Market Watch

1st Priority Mortgage is pleased to share the news about an exciting decrease in mortgage insurance premiums. Starting on March 20, 2023, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) will reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.3 percentage points from 0.85% to 0.55% for most new borrowers. Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) payments are required on all FHA loans, regardless of down payment, to allow for more flexible qualification requirements, like a lower credit score. There are two types of MIP: an upfront MIP, paid at closing, and an ongoing MIP paid monthly as part of your mortgage payment. The monthly MIP adjusts down annually based on your remaining principal balance. The FHA is reducing the cost of the annual MIP. Reducing the MIP rates could help new homebuyers with FHA-backed mortgages save an average of $800 a year and lower housing costs for more than 850,000 Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “This change means major savings for so many of our clients,” said Ken Wojnowski, president of 1st Priority Mortgage. Whom Will This Affect? The MIP rate change will impact new borrowers who apply for FHA loans. These loans are backed by the federal government, […]

Click here to view original web page at blog.howardhanna.com

In-house, transactional, tax, and other lawyers regularly find themselves providing legal advice in communications that also may involve business, tax, or IP (e.g. patent) advice. When litigation arises, and a party is requested to produce such “mixed” or “dual-purpose” communications, courts and lawyers must determine whether any of such communications must be turned over. After all, although legal advice may be subject to the privilege, business advice is not. Where is the line in “mixed” communication to be drawn? When a firm was served with a grand jury subpoena to produce documents that contained both legal and tax advice, its lawyers objected and eventually found themselves before the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. There, the court preliminarily held, consistent with many federal courts (including several in New Jersey), that mixed communications may be withheld from production only if their “primary” purpose is legal advice. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed, see 23 F.4th 1088 (Jan. 27, 2022), and the Supreme Court granted the firm’s petition for certiorari in October 2022. Want to continue reading? Become an ALM Digital Reader for Free! Benefits of a Digital Membership Free access to 1 article* every 30 days Access […]

Click here to view original web page at www.law.com

Max Wiszniewski is Campaign Manager for REVIVE , the coalition for grouse moor reform. He’s written a comment piece for today’s edition of the National , discussing the current SNP leadership race which Max thinks is a perfect opportunity to tackle land (and grouse moor) reform. His article is reproduced below: THE leadership election for the Scottish National Party, the party of government, could literally change the face of Scotland. Scotland will soon have a new first minister at a time when land reform and grouse moor reform is high up on the political agenda. Parliamentary bills on both are due in the not-too-distant future and real reform remains popular with both the public and particularly within the membership of the SNP. After more than two decades since we established the Scottish Parliament, our nation still has the most inequitable land ownership in the developed world. Members of the SNP may be familiar with the figure that around 432 families own more than half of Scotland’s private land. There has been important, albeit very limited, progress in diversifying land ownership in recent years but new leadership at the top level is Scotland’s opportunity to really go for it. Grouse […]

Click here to view original web page at raptorpersecutionuk.org

Russian President Vladimir Putin. A missile system was spotted near the Moscow stadium where Putin gave a patriotic speech. Similar air defenses have been popping up on roofs across the capital since Russia invaded Ukraine. Some locals fear the presence of these systems hints the war may get worse, The Moscow Times said. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . An air defense missile system was spotted near the site where Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a four-minute patriotic speech in Moscow, according to multiple reports. It appears to be one of a number of such systems indicating the Kremlin has fears of an aerial attack as its invasion of Ukraine drags on. The Russian news site Meduza reported that a Pantsir missile system was installed outside Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, where thousands had gathered — and some had been paid […]

Click here to view original web page at www.businessinsider.com

An executive conversation with Kevin Wilzbach, as posted by HousingWire on 2/23/2023 What kind of impact has the overall deceleration of the mortgage market had on the adoption of digital technology over the past few quarters? Well, I guess the short answer is, it hasn’t helped. Two years ago, when the market was booming many lenders were too swamped to focus on digital transformation projects; now their focus is on cost reduction. Having said that, we’re seeing continued strong interest in evaluating and purchasing mortgage closing platforms. What we’re hearing is, “Give me a platform that will grow with me and provide me with a consistent operational workflow regardless of whether I am closing via paper, hybrid, or fully digital with an eNote.” Several of the country’s largest lenders are moving in this direction, having seen the value of digital closings in their refinance options over the past several years. We’re also seeing interest in technology and solutions that support home equity lending. Our IDS business, for example, has a real foothold in the home equity space with its credit union clients. And mid-last year, we introduced an OmniVault that supports digital HELOCs. Having said that, prospects are mindful […]

Click here to view original web page at www.wolterskluwer.com

Fujitsu and Yamanashi Prefecture have announced the signing of a strategic partnership to promote Yamanashi’s digital transformation (DX). As part of the collaboration, Fujitsu and Yamanashi Prefecture aim to resolve a wide range of societal issues in areas including talent development, regional revitalization, medical care and health, and disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as to nurture DX talent to drive these initiatives in the prefecture. To contribute to the realization of Yamanashi Prefecture’s vision for 2040 – “to make Yamanashi a place where every citizen can live a fulfilling life” –the two parties aim to improve the quality of services for prefectural residents and revitalize local communities through initiatives including workshops to improve the digital literacy of prefectural residents, local activities to encourage residents to acquire new knowledge, and “workations” throughout Yamanashi Prefecture to enhance personnel exchange and foster DX talent able to contribute to the resolution of local issues. Fujitsu and Yamanashi Prefecture will further promote initiatives in the following areas: Healthcare and disaster prevention and mitigation — Promotion of an application for tracking and linking of medical information linked to an electronic medical record system provided by Fujitsu Japan Limited, which is already in use at […]

Click here to view original web page at japantoday.com

Hong Kong 2023-24 Budget: Highlights for employers and HR leaders A slash in profits tax, schemes to support companies’ re‑domiciliation to Hong Kong, continuously tracking manpower demands and attracting applicants, and facilitating SMEs in digital transformation, are some of the measures introduced. L&D Statutory updates Mobility Digital transformation Health & wellness Winning Secrets: Certis keeps its workforce engaged through collaboration, interactions, learning, and more "With our hybrid work arrangement, over 84% of our corporate employees are happy with how the organisation has given them the ability to choose how and where they work", Janicia Wong, VP, Group Human Resources and Deputy Head, Corporate Planning, Certis, shares. Business transformation ANZ Upskilling & reskilling L&D Singapore Winning Secrets: Reimagining recruitment, employee lifecycle management, and engagement at TDCX Philippines The group’s strategy is to understand the changing market and candidate behaviours to implement alternative solutions, shares Vanessa Maningas, Vice President – People Department, TDCX Philippines. Leadership Corporate training Rewards & recognition Philippines Health & wellness Talent trends to watch in Malaysia in 2023 Building deeper skill sets in cybersecurity, re-looking at employees’ career growth, and more – leaders from Affin Bank Group, Shell, and S P Setia share their views. Indonesia Singapore […]

Click here to view original web page at www.humanresourcesonline.net

Saied Al Lawati Ooredoo is committed to delivering responsive and innovative solutions that support the operational effectiveness and digitisation of public and private sector entities. One of these solutions includes its Local and Global M2M (Machine to Machine) service; a state-of-the-art technology used to manage, track and monitor local and global assets. M2M services allow customers to use their connected devices both locally and while roaming. This means they can monitor their assets and devices anywhere in the world, without the worry of soaring roaming charges. M2M technology can be used across industries, including for in-vehicle monitoring systems (IVMS), smart parking, smart-lighting sensors, water and electricity metres, wireless CCTV and much more. The technology allows businesses to improve their operational efficiency, save costs, and increase productivity. Saied Al Lawati, Director of Business Marketing & ICT Solutions at Ooredoo, said, “Our smart solutions are designed to support entities across all sectors, allowing them to further streamline their daily processes and activities, as well as deliver on their objectives and truly thrive. We aim to support the Omani Government and the private sector in navigating digital transformation, which is in line with Oman’s Vision 2040. We achieve this by leveraging disruptive […]

Click here to view original web page at www.albawaba.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blender Bites Ltd. (the “ Company ”, “ Blender Bites ” or “ Blender ”), (CSE: BITE , FWB: JL4 , WKN: A3DMEJ ), an award winning Canadian company involved in the development and marketing of a line of premium, organic and plant-based pre-portioned frozen functional foods, is pleased to announce that it has finalized product formulations, and is awaiting final packaging materials and product art work, in connection with a two-year private label business contract (the “ Contract ”) entered into with a large Canadian retailer (the “ Retailer ”), dated November 25, 2022. The Contract allows Blender Bites to create a new line of exclusive smoothie flavours under the Retailer’s private label brand of organic smoothies. As part of the Contract, the Company will supply the Retailer with three flavours of smoothie mixes for their private label branding with an anticipated launch in September 2023. The new line of smoothies will be available under multiple banners in approximately 300 of the Retailer’s stores across Quebec and Ontario. The Company will be responsible for the costs associated with developing the initial product mix for the Retailer, following which the […]

Click here to view original web page at finance.yahoo.com

Overview: The grant program has expanded to serve small businesses ($15,000 or $20,000 per grant) and nonprofits ($20,000 or $25,000 per grant). The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has launched Phase Two of the Economic Opportunity Grant (EOG) program, expanding the grant program from serving microbusinesses to include small businesses ($15,000 or $20,000 per grant) and nonprofits ($20,000 or $25,000 per grant). DEO launched Phase One in January 2023, initially accepting applications only from the County’s smallest and most vulnerable microbusinesses ($2,500 per grant). Through EOG, DEO will award more than $54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and California Office of Small Business Advocate funds across 6,800 grants in a continuous rollout to regions and organizations adversely affected by COVID-19. Since the launch of Phase One, more than 10,000 applications from microbusinesses have been submitted or are in progress. DEO has partnered with Lendistry and the LA Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC) to create a central application experience for the EOG program available at grants.lacounty.gov and to facilitate direct concierge support to applicants. Applicants can access live and multilingual webinars, instructional how-to-apply videos and demos, […]

Click here to view original web page at smdp.com