Posted on 22 December 2011 by splash
Gabrielle Union hit the beach in Miami today. The actress was spotted in a bright orange bikini as she played in the surf with boyfriend Dwayne Wade?s children.
Source: http://www.splashnewsonline.com/2011-12-22/gabrielle-union-his-the-beach-in-miami-in-a-bikini/
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It's time to head back to Middle-earth! Almost exactly 10 years after The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring wowed audiences, the first trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, part 1 of the two-part LOTR prequel, has debuted online. Watch it below!
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Atomico, the venture capital firm founded by Skype founders Niklas Zennstr?m and Janus Friis, has invested 350,000 euros in Denmark-based Ge.tt, which offers an eponymous Web-based file sharing service. Ge.tt is simple, clean, and useful. Like many file-sharing services, Ge.tt makes it easy for people to shoot files to the cloud so they can be shared with others, all from a browser-based application. Read more at TechCrunch Europe.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7ief4MtjukI/
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying they misled investors about risky subprime loans the mortgage giants held when the housing bubble burst.
Those charged include the agencies' two former CEOs, Fannie's Daniel Mudd and Freddie's Richard Syron. They are the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.
The federal government has faced criticism for not bringing charges against top executives who may have contributed to the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.
Mudd, 53, and Syron, 68, led the mortgage giants in 2007, when home prices began to collapse. The four other top executives also worked for the companies during that time.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York City.
"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives told the world that their subprime exposure was substantially smaller than it really was," said Robert Khuzami, SEC's enforcement director. "These material misstatements occurred during a time of acute investor interest in financial institutions' exposure to subprime loans, and misled the market about the amount of risk."
Fannie and Freddie both entered into agreements with the government on Friday, accepting responsibility for its conduct without admitting or denying the charges. The government-controlled companies also agreed to cooperate with the SEC on the cases against the former executives.
The Justice Department has opened up probes into Fannie and Freddie but has not charged anyone with a crime.
In a statement released through his attorney, Mudd said the lawsuit "should never have been brought" and said the government reviewed and approved all of the company's financial disclosures.
"Every piece of material data about loans held by Fannie Mae was known to the United States government to the investing public," Mudd said. "The SEC is wrong, and I look forward to a court where fairness and reason ? not politics ? is the standard for justice."
Syron's lawyers said the case was "without merit," and said the term "subprime had no uniform definition in the market" at that time.
"There was no shortage of meaningful disclosures, all of which permitted the reader to assess the degree of risk in Freddie Mac's" portfolio, the lawyers said in a statement. "The SEC's theory and approach are fatally flawed."
According to the lawsuit, Fannie told investors in 2007 that it had roughly $4.8 billion worth of subprime loans on its books, or just 0.2 percent of its portfolio. The SEC says that Fannie actually had about $43 billion worth of products targeted to borrowers with weak credit, or 11 percent of its holdings.
Mudd told a congressional panel in March 2007 that Fannie's subprime business represented less than "2 percent of our book." He also said the company held subprime mortgages "very carefully." A month later, he told a separate congressional panel that subprime loans represented less than 2.5 percent of Fannie's books.
Freddie told investors in 2006 that it held between $2 billion and $6 billion of subprime mortgages on its books. The SEC says its holdings were actually closer to $141 billion, or 10 percent of its portfolio in 2006, and $244 billion, or 14 percent, by 2008.
In a May 2007 speech in New York, Syron said Freddie had "basically no subprime exposure," according to the suit.
Fannie and Freddie buy home loans from banks and other lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default and then sell them to investors around the world. The two own or guarantee about half of U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million loans.
During the financial crisis, the two firms verged on collapse. The Bush administration seized control of them in September 2008.
So far, the companies have cost taxpayers almost $150 billion ? the largest bailout of the financial crisis. They could cost up to $259 billion, according to its government regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Administration.
Mudd was fired from Fannie after the government took over. He's now the chief executive of the New York hedge fund Fortress Investment Group.
Syron resigned from Freddie in 2008. He's now an adjunct professor at Boston College.
The other executives charged were Fannie's Enrico Dallavecchia, 50, a former chief risk officer, and Thomas Lund, 53, a former executive vice president; and Freddie's Patricia Cook, 58, a former executive vice president and chief business officer, and Donald Bisenius, 53, a former senior vice president.
Lund's lawyer, Michael Levy, said in a statement that Lund "did not mislead anyone." Lawyers for the other defendants declined to comment Friday morning.
Fannie and Freddie had traditionally purchased a small number of subprime mortgage loans, which involved borrowers with credit problems who could not qualify for cheaper prime loans. But starting in the late 1990s many firms started purchasing subprime loans, and Fannie and Freddie followed suit.
Legal experts say the cases, while unusual, might not yield much in penalties against the former executives.
In July, Citigroup paid just $75 million to settle similar civil charges with the SEC. The company's chief financial officer and head of investor relations were accused of failing to disclose more than $50 billion worth of potential losses from subprime mortgages. The two executives charged paid $100,000 and $80,000 in civil penalties.
A federal judge in the case said she was "baffled" by the low settlement.
Fines against executives charged in SEC civil cases can reach up to $150,000 per violation. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has asked Congress to raise the limit to $1 million.
Mudd made nearly $4 million in salary and bonuses in 2007, and Syron made more than $18 million, according to company statements.
The SEC has charged more than 80 people, including 40 CEOs and senior executives, with violations stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Newt Gingrich holds a 10-point lead in the fight for the Republican presidential nomination, but he would fare worse against President Barack Obama than Republican Mitt Romney, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
With the first nominating contest in Iowa less than three weeks away, Gingrich leads Romney among Republican voters nationwide by 28 percent to 18 percent, the poll found.
However, the poll raises questions about whether Gingrich -- a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who has shot to the top of Republican opinion polls in recent weeks -- would be able to defeat Obama.
The poll found that if the November 2012 presidential election were held today, Obama would defeat Gingrich, 51 percent to 38 percent. By contrast, Obama would defeat Romney by a narrower margin, 48 percent to 40 percent.
Analysts say the results reflect the risk that Republicans could face if they nominate Gingrich, whose strong performances in debates have won him support among conservatives seeking an alternative to Romney.
Gingrich has a long record of making provocative statements that could alienate independent voters, such as when he recently referred to Palestinians as an "invented" people.
Even so, some conservative Republicans see him as preferable to Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has built a more extensive campaign and fundraising operation.
"This is the Republican dilemma," said Calvin Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. " 'Do I want to enjoy myself by voting for Gingrich ... or do I want to look toward the general election and see a winnable contest?'"
Romney has been widely viewed as the candidate to beat among Republicans.
Obama's campaign was focused squarely on an eventual race against Romney until this week, when it began taking shots at Gingrich -- an acknowledgement of the former speaker's elevated standing in the Republican race.
The new poll found Texas Representative Ron Paul and Texas Governor Rick Perry tied for third place with 12 percent each, while Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann has the support of 10 percent of Republicans.
Former Utah Governor John Huntsman is next with 5 percent, followed by former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, with 4 percent. Another 4 percent picked other candidates or none at all.
The poll, taken from December 8 to December 12, shows Gingrich's remarkable comeback since a staff mutiny and criticism by fellow Republicans nearly torpedoed his campaign in June. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken during that period showed him polling at 6 percent.
The poll also found that Obama could be making a comeback of sorts as the economy shows signs of improvement and Republican candidates bloody each other in a series of televised debates.
Obama's 8 point lead over Romney is a dramatic increase from the 1 point deficit he faced in a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken from October 31 to November 3.
Although Obama is doing better compared with Republicans, his approval rating, at 47 percent, is little changed since the beginning of the year.
Americans remain generally pessimistic, the poll found. Only 27 percent say the country is moving in the right direction, while 69 percent say it is on the wrong track, a slight improvement from the October poll.
The poll was based on telephone interviews of 1,102 adults, 443 of them registered Republicans. The margin of error for all adults is plus or minus 3 percentage points; for Republicans the margin of error is plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
The complete poll results can be found at http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5437.
(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by David Lindsey)
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Media Lab postdoc Andreas Velten, left, and Associate Professor Ramesh Raskar with the experimental setup they used to produce slow-motion video of light scattering through a plastic bottle.
By John Roach
A new imaging system that captures visual data at a rate of one-trillion-frames per second is fast enough to create virtual super-slow-motion videos of light particles traveling and scattering through space.
For reference, light particles ??photons ? travel about a million times faster than a speeding bullet.
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An imaging solution allows researchers to visualize the propagation of light at an effective rate of one trillion frames per second.
In the video above, for example, a burst of laser light is seen traveling through a soda bottle and bouncing off the cap. Other videos show a ripple of laser light move across a table, over and into a tomato, and up a wall.
"What you see in the videos is an average of many pulses," Andreas Velten, a researcher in MIT's Media Lab who is leading the effort, explained to me Tuesday. "If we capture one pulse, we don't get enough information. First of all because it is too faint and second because we only see one line at a time."?
The technique to create the videos relies on what's called a streak camera. The aperture ? opening ? of this camera is a narrow slit that provides a reasonable field of view in the horizontal direction, but very limited view in the vertical ? essentially a line, or row of pixels.?
"It can only see one line, but it gives you a very high frame rate ??a trillion-frames-per second," Velten said. This allows the researchers to make a movie of one scan line. Several pulses of light are used to compose each scan line movie to improve image quality, he noted.
Then, a system of mirrors in front of the camera changes the field of view slightly so that a movie of the next line can be made. The process continues for each line of a scene, such as a pulse of light moving through a bottle. Then, the computer uses all this information to create the virtual slow-motion movies.
"So what you are seeing is actually an average of many pulses, but because our camera and laser are synchronized very well, all the pulses look exactly the same," Velten said. "That's basically the trick."
According to the researchers, it takes only a nanosecond ? a billionth of a second ? for light to scatter through a bottle, but it takes nearly an hour to collect enough data to stitch together a video.
While watching photons move through soda bottles and across tables is visually cool and educational, the technology could be used to study the properties of materials, as well in scientific and medical imaging, even "ultrasound with light," the researchers suggest.
For more on this technology, check out the video below featuring Velten and his adviser, Ramesh Raskar.?
MIT Media Lab researchers have created a new imaging system that can acquire visual data at a rate of one trillion frames per second. That's fast enough to produce a slow-motion video of light traveling through objects.
More on high-tech camera technology:
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.
Where nations used to compete to get into space, now the competition focuses on private businesses, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into next-generation spaceships. Msnbc.com science editor Alan Boyle reports from inside the rocket factories on the future of spaceflight.
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FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2011 file photo, Bruce Worswick wipes his hands while working under a Jeep on the lift at Tri Town Transmission in Pembroke, Mass. U.S. service companies, which employ 90 percent of the work force, expanded at slower pace in November and a measure of employment fell sharply. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2011 file photo, Bruce Worswick wipes his hands while working under a Jeep on the lift at Tri Town Transmission in Pembroke, Mass. U.S. service companies, which employ 90 percent of the work force, expanded at slower pace in November and a measure of employment fell sharply. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
Shoppers look at televisions displayed at a Best Buy store after a midnight opening on Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, in Brentwood, Tenn. Black Friday began in earnest as stores opened their doors at midnight. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Service companies, which employ 90 percent of the U.S. work force, expanded at a slower pace in November and a measure of employment at those firms fell.
Separately, the government said orders to U.S. factories dropped for the second straight month.
Monday's data show that the economy remains vulnerable despite recent signs of improvement. Still, economists said the broader message from other reports is that economic growth and hiring continue at a modest and steady pace.
"As it comes at a time when all the other economic news has been quite good, it is not too much to worry about," said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of service sector activity dropped to 52 from 52.9 in October. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The service sector has grown for two straight years. But the reading was the lowest since January 2010.
There were some positive signs in the report: New orders and business activity rose.
The trade group of purchasing managers surveys a range of industries, including hotels and restaurants, financial services, construction and agriculture.
The Commerce Department said companies cut their orders to U.S. factories in October for the second straight month. A key measure of business investment also declined.
The report also wasn't all bad. Manufacturers boosted their stockpiles 0.9 percent in October after more modest increases in previous months. That suggests they are optimistic about future sales.
Manufacturing has been showing signs of rebounding after slowing earlier this year. Auto sales and production are up now that supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake in Japan have eased. And the ISM, which reports separately on manufacturing, said last week that factory output expanded in November for 28th straight month.
Some economists were surprised that the ISM service-sector survey showed its employment index fell below 50 for the second time in three months. That's a sign that companies are cutting workers, which conflicts with other data on hiring.
On Friday, the government said the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, the lowest level in 2 1/2 years. Employers added 120,000 net new jobs and more jobs were generated in September and October than the government previously estimated. Half of those jobs added in November were at retailers, bars and restaurants ? all service firms.
"We hope this is a rogue number," said Ian Shepherdson, an economist High Frequency Economics, referring to the ISM employment index for service firms. "It is certainly not consistent with the decline in jobless claims and the rebound in the flow of new online help wanted ads, but we cannot yet be sure."
About half the drop in the unemployment rate occurred because many of those out of work gave up searching for jobs. When the unemployed stop looking for work, they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
Still, the overall jobs report was positive and the latest sign that the economy is improving, despite a still-high unemployment rate, a debt crisis in Europe and slowing growth in China.
More jobs means consumers should have more income to spend while shopping, at restaurants, or on cable TV subscriptions and other services.
Holiday shopping is already off to a good start. Americans dropped a record $52.4 billion over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade group. A separate report from MasterCard found spending was up almost 9 percent from last year.
Car sales also rose sharply in November, normally a lackluster month for the auto industry. Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and Hyundai all reported double-digit gains on Thursday, compared to a year ago.
Those reports have led many economists to raise their forecasts for the final three months of the year, to about a 3 percent annual rate. That would be an improvement from growth of 2 percent in the July-September period.
___
AP Economics Writer Derek Kravitz contributed to this report.
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