7 Things You Need To Know About Qualified Mortgage (Ability To ...

What is a Qualified Mortgage rule?

Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule, also called Ability To Repay rule is part of implementing the Dodd-Frank act. QM rule implemented by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is the first ever attempt at defining and establishing a basic standard for qualifying borrowers for mortgage loans.?Loans that qualify as ?Qualified Mortgage? will get a full legal shield from the CFPB mandating that judges rule in lenders? favor if the borrowers contest foreclosures.?I also talked about it in?a post I wrote?on Oct 24. 2012.

On January 10, 2013, CFPB came out with the rule capping the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) at 43% for the loans to qualify for QM. Additionally, mortgage rates on these loans can?t exceed 150 basis points over the benchmark rates.

For the next seven year transition period, DTI ratio of 43% can be exceeded if the loan is approved by Fannie, Freddie and FHA automatic underwriting systems.

Are any loan programs exempted from QM Rule?

Lenders will enjoy a safe harbor from litigation if they refinance borrowers from a Hybrid ARM, Negative Amortization loan or other toxic mortgages into a ?standard mortgage? with fixed rates for at least five years that reduces the borrower?s monthly payments.

Also, Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is exempt from QM rule ? meaning they can exceed the maximum DTI requirements.

Which loan programs dont qualify for qualified mortgage status?

Interest-only loans and Negative amortization loans can not qualify for QM status.

Will QM rule further tighten the lending standards?

While the CFPB wanted to prevent a contraction of credit, it also wants to provide the ?greatest consumer protections ever devised,? CFPB director Richard Cordray said.

However,?David Stevens, the chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the debt-to-income requirements for jumbo mortgages could tighten standards for those loans, which have already become much harder to get. ?It will restrict credit on the margin over the current environment and that?s something we cannot afford,? he said

Does QM rule favor a certain category of lending institution?

Most qualified mortgages will have a 3% cap on the amount of fees and origination costs that lenders can charge. Mortgage brokers are concerned it could hurt their business model. ?3% cap may not be much of a problem in high loan amount areas like most of California. But in places where loan sizes are small, 3% may not be enough to cover for all origination fees that may include loan points, processing fees, admin fees, underwriting fees etc.

In addition, mortgage units run by real-estate brokerages and home builders could be hit because any costs from affiliated services that they offer?say, title insurance or mortgage services?would count towards that 3% cap.

The CFPB is also seeking public comments on extending the QM exemptions to nonprofit groups and housing finance agencies that traditionally serve low- and moderate-income consumers.

Are QM rules permanent or can be changed later?

While any rule can be changed by Congress mandate at a later date, looks like this one is here to stay for decades.

When does Qualified Mortgage rule become effective?

The final QM Rule goes into effect on January 10, 2014.

Source: http://lendingexpertblog.com/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-qualified-mortgage-ability-to-repay-rule/

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Safety in spotlight a year after Costa Concordia crash

16 hrs.

Tanya Mohn , NBC News contributor

Thirty-two passengers and crewmembers died after the Costa Concordia crashed off the coast of Italy nearly one year ago???a?tragedy that?served as a wake-up call for the cruise industry. Since the disaster on January 13, 2012, there have been significant safety and crisis management improvements, a global industry restructuring aimed at unifying standards, and increased personal responsibility, experts say.

?It was a tragedy that never should have happened, caused by a rogue captain who didn't follow the rules,? said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic, a website that tracks the industry.

Slideshow: Luxury cruise liner Costa Concordia runs aground

The incident was an anomaly, she added, during which passengers were given poor instructions after the ship deviated from the scheduled route. ?But if it gives us a chance to focus on the things we can do better,?let's do it.? ?

Stricter?muster drills
There has since been a crackdown on the informal practice of sail-bys???when a ship passes close to shore to salute people on land???Brown said, as well as some?other major changes.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)???a trade group of major cruise lines serving North America???and?the European Cruise Council (ECC) created a Global Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review days after the Concordia ran aground. ?We pulled together a task force that looked at operational safety and human factors,? said Christine Duffy, president and chief executive of CLIA. ?We worked throughout the year to improve and enhance safety.?

Ten new polices suggested by the Review, which included an independent panel of experts, were adopted and implemented by CLIA members.?

One policy details how?muster drills???passenger emergency drills???are conducted. Under the new policy, muster drills must be conducted before departing from port. Previously, they had to be held within 24 hours of sailing. (Passengers who boarded the Costa Concordia in Rome did not have a drill before the crash occurred, but the ship did not go against standard procedure at the time.)

Furthermore, muster drills now?must?include 12 common elements, including when and how to use a life jacket,?the location of life jackets,?descriptions of emergency routing systems and signals, and?more mandatory lifeboat training for crew.

Worldwide?effort
Many cruise lines previously adopted best practices that went beyond CLIA requirements and international law, but all members are now required to adhere to the new policies, Duffy said.

CLIA worked closely with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized United Nations agency that oversees maritime safety. ?But we didn?t want to wait until the laws were changed, which would take some time,? Duffy said. The new policies exceed requirements set by IMO through SOLAS, The Safety of Life at Sea convention, though the IMO recently approved incorporation of mandatory muster of passengers prior to departure from port. Others are expected in the future, Duffy said.

In late December, nine cruise industry associations from around the world, including CLIA, announced an agreement to operate under a common umbrella organization to standardize policies. Safety measures recently adopted by existing CLIA and ECC members are expected to be implemented by all global members in 2013.

?While I see this as being a good progression, some of the cruise lines that are not members of CLIA might think that regulations are being forced upon them by the ?corporate giant? in the USA,? said Douglas Ward, author of "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships 2013."?

He noted that safety rules do not apply to small cruise ships, ferries, tour boats and other smaller passenger-toting ships around the world.?"One thing is certain: The IMO will enact more rules and regulations that will need to be incorporated into future ship design and operation in the interest of increased safety for all. But the rules only apply to the 130-plus nations that are signatories to the IMO conventions.?

The new safety standards will have little impact on consumer choice, predicts?James Petrick, professor and research fellow in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University. ?From a passenger?s standpoint, even after the Concordia disaster, safety is still not much of a concern.? People will choose to cruise or not, based on their images of what cruising will be like, and perceptions of safety will only be part of the images of a minority of potential passengers.???

'Now there are consequences'
Several cruise industry insiders have noticed tightened safety procedures and a fundamental attitude change among passengers.?

?It forced a dialog and raised questions,? said Kimberly Wilson Wetty, co-president of Valerie Wilson Travel in New York. And while muster drills were mandatory and passengers could be prevented from sailing if they did not attend, in the past ?if you didn?t show up, I?m not sure there were a lot of consequences,? she said. "Now?there are consequences." Wetty, who took a family?cruise last summer, said ?we really paid more attention? than during previous cruises. ?I was more aware and the proceedings had a more serious tone. I came away with the feeling that it was incredibly comprehensive.??

Dennis Nienkerk, a luxury cruise specialist with Strong Travel Services in Dallas, agrees. ?There is a palpably increased sense of seriousness among?guests and crew members, who make sure all guests comply," he wrote?in an email from Easter Island during a Oceania Marina cruise. "Crew members have told me on this cruise that, since Concordia, the frequency of their own drills have increased dramatically.?

Prior to the Concordia disaster, said?Cruise Critic's?Brown,?people didn?t take muster drills seriously, and would sometimes show up with beers???or even hide in bathrooms rather than attend???and would later boast about it. But on recent cruises, ?some people even asked questions ... I was blown away by that,? she said, noting that personal accountability is a good thing. ?At some point, some of the responsibility for safety is yours.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/high-seas-safety-spotlight-year-after-deadly-costa-concordia-crash-1B7937378

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Boeing 787 suffers third mishap in as many days

1 day

NBC News staff and wire reports

Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner jet suffered a third mishap in as many days on Wednesday, heightening safety concerns after a string of setbacks for the new aircraft.?

Japan's All Nippon Airways said it was forced to cancel a 787 Dreamliner flight scheduled to from fly from Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan to Tokyo due to brake problems.?

That followed a fuel leak on Tuesday that forced a 787 operated by Japan Airlines to cancel take-off at Boston's Logan International Airport, a day after an electrical fire on another 787 after a JAL flight to Boston from Tokyo.?

Asian customers rallied behind the U.S. planemaker, however, saying such teething troubles were not uncommon on new planes and confirming they had no plans to scale back or cancel orders for the aircraft, which has a list price of $207 million.?

Japan is by far the biggest customer for the Dreamliner to date, with JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) operating a total of 24 of the 49 new planes delivered to end-December. The aircraft entered commercial service in November 2011, more than three years behind schedule after a series of production delays. Boeing has sold 848 of the planes.?

JAL spokesman Kazunori Kidosaki said the carrier, which operates seven Dreamliners, had no plans to change orders it has placed for another 38 aircraft. ANA, which has 17 Dreamliners flying its colors, will also stick with its orders for another 49, spokesman Etsuya Uchiyama said.?

State-owned Air India, which on Monday took delivery of the sixth of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered, said precautionary measures were already in place and its planes were flying smoothly. "It's a new plane, and some minor glitches do happen. It's not a cause of concern," said spokesman G.Prasada Rao.?

There was no immediate suggestion that the 787 Dreamliner, the world's first passenger jet built mainly from carbon-plastic lightweight materials to save fuel, was likely to be grounded as investigators looked into the fire incident.?

Air China, which sees the 787 as a way to expand its international routes, and Hainan Airlines?also said they were keeping their orders for 15 and 10 of the planes.?

"New airplanes more or less will need adjustments, and currently we have no plans to swap or cancel orders," said an executive at future 787 operator Hainan Airlines, who was not authorized to talk to the media and did not want to be named.?

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, who has previously criticized technical problems or delays with Boeing or Airbus jets, said there were no technical problems with the five 787s currently in use by the Gulf carrier.?

"It doesn't mean we are going to cancel our orders. It's a revolutionary airplane," he said.?

Other carriers already flying the Dreamliner are Ethiopian Airlines , LAN Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and United Airlines .?

40 gallon spill?

The fuel leak on Tuesday was noticed at about 12:25 p.m. ET after the plane had left the gate in preparation for take-off to Tokyo. About 40 gallons spilled, and the jet was towed back to the gate, where passengers disembarked, said Richard Walsh, a spokesman for the transportation authority.?

The plane departed about four hours behind schedule and was due to arrive in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.?

No passengers or crew were injured in either incident, though firefighters were called out on both occasions.?

Boeing shares fell nearly 2.7 percent on Tuesday, following a 2 percent drop on Monday - wiping around $2.8 billion off its market value, or more than a dozen Dreamliners at list price.?

While many Wall Street analysts rate Boeing stock a 'buy' or 'outperform' - the manufacturer has delivered jets faster than the market predicted - some noted the potential for the combination of a fire and a fuel leak to affect public perception of Boeing and the new aircraft.?

People working at OG Travel and Eurex, travel agents in Tokyo, said they had not seen any impact on reservations on flights using the 787 aircraft. "I've not heard of any cancellations following these incidents," Eurex staffer Yasuhiro Hirashiki told Reuters.?

Carter Leake, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in Virginia, downgraded Boeing shares, noting that fires are potentially lethal and electrical issues are tough to solve, though he and others stopped short of calling it a game changer for the Seattle-based manufacturer.?

"We're getting to a tipping point where they go from needing to rectify problems to doing major damage control to the image of the company and the plane," said Richard Aboulafia, a defense and aerospace analyst with Teal Group, a consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia.?

"While they delivered a large and unexpected number of 787s last year, it's possible that they should have instead focused on identifying glitches and flaws, rather than pushing ahead with volume production," he said.?

Battery fire?

Monday's fire occurred on a 787 plane that had just arrived from Tokyo and whose 183 passengers and crew had disembarked.?

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday a battery in the auxiliary power unit aboard the plane jet had suffered "severe fire damage" and that surrounding damage was limited to components and structures within about 20 inches. It said the power unit was operating when the fire was discovered.?

Shares in GS Yuasa Corp, the Japanese firm that makes the Dreamliner batteries, fell around 5 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday after dropping 4 percent a day earlier.?

Boeing said it was cooperating with the investigations, but it would be premature to go into detail.?

"However, nothing we've seen in this case indicates a relationship to any previous 787 power system events, which involved power panel faults elsewhere in the aft electrical equipment bay (where the fire occurred)," the company said.?

The Wall Street Journal, citing a source, reported that United Airlines found improperly installed wiring in 787 electrical components associated with the auxiliary power unit, the same electrical system that caused Monday's fire.?

United spokeswoman Christen David said the carrier inspected its 787s after the Boston fire, but she declined to discuss the findings, or to confirm the Journal report.?

The Federal Aviation Administration last month ordered all 787s to be inspected after fuel leaks were found on two aircraft, due, it said, to incorrectly assembled fuel line couplings that could result in power loss or an engine fire.?

Mechanical problems are not uncommon when new planes enter service and they often disrupt airline schedules, experts said.?

"I think we're dealing here with a situation where this aircraft is over-scrutinized for a number of reasons, including the birth difficulties," said Michel Merluzeau, managing partner at defense and aerospace consulting firm G2 Solutions.?

"Don't get me wrong. A battery fire is a very, very serious event. Especially a lithium-ion battery," he added. "And we don't know what the problem is. But the 787s is still a very safe aircraft to fly."?

Reuters contributed to this report.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/boeing-787-suffers-third-mishap-many-days-1B7906402

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Windows RT Jailbreak Should Be Made a Feature ? Hacker

A few days ago, a security researcher discovered a way to bypass Microsoft?s restrictions in order to run unsigned applications on the tablet-oriented operating system Windows RT.

Even though it involves quite a complex procedure, the hack is very likely to spawn easier to use applications that would allow all Windows RT users to jailbreak their devices with minimum effort.

TechNewsWorld has talked to C.L. Roker, the security researcher who found the flaw and who said that this hack didn?t create any security risk for users? systems.

?It cannot at this point be exploited without the user actually wanting it, so it's not dangerous,? researcher C.L. Roker told TechNewsWorld.

In addition, Roker notes that users are continuously looking into ways to run Win32 software on Windows RT, so this jailbreak should be made a feature of the tablet operating system.

?Windows RT needs the Win32 ecosystem to strengthen its position as a productivity tool,? he said.

Microsoft has already confirmed the exploit, but it confirmed that it didn?t represent a security threat for Windows RT users. What?s more, the company applauded the security researchers behind the project, but hinted that a patch to block their exploit may be released in the future.

?The scenario outlined is not a security vulnerability and does not pose a threat to Windows RT users. The mechanism described is not something the average user could, or reasonably would, leverage, as it requires local access to a system, local administration rights and a debugger in order to work,? a Microsoft spokesperson told us in a mailed statement.

?We applaud the ingenuity of the folks who worked this out and the hard work they did to document it. We?ll not guarantee these approaches will be there in future releases.?

Of course, the jailbreak community has already started work on several projects based on this exploit, so multiple applications have been ported to run on Windows RT.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-RT-Jailbreak-Should-Be-Made-a-Feature-Hacker-319902.shtml

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Islamists pursue own agenda in Iraq's Sunni protests

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Street protests in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland pose a new challenge to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as shock waves from the Sunni-led insurgency in nearby Syria strain his country's fragile political balance.

Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of Sunnis have staged demonstrations, and in Anbar province they have blocked a highway to Syria in a show of anger against Maliki, whom they accuse of marginalizing their community and monopolizing power.

The discontent is real, but the protests are driven by Sunni Islamist parties bent on carving out an autonomous region akin to the Kurdish one in the north, Kurdish and Sunni sources say.

They say the Sunni Islamists scent an opportunity to escape what they see as Shi'ite domination, counting on a victory by Sunni rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite minority has its roots in Shi'ite Islam.

Assad's eventual demise would weaken the sway of Shi'ite Iran, Syria's main regional ally and an influential player in Iraqi politics. Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have backed the Syrian leader's adversaries.

Heartened by a possible shift in the Sunni-Shi'ite balance of power in the Middle East, Iraq's Sunnis are giving vent to the frustrations they have endured since the U.S.-led invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites.

Some waving Saddam-era Iraqi flags, protesters have echoed the chants of Arab uprisings that have brought down leaders in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen in the past two years.

"We will never relent. Enough of Sunnis living in Iraq like outsiders. This time it's do or die for us," said Jamal Adham, a tribal leader from Saddam's former hometown of Tikrit.

Their demands, fuelled by sectarian sentiment, range from mending crumbling public services to abolishing anti-terrorism laws they say are used to persecute Iraq's once-dominant Sunnis.

"What's happening is not spontaneous," said Mohammed Tofiq, spokesman for Kurdish opposition movement Gorran. "The forces behind the current protests are Sunni political parties."

Senior Sunni sources say the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), part of the Muslim Brotherhood, is the prime mover in a campaign to create an autonomous Sunni fiefdom, by force if need be.

"Sunnism is our slogan and a region is our goal," senior cleric Sheikh Taha Hamed al-Dulaimi told demonstrators in Anbar in a video on his website. "Do not scatter your demands."

The IIP exerts influence through mosques and clerics in Sunni strongholds such as Anbar province, which was almost completely controlled by al Qaeda at the height of Iraq's insurgency in 2005-07 and shares a porous border with Syria.

Militants linked to al Qaeda appear to be regrouping in the caves and valleys of Anbar, and some are crossing the border to join Syrian rebels fighting to topple Assad's police state.

The tribes of Anbar were instrumental in subduing al Qaeda in 2007, making common cause with U.S. troops to fight fellow Sunnis in what came to be known as the "Anbar Awakening".

Now, Anbar is awakening again, but this time the target is Maliki - and U.S. forces who once held the ring are long gone.

"Anbar has always had the power to be very influential in Iraqi politics," said Gareth Stansfield, an Iraq expert at Exeter University. "This should be of great concern to Maliki."

SUNNI BUBBLE

The protests ignited after Maliki detained the bodyguards of Sunni Finance Minister Rafaie al-Esawi last month, just hours after Iraq's Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, seen as a steadying hand, suffered a stroke and went abroad for treatment.

Iraqi authorities said the bodyguards had confessed to involvement in assassinations carried out in coordination with security men employed by Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.

Hashemi fled into exile a year ago and was later sentenced to death in absentia for terrorism. Esawi himself was once a leader of an armed Islamist group, Hamas al-Iraq, in Anbar.

The arrests and alleged confessions of bodyguards of the two senior Sunni leaders followed a strikingly similar pattern, but this time round, Maliki is more isolated, analysts say.

One Shi'ite lawmaker said Maliki had planned to target Esawi for some time and had calculated that it would be easier to strike now and contain the Sunni backlash than to do it later when Sunnis might be emboldened by events in Syria.

"Maliki told me he would go after Esawi and his bodyguards more than a month ago," said the parliamentarian on condition of anonymity. "He preferred to burst the Sunni bubble, rather than wait for it to blow up in his face".

So far, Maliki's response has been cautious.

This week he said his patience was wearing thin and warned he would not tolerate the Sunni rallies indefinitely, but made a small concession by releasing 11 women detainees and allowing others to complete their sentences in their home provinces.

That will not appease all the protesters.

The provincial council of the predominantly Sunni Salahuddin governorate on Thursday re-submitted a request to the electoral commission to form their own region. Other Sunni-majority provinces have previously presented similar demands.

Under the constitution drawn up after the U.S.-led invasion, each province or group of provinces is entitled to create a federal region if it wins enough votes in a referendum.

"This is the moment when we see whether Maliki has emerged as the strongman of Iraq," Stansfield said. "Either he enforces a centralized government on Iraq or allows federalism to be the organizing principle of governance across the country.

"The question is whether it's done after fighting or instead of fighting."

The central government in Baghdad is already at odds with the Kurdish region. Their long-running feud over land and oil rights recently escalated into a military build-up in the oil-rich territory along their contested internal boundary.

The Kurds and other rivals of Maliki are likely to use the Sunni protests to pile pressure on the Shi'ite leader without necessarily jumping on board, analysts and politicians say.

Both Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have voiced support for the protesters in Anbar and elsewhere, as long as they drop sectarian slogans and stop glorifying Saddam's Baath party.

Sunnis are united against Maliki, but many are wary of hardliners who they fear might revive the kind of inter-communal conflict that previously drove Iraq to the brink of civil war.

Sheikh Hameed Turki al-Shook, a senior Sunni tribesman in Anbar, said: "The demand to create the regions is not ours and those working to spread these ideas do not represent us."

(Additional reporting by Raheem Salman, Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami in Baghdad, Isabel Coles in Arbil and Kamal Naama in Ramadi; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/islamists-pursue-own-agenda-iraqs-sunni-protests-070101880.html

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China Names Infosys As Its Service Outsourcing Firm

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North Carolina, Florida toll collection systems to be linked

Florida SunPass users and North Carolina Quick Pass users can use their toll collection transponders in either state beginning in July, according to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

North Carolina's Quick Pass serves about 50,000 drivers, while Florida?s SunPass has sold 7.7 million transponders, the Sentinel reports.

Officials hope that the agreement will lead to toll collection agreements with other states, especially those that use E-ZPass.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_64/~3/-O66uwGIh9g/florida-north-carolina-toll.html

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