I read an article today about “feeling imprisoned by credit score.” To be honest, I didn’t even read the article. Who cares! Reading articles about credit cards these days is about as annoying as reading celebrity gossip. And, ironically, the sentiment was reiterated by all the folks commenting on the article. To paraphrase the content, “stop paying the credit cards, close them, cancel them and tear them up!” Stop giving these thieving banks our money. Wow! King Louis, I do believe the peasants are beginning to revolt.

I had thought many times, that of all the purchases I have made on my credit cards, I must have paid for them three times over in interest rates. It is sickening to me, that majority of my bills is to credit card companies. I could very well live within my means, if these credit vultures played fair and square. Why should I have to give them anymore money? I have thought about stop paying my credit cards, but like the good little consumer drone that I am; I continue to pay.

One of the comments made was that if all stopped caring about FICO and our credit score, it would make FICO and credit scores irrelevant. YES! Halleluiah! The sky has opened up and the beams of light from heaven are radiating down on me. So many people struggle so hard to maintain a good score, and for what and for whom? A good credit score really doesn’t make you any better of a human being. You know really, FICO is propaganda and scare tactics. What if the mass population of America tore up their credit scores, stopped paying their credits and said, “We’re through! We’re done with the abuse! You have taken enough of our hard earned money.”

Seriously, fellow credit consumers, what would happen if we united and stopped paying our credit cards and debunked the credit score system? I’m not an economist by any means, but I do believe it would be a huge detriment since our economy is credit based. Personally, I would welcome this upset, because then it would mean we as a nation would have to become more realistic approach to an economic structure, by actually manufacturing and producing product, not just pushing “investments”. What is it we are really investing in – our nation, our kids, our future? Personally, I feel having an economy based on credit and the stock market is a bad idea. I’ll just leave it to all the brainiacs who ran our economy into the ground.

CDC has received reports of fraudulent emails (phishing) referencing a CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program.

The messages request that users must create a personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the cdc.gov website. The message then states that anyone that has reached the age of 18 has to have his/her personal Vaccination Profile on the cdc.gov site.

The CDC has NOT implemented a state vaccination program requiring registration on www.cdc.gov. Users that click on the email are at risk of having malicious code installed on their system. CDC reminds users to take the following steps to reduce the risk of being a victim of a phishing attack:

• Do not follow unsolicited links and do not open or respond to unsolicited email messages.
• Use caution when visiting un-trusted websites.
• Use caution when entering personal information online.

An example of the Phishing email follows:

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/hoaxes_rumors.html

This is a 2 phase project.  Phase I will last approximately 6 months and the second phase is scheduled for 18 months.

Project Overview:

Facilitate the migration of 4 newly acquired manufacturing facilities from their current SAP and Plant floor systems into an existing SAP ECC 6.0 / Apriso platform.  This project has duration of approximately 180 days beginning in January and requires flexibility in staffing and work assignments.

Requirements:

• Minimum 7-10 years Project Management experience.
• Strong knowledge of Project Management Methodology experience
• Must have lead multiple full lifecycle SAP implementation projects involving SAP modules including PP, PM, MM, SD, FI/CO, BW
• Strongly prefer expertise in a manufacturing/plant environment, specifically leading SAP integrations
• A strong understanding of SAP configuration principles
• Ability to provide a detailed assessment and project plan to include costs, timelines, resourcing and deliverables for a large integration project and lead teams to adhere to a rigorous project schedule
• Must have excellent communication and client interface skills
• Experience in managing global activities
• Business analysis and process modeling experienced are also desirable.
• Manage and support testing activities to include integration / regression test scenarios, UAT, and implementation cutover testing.
• Knowledge of Apriso with expertise with a Build to Order and Make to Order concept standardize plant operations

Technical Skills:

• SAP ECC 6.0
• Apriso Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM)
• Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
• SAP PP, PM, MM, SD, FI/CO, BW

Education/Certification:

• Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related field
• PMP certification preferred

Soft Skills:

• High energy, results driven
• Team building, coaching and mentoring
• Managing budgets, resources, work plans and timelines
• Interpersonal relationship and networking skills, influential, and a strong communicator
• Record of delivering results against rigorous project schedules

Ability to travel to US and Puerto Rico to support launches (probably 3 weeks)

• Pay your bills on time. Delinquent payments and collections can have a major negative impact on your score.
• If you have missed payments, get current and stay current. The longer you pay your bills on time, the better your score. But also be aware even if you pay off a collection account, it will stay on your report for seven years.
• Contact your creditors or a legitimate credit counselor if you’re having trouble making ends meet. This won’t improve your score immediately, but if you can begin to manage your credit and pay on time, your score will get better over time.

• Keep your balances low on credit cards and other “revolving credit.” High outstanding debt can affect a score.
• Pay off debt rather than moving it around. The most effective way to improve your score is by paying down your revolving credit.
• Don’t close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your score. Owing the same amount but having fewer open accounts may lower your score.
• Don’t open new credit cards you don’t need, just to increase your available credit. This approach could backfire and lower your score.

• Do your rate shopping within a focused period of time. FICO scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.
• Re-establish your credit history. Even if you’d had problems in the past, opening new accounts responsibly and paying them off on time will raise your score in the long term.

• Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed. Don’t open accounts just to have a better credit mix — it probably won’t raise your score.
• Have credit cards — but manage them responsibly. In general, having credit cards (and paying them on time) will raise your score.

Disclosed for the 1st time, ‘damage points’ taken off for late payments

Borrowers already knew that late payments hurt their credit scores, but for the first time, they now know the extent of that damage.

Did you max out your credit card? Expect a credit score drop of 10 45 points. Declare bankruptcy? Your score will plummet by up to 240 points, and your odds of getting credit will nosedive with it. to  

The “damage points” data, unveiled recently by FICO, are part of the most revealing glimpse into the firm’s once-secret — and still mysterious — credit scoring model. The new information discloses how many points borrowers’ scores will drop when they make the most-common mistakes.

‘Help People Understand’ Scores

“I hope this information will help people to better understand FICO scores and the value for them of avoiding credit missteps. It illustrates key points such as the higher your score, the farther it can fall if you stumble,” says FICO spokesman Craig Watts. “Getting and maintaining a good score isn’t complicated. We all just need to pay our bills on time, keep credit card balances low and take on new debt sparingly. “

The greater transparency about FICO scores is important because American consumers’ ability to get credit rises and falls with the number. FICO, the company that pioneered credit scoring, assigns consumers a three-digit number from 300 to 850, depending on how well they handle credit. Other companies also offer scores, but FICO’s version is the most widely used by lenders in determining whether a consumer can borrow, and at what rate.

FICO’s credit score has been around for decades, but only within the past decade have consumers gradually gained access to theirs. Though the raw numbers can be purchased, how they’re figured remains a FICO secret, as closely guarded as the formula for Coca-Cola. Until Thursday, FICO revealed only broad categories of factors influencing the score, but not the number of points at stake for consumers who fail to pay as agreed. The “damage points” information, revealed in a report by personal finance writer Liz Pulliam Weston, will be made available through its myFICO.com Web site starting this weekend.

FICO’s information shows that bankruptcy does the most serious damage to a credit score (up to 240 points), followed by foreclosure (up to 160 points) while maxing out a credit card has the least numerical impact (as few as 10 points).

Those with good or excellent credit — so-called prime borrowers — put more points at risk with each mistake. For example, someone with an average credit score of 680 who pays a bill 30 days late will see a drop of 60 to 80 points. But for someone with an excellent credit score — 780 — that same delinquency can send a FICO score tumbling by 90 to 100 points.

The Cost in Dollars

In order to show just how badly a drop in your FICO score can hurt your wallet, we spoke with members of the home mortgage, auto and credit card lending industries. We presented hypothetical scenarios of a consumer who decided to apply for a $200,000, 30-year mortgage; a $20,000, five-year auto loan and a credit card. While all the industry insiders stressed that a FICO score isn’t the only factor in determining who gets credit and at what cost (other factors they cited include the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio and whether they have already established a relationship with the lender), they were able to provide an idea of what a borrower who had the following credit scores could expect.

For a Consumer Who Started With a FICO Score of 780:

• Following a 30-day late payment, the consumer’s car loan rate would jump nearly 3 percent, costing the borrower $26 more each month.

 

 

• Following a debt settlement, the consumer would pay as much as $109 more each month on a home mortgage.

 

For a Consumer Who Started With a FICO Score of 680:

• Following a 30-day late payment, the consumer would pay $41 more each month for a car loan.

 

 

• Following a 30-day late payment, the consumer would pay as much as $95 more each month on a home mortgage.

 

 

• Following a debt settlement, the consumer would no longer qualify for a credit card.

 

 

Some Surprised By the Details

Consumer advocates say it’s important for borrowers to know what can damage their FICO scores. “If they know it in advance, they won’t go out and step in a pile of doo-doo. They won’t go out and do some of these things,” says Linda Sherry, director of national priorities with advocacy group Consumer Action. Even experts found some surprises in today’s news. “FICO imposes bigger hits than I would have thought for being maxed out or 30-days late just once, reinforcing my view that it is a cruder, blunter instrument than they like to claim. Nevertheless, it is a powerful, widely used crude blunt instrument,” says Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. PIRG consumer advocacy group.

Of course, knowing the impact on a FICO score and actually avoiding these mistakes are two separate things: Amid rising unemployment and other daily financial struggles, paying bills and staying on-track financially becomes a much bigger challenge for many borrowers.

“Some of these things are out of their control,” Sherry says of consumers.

Additionally, as Weston points out, consumers with identical FICO scores can have different credit histories. That means the same slip-up — such as maxing out a credit card — could have different impacts on consumers who have the same FICO score. In the examples they provided, FICO assumed each borrower had several active major credit cards, a mortgage, car loan and student loans.

Sherry acknowledges the benefit of putting a number to a financial blunder. “I don’t think we necessarily knew the numbers that a bankruptcy could apply to a credit score,” Sherry says.

Helping You Make Better Decisions

While knowing the numbers may not keep you filing for bankruptcy if given no other choice, the information may help you make the best decision when faced with a bad situation.

FICO scores — and the access to credit they provide — are a valuable asset to consumers and supply a safety net when incomes are stretched. It’s an asset that needs to be protected, Sherry says, even if job loss or catastrophic illness makes bill paying problematic.

“In that period of time, paying down debt is the last thing on your mind. Paying the minimum payment may also be the last thing on your mind, but you’ll be doing yourself a big favor if you do,” Sherry says.

Credit-Report Scoring Revealed … See what can cause a 200-point drop

Disclosed for the 1st time, ‘damage points’ taken off for late payments

Borrowers already knew that late payments hurt their credit scores, but for the first time, they now know the extent of that damage.

Did you max out your credit card? Expect a credit score drop of 10 to 45 points. Declare bankruptcy? Your score will plummet by up to 240 points, and your odds of getting credit will nosedive with it.

The “damage points” data, unveiled recently by FICO, are part of the most revealing glimpse into the firm’s once-secret — and still mysterious — credit scoring model. The new information discloses how many points borrowers’ scores will drop when they

Read full article…

Credit Scoring Secrets Revealed for First Time ... See what can cause a 200-point drop

What do you think about the scoring methods now that you know what they are?

It’s been a while since I wrote and wrote about credit cards. Honestly, I’ve just been way to disgusted by big business in our country that I just do not have the heart to write. There are just many ways I can express how the American consumer is being taken for granted before I feel like I am talking to a brick wall.

I do believe the American consumer, like a battered wife closes our eyes to our abusers – the banks, creditors and even insurance companies. It is kind of ironic we would be taking abuse from a company that is supposed to be offering us “insurance.” It seems to me, some have forgotten the definition of insurance. Many of us know the bad dealings of creditors, banks and their incestuous relationship with Credit bureaus. We all know how many of our politicians are sponsored by these very companies. Then why do we all turn our backs and ignore it? Why are we blaming one another when we know there is blatant corruption? Why do we allow them to get away with it?

Fear of retaliation. It that fear is justified after the government legislation barred some abusive practices, the credit card companies started cancelling accounts, raising rates, etc. Is this the government’s fault for standing up for consumers, or the creditors for being, well pr? What would we say to a woman, whose husband threatens to kill her if she leaves? Most people would not blame the woman for misconduct. We would find her help and shelter. It is the exact same thing with credit card debt, or medical bills. Yes, let’s blame the sick for the insurance companies denying coverage. In many cases, we are in the practice of blaming the victim and in that case, we are a participant in the abuse.

Fear of the unknown and change. Many battered women do not leave their husbands for fear of being alone, fear they cannot find better and if they just try harder to please him, the abuse will stop. What do we, the American consumers do? We bend over backward to adhere to crooked laws and abusive practices so we can take pride in a good credit score? Yes, we can make our abuser proud. But just because we have a good credit score, does that stop the abuse? No, it just makes them want to whack us harder. It is naïve to think that if we all just play by the rules and don’t step out of line the abuse will stop. Just because someone isn’t currently smacking you with high interest does mean the abuse doesn’t exist. It’s called denial.

How did we get to this place and how do we get out? Realize who is at fault – the banks, the creditors and insurance companies. Realize that none of these institutions care for the American consumer. And the only way we are going to regain our freedom from corporate America is when we no longer have fear. When we won’t fear their retaliation, when we don’t fear change, when we has Americans can put aside our petty differences and unite for the common good. The fact that we remain so divided is good for those who want to enslave us – divide and conquer. They’ve done a great job.

Una bellissima libreria. Pizze che vanno e vengono. Buon vino, chiacchiere, amici e nuove conoscenze. E’ il Read and Drink, baby. Questo venerdì, via Maiocchi 11 Milano, dal mio amico-cliente Books Import.

Foreclosure vs. Short Sale
November 18, 2009 by Michael Hughes
Do you avoid pain whenever possible? Better the “S” word (ShortSale) than the “F” word (Foreclosure). Many folks are going in to foreclosure not even considering the less painful and less impacting financial option of a short sale. In desperation, many people try selling their home themselves to save on realtor’s commissions, pricing it just above market and what they owe, only to end up in foreclosure. It is a difficult choice but when given the facts the choice becomes much less painful and simple.
Homeowners can avoid foreclosure if they act quickly. I have helped many home owners avoid foreclosure by negotiating a short sale for them. Some people just don’t understand the long term effects of foreclosures, or are afraid of considering a short sale because they think it will cost them more money. That is simply not true. Here are the facts that show the benefits of a short sale compared to a foreclosure:
Short sales generally do not influence credit scores, late payments or default in payments can put downward pressure on credit by 50 to 150 points. A short sale is not a critical mark on your credit report, most credit bureaus mark it as a paid note. If there have been no late payments, some buyers can buy again immediately. If there have been late payments, two years is required to apply for a Fannie-Mae backed mortgage, or 3 years for an FHA loan. Short sales help the economy because the banks have less debt, the homes are kept by individual owners who take care of them, and the bank will pay the realtor’s commission who helped sell the home.
Foreclosures generally drop the FICO and other credit scores from 200 to 400 points. Foreclosure will remain a derogatory mark on credit reports for 7 to 10 years. Most cases must wait at least 7 years before buying again, if the home was a primary residence it may be shortened to 5 years. Foreclosed homes can ruin a neighborhood, causing even further deterioration in the market values surrounding the home. Some people strip the home of valuables and leave the home abandoned.
Contact me today if you or anyone you know needs real estate help….
e-Mail michael.hughes@sothebysrealty.com Direct 303-359-6627 Website:www.bolderrealestate.com

We have multiple positions on SAP FICO open with our client a Leading IT services firm in Switzerland and Germany. For more details please write to srikanth [at] avanceservices [dot] com

Referral Reward – 1000 Euros

There is a referral reward of 1000 Euros on a success fee basis for this role i.e. we will pay this reward if the person you refer is selected for this role, joins this position and meets some basic client obligations in the first 3 months

We will reply to you within 2 business days for any candidates that you recommend and whom we have already spoken to in the past for this role. This referral reward offer is valid only till 30 November -2009

I arrived home to a message on the answering machine  from NCO.  Generic.  They didn’t even leave a name of whom they were calling for.  I almost didn’t even bother returning it.  Estate is closed.  I’m not responsible for anything that doesn’t have my name on it.

The collection calls make me angry and upset me.  I can just feel my blood pressure raise and the anger pulsate through my body when I have to deal with them.  I had been having a good day and wasn’t in the mood to have it ruined.

I think I get upset because John and I worked so hard to have excellent credit.  While the news was busy reporting about the terrible economy and  how credit wasn’t being given we had taken out a home equity loan with no problems whatsoever.  John and I always had fun seeing which of us had the higher FICO usually we both were between 790s and low 800s.  It was usually a toss up as to which of us was higher.  Usually it was, John since he had more credit and a longer history.  Funny, how having less credit owed and fewer accounts can lower a score.

I HATE to think of him getting collection calls.  I would hate to see what his FICO would look like now.  But he’s dead.  FICO’s don’t matter anymore.  If I was terribly bothered I could have paid the bills, but I’m not responsible.  His debts died with him.  I have a large mortgage and a son to raise.

The register of wills had warned me and I already knew that credit card companies would be more than happy to let me assume the debt.  She had let me know that I was NOT responsible.

Chase asked me up front.

NO!!!  NO!!! NO!!!

I wonder how many people in their moments of grief or confusion, say yes.  I hate when people try to take advantage of widows and I’ve already had a few occasions that I’ve felt that way.  Being a young widow sucks- a long lonely life ahead of me and having to be a single parent- but at least I have all of my senses with me- I’m not confused or gullible (or no more so than I was when I had John around) or senile.

The first collection agency call that I returned was from Chase.  I was rather abrupt with the lady.  I told her that I’d already notified Chase and they had the information.  I had told them that the estate was closed.  I told her that I knew it was not my responsibility.  I told her I’d lost my husband- the love of my life- to cancer and how terrible that was.  Nathaniel wasn’t happy and was screaming in the background.  I think she just wanted me off of her line.  She told me that she’d take care of it and I confirmed that I would not receive any more calls.  Thus far, I have not.

Today, while I was feeding I returned the call to NCO.  My policy has been that if the company can’t bother enough to leave a name- I can’t be bothered enough to return a call, but; I figured if I didn’t, they’d keep calling and I need my sleep.  I also figured that I had horses to feed and if I could multitask it would be done and over with before grain was dispensed.

The first lady that answered the phone asked for the reference number.  I told her I didn’t have it.  She looked up the account by the phone number.  She said she was calling for John Smith.  I said, “He’s dead.”  The line went dead.  I assume she hung up as I was on the land line.

I called back and the next gentleman, Frank, saw instantly that John had passed away and said that it would be taken care of and I would not receive any calls.  I asked where the bill was from.  It was a co-pay from Hopkins.

It felt greedy to me that they would bother sending a co-pay to a collection agency after all of the thousands of dollars that they got from Care First.  John’s IL2 treatments were about 100,000 alone.

Dr. Sharfman gave up on John months ago and wanted him in hospice.  He didn’t even care enough to call with condolences, come to the services, send flowers, or send a card.  Instead all I got- like 6 weeks after John had died- was a form letter that wasn’t even folded straight.

I pictured the death notification getting put in a pile on somebody’s desk and it getting handled when there was time.  Of course, why would John’s death be important to Dr. Sharfman?  His life certainly wasn’t.

I feel like there was a lot of John’s care with Dr. Sharfman at Hopkins that was “put in some pile.”  It was known that John had cancer in his bones, but they never put him on medication to combat that (the orthopedic doctor was surprised and surprised that John didn’t have an orthopedic doctor as part of his care team).  John also got one treatment to boost his blood count and was supposed to get it with every chemo, but he didn’t (it was painful and I knew John didn’t want it, so I never pushed the issue.)  Then there was the time that I practically had to throw a fit to get a damn x-ray of his hip that was causing John constant pain.  That hospital doctor irritated me to no end- standing there watching John writhe in pain, but doing nothing for it.

The most important lesson that I learned through John’s illness is that you have to stand up for your own care… nobody else is going to stand up for you.  You are your own health care advocate.  The doctors and nurses have other rooms to go to, other patients to visit.  The patient has one life and it is his/hers alone to live.  The patient must cope with pain, with disabilities, etc and find a way to continue living.  The doctors- they move on- it’s not his/her body or his/her pain.  (I certainly don’t want to slam the medical community because there are excellent doctors and nurses out there- we had some.  Dr. Sharfman was just not the right doctor for us.  He is known for being a whiz at IL2 and does come  highly regarded.  I also do know that we aren’t alone in our dissatisfaction.)

I know there are probably critics out there that would say, you just don’t like the man because your husband died.  I would beg to differ.  I realize that everybody can’t be saved.  We were fighting a losing battle, we knew the odds were stacked against us.  A little compassion goes a long way and we needed a doctor who was realistic, but willing to support us and be our commander for our battle.

We still respected Dr. Khatri after Ann died.

Although I’d admit, I wouldn’t send my worst enemy (if I had a worst enemy) to Dr. Thresher after he misdiagnosed Ann (sinus infection was diagnosed as sinus cancer), Dave (I was told that John’s father also had the same misdiagnosis sinus infection was later correctly diagnosed as  lung cancer), & myself (I was basically told that my pain that was later diagnosed as interstitial cystitis was all in my head and that I should swim to help my muscles).

In my experiences, Dr. Foster, our cat vet, did the best job of handling impending death.  We had taken Stray Grey (Toby) to him after he had been attacked by something.  Dr. Foster examined him and found his injuries to be life ending.  He called and compassionately explained the extend of the injures.  Dr. Foster explained the injuries without belittling my intelligence and simultaneously not speaking over my head.  His professional opinion was that he recommended euthanasia.  He offered the option that we could send him to a specialist at Penn State, but that it was highly unlikely that he’d survive and given the fact that Toby was a stray and not used to human handling it would terrify him and he would probably fight any efforts to heal him.  He thought about the patient and didn’t want Toby to experience fear or terror since he already distrusted humans.  I gave him the okay to euthanize and felt confident knowing I’d made the right decision.

More about Toby later…

I know that Hopkins was just doing business.  Writing off and clearing their bad debts.  It breaks my heart to think of John as a “bad debt.”

But, I guess in a way, I’m just doing business too.  The law says I’m not responsible.  Somebody else can take the loss… I’ve had enough.

We have multiple positions on SAP FICO open with our client a Leading IT services firm in Switzerland and Germany. For more details please write to srikanth [at] avanceservices [dot] com

Commento al Vangelo del 15 novembre 2009, XXXIII domenica del tempo ordinario (anno B)

+  Dal Vangelo secondo Marco (13, 24-32)
In quel tempo, Gesù disse ai suoi discepoli:
«In quei giorni, dopo quella tribolazione,
il sole si oscurerà,
la luna non darà più la sua luce,
le stelle cadranno dal cielo
e le potenze che sono nei cieli saranno sconvolte.
Allora vedranno il Figlio dell’uomo venire sulle nubi con grande potenza e gloria. Egli manderà gli angeli e radunerà i suoi eletti dai quattro venti, dall’estremità della terra fino all’estremità del cielo.
Dalla pianta di fico imparate la parabola: quando ormai il suo ramo diventa tenero e spuntano le foglie, sapete che l’estate è vicina. Così anche voi: quando vedrete accadere queste cose, sappiate che egli è vicino, è alle porte.
In verità io vi dico: non passerà questa generazione prima che tutto questo avvenga. Il cielo e la terra passeranno, ma le mie parole non passeranno.
Quanto però a quel giorno o a quell’ora, nessuno lo sa, né gli angeli nel cielo né il Figlio, eccetto il Padre».

Questa domenica il Vangelo per me è particolarmente difficile da commentare e da vivere.
Si parla di una ultima venuta di Gesù e di un raduno degli eletti; di un cielo che sembra collassare; di una pianta di fico da osservare attentamente; di una parola eterna; di un tempo sconosciuto; di una certezza;
Queste sono le mie prime impressioni sul brano del Vangelo. Cerco di capire meglio andando a leggere i versetti precedenti e quelli successivi al brano di questa domenica.
Nella domenica precedente, alla fine del capitolo 12, abbiamo visto Gesù nel tempio indicare l’esempio della vedova che offre tutto quello che possiede, ovvero sé stessa. Di seguito, nel capitolo 13, Gesù parla degli ultimi tempi e poi, dal capitolo 14, inizia il racconto della Passione.
Questo brano di oggi mi dice che certamente ci sarà una fine, che nessuno (tranne il Padre) sa quando succederà, e descrive “il come” avverrà questo con termini e paragoni umani per far intuire come potrà accadere un fatto che non si può spiegare.

Presente imperfetto e Futuro semplice

Nella vita di oggi, confrontandomi anche con mia moglie, ci accorgiamo spesso di vivere troppo proiettati nel futuro per programmare la nostra vita ed i nostri obiettivi “con la testa alta”, cercando di guardare lontano.
Invece, come sempre, oggi Gesù sconvolge la nostra visione del tempo dicendoci di guardare vicino, di osservare i segni dei tempi qui, adesso, vicino a noi, sull’albero di fico della nostra vita.
Ci dice che è inutile cercare di sapere il come ed il quando dell’ultima venuta, poiché solo il Padre conosce questo.
A pensarci bene Gesù mi sta facendo un favore: nel guardare lontano siamo distratti dalle molte preoccupazioni che vediamo nel futuro; con le sue parole Gesù mi toglie questo fardello e mi dice di pensare all’oggi, togliendomi quelle angosce che magari non sono capace di portare.
Interpreto questo come un invito a vivere “qui ed ora”, lasciando in secondo piano le preoccupazioni del futuro, ma senza dimenticarmi di pensare al domani.

Tranquillo

Questa è la frase che ci ripete spesso il figlio più grande quando noi genitori, affannati per essere ritardo per l’ora di ingresso a scuola, ci agitiamo più del necessario. Sovente ha ragione (non sempre però !)
Il nostro affanno quotidiano ci fa dimenticare di avere a disposizione un bene eterno, ovvero la sua Parola; la ascoltiamo ogni domenica alla messa, nella nostra casa sovente giace impolverata sullo scaffale della libreria, eppure, tra tutte le cose che inevitabilmente hanno una fine, questa è quella l’unica che non passerà MAI.
Tranquillo, la sua Parola è sempre a portata di mano, basta solo rispolverarla e leggerla; il resto viene quasi da sé.

2012 ?

Proprio in questi giorni e’ uscito nelle sale cinematografiche il film “2012”; di questo mi limito a segnalare un articolo con il quale mi trovo in perfetta sintonia (commento di gioba).

Attesa vigile

E’ l’atteggiamento che ci suggerisce il Vangelo, nei versetti successivi al brano di oggi, alla fine del capitolo 13.

State attenti, vegliate, perché non sapete quando sarà il momento preciso.
È come uno che è partito per un viaggio dopo aver lasciato la propria casa e dato il potere ai servi, a ciascuno il suo compito, e ha ordinato al portiere di vigilare.
Vigilate dunque, poiché non sapete quando il padrone di casa ritornerà, se alla sera o a mezzanotte o al canto del gallo o al mattino,
perché non giunga all’improvviso, trovandovi addormentati.

Quello che dico a voi, lo dico a tutti: Vegliate!”.

Yes, mortgage rates are ridiculously low on a historical basis. Rates have been less than 5.75 for awhile now but transaction volume hasn’t increased (its actually decreased during this low rate regime).  One has to look beyond mortgage rates to understand why buyers are standing on the sidelines hoarding their money. It’s all about qualification now, whether your an investor or primary home buyer.

Qualifications:

• FICO’s above 740
• 25% down (to get the good rates)
• Strong quality appraisals (not below bid at least)
• Strong associations with few units being rented and strong reserves
• long work history (2 years typically)
• Extra personal equity cushion
• DNA sample

Read it from the horses mouth: http://www.luettmortgagegroup.com/mortgagecenter/daily-updates/11450-home-loan-approvals-still-tightening.html

Many unintended consequences in business & finance occur because upside (profitability) and downside (loss) risk have very different characteristics.

Background
In 2007 I sifted through 330,000 RMBS (Residential Mortgage Backed Securities) assets or loans with the purpose of developing a default & loss econometric model that would enable my then employer differentiate between good and bad RMBS bonds.

I had to do a lot of data structuring and clean up to standardize incoming data from about 20 different servicers. I should say data structuring and data scrubbing. And after that sift through this asset data set to filter out the bad data. So you can imagine the amount of work that went into this.

My strategy to identify the loss quality of a bond was to use the origination and close data to forecast future losses. Why? Because once you have purchased the bond you are stuck with whatever losses that unfold.  If this was possible we could very quickly eliminate the poor quality bonds, and use cash flow methodologies (more on this in a later blog) to evaluate the better quality bonds. We did not want to expend effort valuing poor quality bonds.

Dichotomy of Metrics
Well, at least that was the theory. What went wrong? In residential mortgages FICO scores are a major component, if not the primary driver for assessing future default behavior. I found that for residential mortgage FICO scores at origination were poor predictors of future defaults. How? Build two probability distributions of FICO scores. The first is a distribution of FICO scores of the borrowers at origination for all assets. The second is the distribution of the FICO scores at origination for defaulted assets only. You could not tell the difference between the two distributions!

Bewildering. Was there an analogy in other areas of finance? Yes. Company pro forma profitability analysis are good predictors of future profitability, but they are poor predictors of severe losses or bankruptcy risk. To get a handle on future company bankruptcy risk one requires a tool like Altman’s Z-Scores.

Here we observe a dichotomy in forecasting characteristics. On the one hand pro forma informs us of future profitability and on the other hand Altman’s Z-Scores informs on bankruptcy risk. We concluded that FICO scores behave like pro forma profitability, that they are good predictors of success but poor predictors of defaults.

I must add that unlike investment bankers and fund managers who are focused on upside risk or profitability, my career in financial services has been focused on downside risk. Therefore I did not test if FICO scores are good predictors of success.

When we recognized this dichotomy we abandoned RMBS bonds as a viable investment vehicle. But this story does not end here. I have an extensive business reengineering background and investigated how FICO scores are generated.

How Credit Cards Drive FICO Scores
From a business process perspective recent FICO scores are generated by your credit card issuer. Really. You the card holder use your card to transact purchases. In so doing you create debt. How much of this debt you pay down, how quickly, etc., is reported to the rating agencies. This reporting provides an insight into your debt payment characteristics which the rating agencies convert into FICO scores. FICO scores appear to predict defaults because they are adjusted downwards as your credit card payments deteriorate. That is, in my opinion, FICO scores have a limited window of about 90-days within which they work, but by then it is too late for the card issuer. Or no credit card visibility no FICO adjustments.

Here is the weak link in this whole business process. Without your credit card spending and payments reported by your card issuer, the rating agencies would not have a clue what your recent credit rating should be.

Take 2 people John & Jay. John has house and car payments and uses his credit card for all his purchasing transactions. Jay also has house and car payments, but he only uses cash for his purchasing transactions.

Now both have suffered a partial loss of income. They both continue to make house and car payments. Therefore the ratings agencies cannot tell from these payment that there has been a partial loss of income. Both reduce their spending to manage within their new realities. But John has now slowed his credit card payments. The rating agencies see this and are able to adjust John’s FICO scores accordingly but not Jay’s.

The use or not of credit cards provides asymmetric information to rating agencies. Now guess what happens as credit card companies ramp up interest rates, consumers pay down their card debt and stop using their cards.

Unintended Consequences
All manner of unintended consequences occur.

1. The banking industry loses it recent FICO information for a much larger proportion of the population.

2. Consumers do get penalized with lower FICO scores for not having recent payment histories.

3. First time home buyers will face higher rates because they don’t have sufficient recent history.

4. FICO scores are no longer as “effective” as they were “supposed” to be.

5. Because of this additional “FICO risk” for the same “risk” bonds with credit card debt should trade at a discount to bonds with residential mortgages which in turn should trade at a discount to CMBS bonds.

6. As I had stated in my Feb/02/09 post Risk-Reward is Non-Linear, increased rates will increase defaults. The unintended consequence of this is that banks that have rushed to increase rates to 30% before the new laws come into effect, will have locked themselves into a population demographics that experiences a higher default rate. Therefore we can expect to see an increase in credit card losses.

Summary
I’m sure there are a lot of very smart people in the credit card and rating industries, but… This situation is not dissimilar to what I observed as a management consultant reengineering manufacturing companies – one may have the best, the brightest and the most experienced managers but surprisingly when they come together at their management meetings they do strange things.

There needs to be a better way to address bank losses on credit cards and a better way to treat customers. Remember your customers are not your enemies.

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Disclosure: I’m a capitalist too, and my musings & opinions on this blog are for informational/educational purposes and part of my efforts to learn from the mistakes of other people. Hope you do, too. These musings are not to be taken as financial advise, and are based on data that is assumed to be correct. Therefore, my opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog is not intended to either negate or advocate any persons, entity, product, services or political position.
___________________________________________________________________

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How to Increase Your Credit Score is one of those mysteries and mis-beliefs people carry around with them all the time.  Increasing your credit score is not going to be a mystery to you anymore after reading this tutorial.  Increasing your credit score is nothing but cleaning your credit report and channeling your activities in the right way that your credit score is increased automatically. 

You increase your credit score when you perform certain financial activities, such as your mortgage, credit card, furniture, car loan, and others.  The way to increase your credit score is to make sure those activities are reported correctly on your credit report. 

To see if your credit score is increasing as expected, you should check your credit report every now and then at least once a year by requesting your free credit reports from Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax.

This is an overview, the details are included in the tutorial link below.  We are delighted to present in step by step format, how anyone can increase their credit score.  Please enjoy and pass it on: to your family, friends, and your office co-workers.  Who knows, one day, someone will remember you as the shinning light on how to increase your credit score.

This excerpt was taken from the best seller, How  to Increase Your Credit Score-Guaranteed! 

Let’s get started, please click Credit Score, and be sure to click the Back button, top left of the pdf to return to this page.

We’re looking for members, authors, and writers, please leave us a comment with your e-mail address.

Please bookmark or add to favorites for easy access.

Ho letto sul blog di Lorella Zanardo come la televisione si sia volgarizzata a tal punto fino ad assomiglare ad un porno. Voi sapete bene la mia opinione sui porno ma che non attacco mai perchè sono prodotto di un pubbico targhettizzato e la scelta è facoltativa, mentre la tv ti sbatte in faccia questo, a tutte le ore, come se l’oggettivizzazione della donna sia una cosa obbligatoria, un messaggio che ti vogliono inculcare nella testa a forza, cambiando l’idea dei ragazzini sul mondo femminile. Sono esempi le ultime trasmissioni televisive dove è tornata di moda la donna che sale la scala mostrando anche le ovaie. Addirittura nell’ultima, prendere o lasciare, va di moda la donna casalinga, cameriera e schiava e contmporaneamente oggetto sessuale.

Concordo la frase di Lorella:
Se non fosse che i bambini e i ragazzini si stanno formando la loro idea di femminile su questi programmi con conseguenze gravi, continueremmo a ridere per come il mondo sarebbe più semplice se noi donne la smettessimo di complicarci la vita: basterebbe ogni tanto salire una scala…

Quasi quasi prendo l’ascensore!

Please send resumes to rrabines@topsource.com
All candidates can apply!!!

Location: Miami, FL
Title: SAP Payroll Lead Consultant/ Analyst in Public Sector
Rate: On Experience

Responsibilities:
•    Assist in gap analysis between M-DCPS requirement and SAP functionality, review and adopt new functionality in SAP
•    Review M-DCPS process requirements and suggest further enhancements and improvements where possible
•    Configure SAP system settings according to M-DCPS business requirements and document all configuration
•    Execute and develop Unit, Functional, Integration and Parallel Testing scripts
•    Define User Authorization profiles and security roles
•    Identify needs for systems development, specify requirements and review data requirements with Development team
•    Develop interfaces and coordinate testing with existing legacy systems and third party vendors
•    Assist in the preparation and validation of end user training and documentation
•    Report delays and risks to team leads
•    Assist in identifying data to be cleansed
•    Assist in developing and updating detailed team project plan
•    Adhere to ERP PMO project standards
•    Manage design and/or revise relevant policies and procedures
•    Build solutions in Payroll according to M-DCPS business requirements

Qualifications:

•    SAP version ECC 6 implementation experience
•    Minimum of four years SAP HR/Payroll experience
•    Experience with K-12 and SAP Concurrent Employment
•    Additional skills in other SAP Modules a plus
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•    Able to configure payroll schema & write custom payroll functions, operations
•    Strong experience in SAP Payroll integration with SAP Public Sector Finance (Funds Management, Grants Management, FI/CO)
•    ABAP experience a plus
•    Ability to write detailed functional and technical specifications
•    Ability to debug and find out the root cause for exceptions
•    Ability to design payroll related user exits to meet business requirements
•    PBC experience preferred
•    Ability to communicate in oral and written form effectively
•    Must be able to participate in a team environment

How to repair your Credit Report.  In this tutorial, you will learn step-by-step of how to repair your Credit Report and increase your Credit Score. 

Thousands of dollars are lost each year because of bad credit report and low credit score.  It is essential therefore to watch your credit report and your credit score, and apply the resources in this section to repair your Credit Report and increase your credit score.  There are definite steps you have to take to repair your credit report.  First, you must request your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies.  Second, you have review your credit report to see if there are any entries that are not yours.  If you have not checked your credit report in a while, certainly it is full of entries that are yours.  Third, you must contact the merchant listed on the credit  report that the entries are not yours.  Fourth, you must request your credit report again to make sure those entries are removed.  After this process, your credit report will certainly improve and your credit score will certainly increase. 

This is an overview, the details are in the All Tutorials page, and be sure to click on credit report for full explanation of how to repair your credit report.

We are delighted to bring you this tutorial.  Please enjoy and pass it on: to your family, friends, and your office co-workers.  Who knows, one day, someone will remember you as the shinning light on how to repair your Credit Report and increase your Credit Score.

This tutorial is an excerpt from the best sellers, How to Repair Your Credit Report.

Let’s get started, please click Credit Report, and be sure to click the Back button, top left of the pdf to return to this page.

We’re looking for members, authors, and writers, please leave us a comment with your e-mail address.

Please bookmark or add to favorites for easy access.

People talk about money less than religion – and no one talks about religion. It’s a social slur to mention money in public, even around friends. This is why no one is educated on the topic or why no one knows best practices to invest in different asset classes. Our country is living in its own self-deserved informational desert and we’ll listen to any moron who talks about money (Suze Orman). We have totally starved ourselves of discussion and information, weaned ourselves down to only a few sources of data for a subject which deserves 75 – 100 sources. Kids don’t talk with Dad, Boyfriend with Girlfriend, Teacher with Student about personal money management. We need to nurture these discussions like we do with childcare or dogs or fantasy football. Your money needs a good home too – this is how I think of it at least.

If we only allow our minds to intake CNBC and the Journal and not let our own thoughts RIP, then our brains turn into some chaotic chamber of incoherent catch phrases (green shoots, less bad, margin of safety, dead cat bounce) and explosive words (doom, rally, shadow, bribe, bears) intelligently designed to sell air-time. When I shout out in the office “the numbers come from the NAR and the Government who are both biased sources but no one else IS COLLECTING THEM,” no one says a damn thing. Am I on a fuckin acid trip? If I shouted “what month should I get married,” then 6 people in my office would jump at me with opinions and a real debate would erupt.

In 2006 everyone was making money and times were good, I remember them vividly. I used to go out to restaurants on Mondays and Tuesdays because what the heck, things were going well, my 401k just made $500 bucks that day. I bought an antique typewriter for $100 because it looked cool – that’s the economy I remember. So maybe we didn’t need to broach the subject in 2006, but now? Money, stocks, bonds, taxes, real estate (residential, commercial, who gets hurt?), FICO scores, interest rates, IRA’s (roth/trad), 401k’s, where is their value? – what is the wost case scenario? – what the hell is a dead cat bounce – it all needs to come out in the open and people need to start talking to one another.

Forget you’re social graces and ask someone what they are doing with their money. sip cocktail. watch them squirm.

Jet

Anche il nuovo programma di Enrico Papi in sstituzione del ‘colore dei soldi’ che fa flop (notevole come gli autori che ci ricascano non hanno ancora capito che non serve sfruttare il corpo delle donne per vendere) IL programma (che sia adegua e fa di tutto per rubare gli ascolti a raiuno ma anche per essere più sessista) e completamente divero dal vecchio format, non perde l’occasione di mostrare una valletta in perizoma in fasca ancora protetta. che unisce i due ruoli femminili più sessisti e che esprimono subalternità: la casalinga e l’oggetto sessuale.
Ho letto un articolo di Nicole Kidman che dall’altra parte del’oceano protesta contro Hollywood che è rappresenta il femminile secondo ruoli sessisti e stereotipati.

in Italia invece la situazione è anche peggiore eppure le lavoratrici tacciono così anche il Governo. Non solo il cinema è sessista ma anche la televisione e questo si estende non solo nella rapresentazione del femminile davanti agli schermi ma anche dietro le quinte.

Il sistema della televisione non solo prevede l’uso di ragazze spogliate a fini commerciali (ovvero per alzare lo share), quindi donna solo come strumento ma ricopre ruoli sessisti per compiacere il pubblico maschile adeguando il femminile appunto alla visione maschile e a come vorrebbe lui fosse la donna, in secondo luogo il target si rivolge ad un publico maschile escludendo le telespettatrici donne, quindi provocando una grave discriminazione e sottomettendole alla scelta del marito nella visione dei programmi, è questo è ancor più grave.

In terzo luogo il sessismo non solo è rivolto alle telespettatrici, alla rappresentazione dl femminile che contrastano il cambiamento culturale, ma anche alle stesse donne che lavorano nella tv, che sono spesso scelte per qualità estetiche e costrette a ricoprire ruoli marginali e strumentali.

La cosa peggiore che questa è una via obbligatoria come trampolino di lancio, assieme al calendario e concorsi di bellezza. Non vi è mai capitato di seguire un dibatito in televisione dove una ‘velina’ viene attaccata per aver accettato di fare un calendario e si difendeva dicendo: ‘purtroppo se vuoi vere visibilità sei costretta ad accettare’?

Ma le belle sono tante e la sola bellezza non basta. In casi peggiori spesso le ragazze della televisione sono spesso costrette a scendere a copromessi sessuali come gli scandali dimostrano.

La fico ad esempio per avere un minimo di attenzione ha dovuto lanciare una provocazione sulla sua presunta verginità.
Il nostro Paese è sessista perchè molto spesso da della puttana a chi accetta questi ruoli, senza sapere che è purtroppo una via obbligatoria se vuoi avere successo.

Questo è lo specchio del nostro Paese poichè lo spettcolo è anch’esso un luogo di lavoro.
L’italia, paese del g8, arretra nelle pari opportunità, perdendo 5 punti in un anno. La penisola scende al 72esimo posto su 134 paesi dal 67esimo del 2008 e dopo l’84esimo del 2007.

L’italia è superata anche da Vietnam, Romania (e poi dicono che la romania è + maschilista ndr) e Paraguay, precede appena la Tanzania, è terzultima in Europa. A pesare è «la persistenza di indici negativi sulla partecipazione delle donne alla vita economica», in primis la disparità di salari e redditi rispetto agli uomini.Agli ultimi posti nel vecchio continente Repubblica Ceca (74esima) e Grecia (86esima). Gli Usa al 31°.

Non bisogna sottovalutare quello che si vede in tv, nulla è finzione. In Italia c’è il + basso taso di occupazione femminile in Europa nonostante le ragazze studiano il doppio dei ragazzi. Nel mercato del lavoro sono costrette ad accettare mansioni più umili (spesso dove è richiesta bella presenza) nonostante il titolo di studio e gli stipendi sono inferiori a parità di mansione.
Inoltre le donne in italia hanno poca possibilità ad accedere a ruoli dirigenziali e politici,dove negli ultimi ultimamente è richiesto un buon aspetto estetico, dove addirittura anche la scelta della ministra delle Pari Opportunità ha subito questo trattamento.
Spesso nei luoghi di lavoro si verificano veri e propri ricatti sessuali, proprio come avviene in tv.

E’ da poco iniziato il nuovo Game Show di Italia 1, sto parlando di prendere o lasciare, condotto da Papi e con la Fico come valletta. Beh in molti avranno notato le anomalie a partire dalla prima puntata, le concorrenti le avevo già viste da qualche parte, e t’ho scopro sul web che altri la pensano come me!!! Ecco le mie teorie:

1. Raffaella non è mai nello studio insieme ai partecipanti, e i concorrenti nonostante le sue curve mozzafiato e il suo fare da gatta morta non hanno mai espresso un commento sull’avvenente napoletana…. cosa strana perchè nel “colore dei soldi”  (un altro Game con la stessa coppia Papi-Fico chiuso per ascolti scadenti)  Papi scherzava spesso con i concorrenti imbambolati…..

2. Notate come Papi abbia pettinature diverse nella stessa puntata!!!! anche se l’hanno vestito uguale, curando i dettagli (es. stesso orologio – fede – occhiali – cinta) i capelli sono diversi!!!! Nella puntata di oggi mercoledì 28 Ottobre all’inizio della puntata (la parte registrata dove Papi è con la Fico e dove spiega il programma) Papi ha i capelli con il ciuffo sulla fronte perfettamente ingelatinato che fa un’onda verso destra. Nel programma invece ha i capelli più disordinati e meno incollati… pensatela come volete ma per me queste sono prove che ci stanno prendendo per il naso!!!!! Ho scattato delle foto durante il programma ma col fatto che il pezzo registrato è all’inizio non ho potuto scattare quella foto, sono certa però che su you tube  domani posterà il video della puntata, lo ispezionerò e caricherò la foto, o cercherò di immortalare qualche anomalia nelle prossime puntate.

3. Se qualcuno di voi si è lasciato ingannare dal fatto che nel monitor grande in studio appare la fico, ricordo a tutti che io sono un grafico e con le tecnologie di oggi si può fare anche di più!!!! e comunque ora seguono dei link di persone che hanno notato queste anomalie:

http://www.cinetivu.com/programmi-tv/quiz/prendere-o-lasciare-italia-1/

http://www.davidemaggio.it/archives/10873/anteprima-dm-prendere-o-lasciare-ritorna-nellaccess-di-italia1-al-posto-del-colore-dei-soldi/ a questo link un ragazzo afferma di essere stato nella trasmissione nel 2007 e che quelle che mandano sono repliche, è il penultimo commento.

Se anche voi avete notato qualcosa postate un commento, una foto o anche un parere…. NON FACCIAMOCI PRENDERE IN GIRO!!!!

A Facebook fan considering applying for a mortgage wanted to know how seriously her husband’s credit rating would be impacted by a court judgment for a small bill of just $109.00. Here’s what she needs to know – and you too, if you ever are facing court action concerning a debt.

A "public record" can do very serious damage to your credit rating, easily knocking down your credit score 100 points or more.

A “public record” — such as a bankruptcy, charge-off, repossession or court judgment against you — can do very serious damage to your credit rating, easily knocking down your credit score 100 points or more. In this instance, you have three options, all of which may be necessary to repair your spouse’s good credit. 1) You can dispute the information with the heating company. 2) You can also dispute the information with the credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) if necessary. Also, 3) You can contest this judgment with the court, on the basis that you were never properly served (i.e. never legally notified that you needed to appear in court). Start with the courts. See if they’ll dismiss the judgment on the grounds of improper service. If that gets you no where, go to the creditor and negotiate with them. As a final tactic, dispute the information with the credit bureaus. Two important points to note: It sounds like you’ve pulled your husband’s credit scores — perhaps his Vantage Scores, or some other credit scores, because FICO scores range from 300 to 850 points, and you’ve indicated your spouse’s scores were 839 and 714, after previously having been around 915. Get your FICO scores also to see what those are. The FICO scores are the ones mortgage lenders and other creditors most frequently use. Lastly, under FICO’s new credit scoring model, small bills of $100 or less will be disregarded when it comes to calculating your credit score. However, since the bill your husband allegedly owed was for $109, and since it turned into a judgment, it will still present a problem for him. One last-ditch effort might be to try to get the heating company to agree that the original bill was for less than $100. That way, even if it still shows up on your credit report, it won’t hurt your husband’s FICO credit score. This is assuming, of course, you also get that public record eliminated from his report. Good luck!