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☆ Right-wing outlets facing 2020 election defamation lawsuits may have found a key defense overseas
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An alleged bribery scheme in the Philippines has thrown a potential lifeline to Fox News and other right-wing media outlets that are battling massive defamation lawsuits from the voting technology company Smartmatic for their promotion of 2020 election lies. The overseas scandal washed ashore last year when the Justice Department charged the Philippines’ former election commissioner with money laundering. Since then, Fox News, Newsmax and OAN have seized on the allegations, attempting to obtain new documents about potential wrongdoing by Smartmatic that could boost their defense. None of the allegations levied by US prosecutors in court filings pertain to vote-flipping or alleged rigging of election results. Last year, Fox paid a historic $787 million settlement with another election technology company, Dominion Voting Systems, for its promotion of similar election lies.

Persons: CNN —, Smartmatic, Newsmax, Donald Trump, Andres Bautista, Bautista, Fox, Nicolas Maduro, —, Smartmatic “, ”, Trump, “ Smartmatic, ” OAN, Eric Davis, OAN, “, OAN –, ” Smartmatic, hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Fox News, Justice Department, Trump, OAN, Philippine, Smartmatic, Fox, Dominion Voting, Lawyers Locations: Philippines, California, Venezuela, Manila, Smartmatic, Miami, Delaware, Brazil, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Kenya, Oman, Switzerland, Taiwan

☆ Opinion: The sweet surrender of aging with the one you love
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Joan Lester | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Now Carole, immersed in lesbian culture, was an evening law student intent on practicing civil rights law. I, an Easterner and twice-divorced mother, a doctoral student moonlighting as a community college teacher, wasn’t even aware a lesbian culture existed. Both activists talking civil rights and gender politics nonstop, we were madly, eagerly in love. Yet an unparalleled sweetness sings deep in the bones now after nearly half a century of committed love. In this time-proven love, even as we flourish independently we keep twining ourselves more closely around each other.

Persons: Joan Lester, Josephine Miles, CNN CNN —, ” Joan Lester, Irene Young, Carole shyly, Robert Browning, Carole, who’d, I’d, moonlighting, wasn’t, “ Ma, “, ”, We’ve, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, ” We’ve, twining, “ I’m Organizations: PEN, CNN CNN, gawking Locations: California, Paris, Amsterdam

☆ Pro-Trump network OAN’s president solicited more info after receiving ‘stolen’ Smartmatic passwords, court documents allege
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The revelation builds on CNN’s previous reporting that OAN President Charles Herring forwarded the purported Smartmatic passwords to ex-Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell within days and later passed it to Mike Lindell. OAN denies defaming Smartmatic or anyone else, and its lawyers say nobody at OAN broke the law in connection with the alleged passwords. In a recent court filing, Smartmatic publicly disclosed – for the first time – the original email that OAN received on January 5, 2021, containing the alleged passwords. If you come across any addition (sic) information, please pass along,” according to emails made public in court filings. OAN handed over the emails to Smartmatic last year, but later claimed they were privileged and should be returned.

Persons: Charles Herring, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, Joe Biden, Smartmatic, OAN, defaming Smartmatic, Eric Coomer, Herring, tipster, –, ”, Powell, …, It’s, ’ Smartmatic, OAN “, Carl Butzer, “, Moxila Upadhyaya, OAN’s, Charles Babcock, Upadhyaya, Babcock, Oprah Winfrey, Bill O’Reilly, Phil Organizations: CNN, America, Trump, Voting Systems, Court, Fox News Locations: DC

To keep Earth from overheating too much, the nations of the world need to put fewer loopholes in climate agreements and far more money — trillions of dollars a year — into financial help for poor nations, the United Nations climate chief said Friday. In an unusual and blunt lecture at a university in Baku, Azerbaijan, the host city of upcoming international climate negotiations later this year, United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called gains made in the past not nearly enough. Richer nations have promised less than 5% of that amount in climate financial help to poor nations — and they often haven't even delivered that much. “It's already blazingly obvious that finance is the make-or-break factor in the world's climate fight,” Stiell said. “The time has passed for business-as-usual in all aspects of the world's climate fight,” Stiell said.

Persons: Simon Stiell, “, Stiell, Richer, “ It's, ” Stiell, Anne Rasmussen, Jean Su, Su, Joanna Depledge, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United Nations, United, Climate Finance, United Arab Emirates, ”, Biological Diversity, Cambridge University, Climate, Associated Press Locations: United, Baku, Azerbaijan, United Nations, China, Nations, Brazil, Grenada, United Arab, United States, England, Dubai, AP.org

☆ A C.E.O. Who Resigned in Scandal Now Wants More Money
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Rob Copeland | More About Rob Copeland | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As chief executive of Wells Fargo, Timothy J. Sloan failed to clean up a string of scandals that shook the bank and abruptly stepped down amid widespread criticism more than four years ago. He now says Wells Fargo owes him at least $34 million in back pay. Mr. Sloan sued Wells Fargo on Friday, saying that the bank owed him for unpaid stock awards, bonuses and unspecified “emotional distress.” His lawyers said that the bank he formerly led made him a scapegoat for problems that predated his tenure, and they recast his resignation under fire in 2019 as “an act of further loyalty to the bank.”The lawsuit was a surprise move, inasmuch as Wells Fargo for years has been trying to move on from Mr. Sloan’s tenure and improve its relationship with both customers and regulators. A Wells Fargo spokeswoman, Beth Richek, said the bank stood behind its decision to withhold the pay. “Compensation decisions are based on performance,” she said in a statement.

Persons: Wells, Timothy J, Sloan, Wells Fargo, ”, Sloan’s, Beth Richek Locations: Wells Fargo

☆ Signature Bank’s Apartment Loans Selling at a Steep Discount
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Peter Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The leading bid shows how much the value of New York’s rent-regulated apartment sector has deteriorated in recent years. Photo: Scott Heins/Getty ImagesA venture of two nonprofits and Related Fund Management is poised to win an auction for billions of dollars of Signature Bank loans backed by New York apartments, according to people familiar with the matter. The venture’s leading bid of less than 70 cents of the loan’s face value shows how much the value of New York’s rent-regulated apartment sector has deteriorated in recent years.

Persons: Scott Heins Organizations: Fund Management, Signature Bank Locations: New York

However, there are some key differences between the mechanics of credit cards and Helocs. Still, Helocs have far lower rates than credit cards, even for borrowers with strong credit scores. If interest rates climbed to 7% a year later, your payment would rise to $58 a month until the end of the draw period—unless interest rates move again or you draw more from the line. (Secured credit cards are an option for people with limited credit history; they require a cash down payment.) Consolidating credit card debt is another common use, since rates on credit cards can be as much as double what they are on home-equity loans.

Persons: Tanza Loudenback, Aly J, Helocs, you’ve, Robert Heck, won’t, Knight, Freddie Mac, You’re, Scott Fligel, ”, Eric Alexander, Heck, “, ” Heck, Alexander Organizations: Yale, Federal, Federal Reserve, Northwestern Mutual, Income Locations: homeownership, Morty, Charlotte, N.C, Dallas

☆ Richard E. Grant Fights Grief With ‘A Pocketful of Happiness’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Amy Bloom | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One is Joan Washington, whom we get to know as passionate and commanding, a great teacher, a wonderful mother, a smartass and a woman who understood and loved her husband, deeply. To be clear, I make no complaints about her, and neither Grant nor I criticize anything she does in this book. It is not her fault that Richard E. Grant has adored her since he wrote her a fan letter when he was 14. I could have done without all of that, because, like Richard E. Grant, I just wanted more of the feisty, unvarnished, irritable, generous, wise, unimpressed Joan Washington. Amy Bloom’s most recent books are “Flower Girl” and “In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss.”A POCKETFUL OF HAPPINESS | By Richard E. Grant | 336 pp.

Persons: Joan Washington, ” Olivia, Grant, Barbra Streisand, Richard E, ”, —, Amy Bloom’s, Simon Organizations: Schuster

☆ 15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgage: How Do You Choose?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Aly J. Yale | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

15-year mortgage rates vs. 30-year mortgage ratesHowever, mortgage rates vary by term length, too. Pros and cons of a 15-year mortgageA 15-year mortgage has some perks. “A 15-year mortgage would be ill-advised if a customer is tight on their budget,” says Chuck Meier, mortgage director at Sunrise Banks. “You can make the 15-year payment on a monthly basis, receiving the benefits of a 15-year mortgage,” Lindner says. “If the higher payment becomes a challenge, you can revert to the lower 30-year mortgage payment.”

Persons: Aly J, Freddie Mac, Melissa Cohn, you’re, ”, Chuck Meier, ” Cohn, Scott Lindner, ” Lindner Organizations: Yale, it’s, PMI, William, Sunrise Banks, TD Bank Locations: —

☆ How to Get a Mortgage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +15 min

“Houses cost more than the money invested to purchase them,” says Brian Rugg, chief credit officer at mortgage lender loanDepot. Research mortgage loan types and lendersThere are two basic categories of mortgage: private and government backed. “Look at customer reviews from past borrowers,” says Alex Shekhtman, a mortgage broker and founder of LBC Mortgage in New York. “Mortgage lenders use appraisals to protect their investment in the home,” says Liz Lopez, a real-estate agent at RelatedISG Realty. Since mortgage payments are made in arrears—meaning you pay on the first of the month for the previous month’s charges—you won’t owe a mortgage payment until the start of the second month following your closing date.

☆ Here's what you can do now to be ready to buy a home this spring
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mortgage rates have been ticking down, yet remain volatile. If you are ready and able to buy a home, the day-to-day movements of rates should matter less than finding a home you can afford. Borrowers can also lower monthly payments by paying more upfront to buy down their mortgage rate. Buyers can then use that money to buy down the interest rate on their mortgage and reduce their payments. Mortgage rates are trending down, but it’s not going to be a perfect downward curve, said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage.

☆ What is a Home Equity Line of Credit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Heloc interest rates are usually in line with mortgage rates. If interest rates climbed to 7% a year later, your payment would rise to $58 a month until the end of the draw period—unless interest rates move again. Helocs vs. credit cardsHelocs and credit cards are both ways to set up a so-called “revolving” line of credit which allows you to take whatever you need, whenever you need it—up to a certain limit. Helocs vs. home equity loansHome equity loans and Helocs are strategies for pulling cash out of your home. Consolidating credit card debt is another common use, since rates on credit cards can be as much as double what they are on home equity loans.

☆ It’s a terrible time to buy a house. Here’s what to know if you have to do it anyway
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“It is something I’ve never seen a combination of, this lack of inventory and higher interest rates,” Lafferty said. “If that comes to pass, you can do a refinance and secure a lower interest rate and lower payments. Buy down your interest rate with pointsBorrowers can lower their payments by paying more upfront to buy down their mortgage rate. The downside: While getting a lower interest rate is very appealing, it means shelling out more money up front. In September, when mortgage rates were around 5.75%, Kelly worked with borrowers who were buying a $590,000 house.

☆ FASB Extends Accounting Relief as Companies Switch From Libor
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The Financial Accounting Standards Board allowed companies to continue ignoring certain rules around modifying loan contracts and accounting for hedges of interest-rate risks as they move away from the London interbank offered rate. Libor and other benchmarks underpin trillions of dollars of financial contracts, including corporate loans, mortgages and interest-rate derivatives. PREVIEWThe FASB initially gave companies relief in March 2020, in an effort to help them work through the large volumes of financial contracts they needed to update or renegotiate as part of their preparations to abandon Libor. U.S. banks stopped issuing new financial contracts using Libor at the end of last year. Companies are considering which version of SOFR to switch to from Libor.

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