nelson: Boards should spend time looking forward
BY: Betsy Nelson
POSTED: January 29, 2012
Tags: Betsy Nelson, board meetings, Business, charitable giving, charity, funding, johns hopkins university, nancy hall, Nonprofit
In today’s environment, nonprofit organizations are faced with numerous challenges, be they financial, administrative, or programmatic.
Wondering how many boards of directors are up to the task, I contacted Nancy Hall, one of my “go-to” nonprofit professionals, for her opinion. Nancy teaches nonprofit management at Johns Hopkins University as well as consults to nonprofit organizations.
Nancy related [...]
Barry F. Rosen: Tax-exempt hospitals get new requirements
BY: Barry Rosen
POSTED: January 26, 2012
Tags: Accountable Care Act, barry f. rosen, charitable giving, federal health care reform, Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, hospitals, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, tax-exempt
While healing the sick is noble, it is not charitable if a market rate is charged for the medical services being provided. Therefore, the question arises — what makes a hospital charitable, and, therefore, tax-exempt?
Curiously, the answer to this question is now found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the [...]
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