New Jersey to Issue $2 Billion of Debt to Terminate Interest-Rate Swaps
Bloomberg.com – Dec. 23
…“I don’t think there’s a voter in this country who thinks that is what they elected their municipal leaders to do, to guess where rates are going,” said Robert Brooks, a professor of finance at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa who questions governments’ use of swaps. “It’s unfortunate,” he said in a telephone interview. “They were bad bets, and states should get out of the betting business altogether.”…
Tuscaloosa-area home prices remained flat in November
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 23
…Grayson Glaze, executive director of ACRE, said the higher number of homes sold a year ago and their lower prices reflected a rush by first-time home buyers to make their purchases before a lucrative federal tax credit for first-time buyers expired last year. First-time buyers typically purchase lower priced homes, he said. Throughout Alabama, “pricing pressures still exist as supply and demand remain out of balance and of course the disposition of distress properties continues to impact valuation,” he said…
Experts: Alabama poised for growth
Anniston Star – Dec. 23
…The foundation for this potential growth was laid over the past 15 or so years, said Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the University of Alabama. The state’s economy was focused around the labor-intensive textile and apparel industries. But as those mills started closing down the state didn’t have any choice but to retrain its work force. Now the state’s economy is based around the transportation industry — automotive plants, shipbuilding contracts, rockets and possibly a $40 billion Northrop Grumman tanker contract. “We’re in a much, much better position to, you know, deal with new industries and everything than we would’ve been if we still had textile and apparel mills,” Ijaz said…Population growth is a zero sum game, said David Lanoue, former head political scientist at the University of Alabama and now dean at Columbus State University in Georgia. “Alabama does have people that are still well-positioned in key Congressional committees,” Lanoue said. “If I were still in Alabama, I certainly wouldn’t be panicking about it.” The effects of reapportionment will likely be felt in another 10 years, when the rookie representatives become senior representatives and hold positions wielding more clout in Congress, Lanoue said…but a higher population means more federal money for schools, social services and transportation, said Annette Watters, head of the state data center. But that depends on whether Alabama makes the investment in its educational system. “We’ve got to do something to improve our educational system to make our graduates more qualified for high-tech jobs,” said William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama. “You’ve got to have a trained workforce before industry will move in. They need to have people who will be capable of performing the jobs they will be offering.”…
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley does not rule out another run for office
Birmingham News – Dec. 23
…William Stewart, retired head of the University of Alabama’s political science department, said the field of possible Republican candidates for president in 2012 already is crowded and includes another Deep South governor, Haley Barbour of Mississippi. “It’s possible, of course, that he could be nominated for vice president,” Stewart said of Riley. Stewart said he would be surprised if Riley ran for governor again. He also noted that both of Alabama’s U.S. Senate seats are filled by Republicans: Richard Shelby, 76, who just won another six-year term, and Jeff Sessions, 63, who has another four years to go on his third term. Stewart noted that Riley also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years before taking office as governor in January 2003, and said he doubted Riley would want to return to the House. But Stewart said he was surprised Riley didn’t rule out another bid for elective office. “He left the door open,” Stewart said. “If he leaves the door open, then those of us who identify themselves as political analysts can speculate about things.”…