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09 Feb 2012 11:19

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Politics: After three-state Tuesday sweep, checkbooks open up for Santorum

  • $1million raised in just 24 hours after Santorum’s super Tuesday  source
  • » That’s quite a haul in 24 hours. The Santorum campaign confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that, after the candidate’s sweep of Tuesday’s primary battles, over $1 million in new donations have poured into the campaign’s coffers — roughly $800,000 of which came from online donors alone. Not bad, sweater vest.

09 Feb 2012 11:12

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Biz: Federal government, states agree to settle with mortgage industry

  • $26 billion “historic” settlement with the mortgage industry
  • $17B of that settlement is expected to help out more than 1 million homeowners — breaking that dow, that’s an average of $17,000 each
  • 50 states could sign on as part of the settlement, making it the largest multistate settlement since the big tobacco deal in 1998
  • $2,000 the amount some homeowners who already lost their homes to foreclosure could get as part of the long-planned settlement source
  • » But is all this enough? While some will say the settlement doesn’t go far enough in addressing the concerns homeowners have dealt with in the years since the housing bubble burst, officials suggest it could provide $40 billion in mortgage relief by reducing loan principals, which would make the dollars go further. Problem is, it’s estimated that homeowners collectively owe $700 billion more on their homes than they’re actually worth. So while the dollar number sounds high, it may only be a drop in the bucket comparatively.

09 Feb 2012 10:25

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World: Maldives unrest: Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed claims he’ll be arrested soon

  • The home minister has pledged (I will be) the first former president to spend all my life in jail. … the facts on the ground are that tomorrow I will be in jail.
  • Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed • Suggesting that he would be jailed shortly, days after resigning or getting forced from power. Despite word from his political party that Nasheed was beaten by police, he showed no signs of injury when he was interviewed. Despite this, word of his possible arrest certainly isn’t an empty threat — he spent years in jail under long-serving President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and has been arrested 27 times before. The fairly tiny country of 330,000, a span of islands located in the Indian Ocean, gets many tourists, ensuring a high level of interest in the case. source